Expert / expedition
TD− — sustained rock, ice, and exposed ridge (SW Ridge)
Sustained technical terrain or extreme-altitude expeditions.
22–30 days
Permit or guide required
Nepali expedition permit and agency support required.
Namche Bazaar
Crowds: medium · most parties climb guided
Post-monsoon (October–November) is the classic season: stable, cold, clear. Spring works but is warmer with more unsettled spells.
Ama Dablam's Southwest Ridge is the finest expedition-scale technical route most alpinists will ever attempt: granite towers to Camp 2, exposed snow-and-ice ridges past the hanging 'dablam' glacier, all at altitudes where everything is slow. Fixed lines protect the cruxes in season, but competence on steep rock and ice remains essential. The Everest-trail approach through Tengboche is itself world-class.
The mountaineer's mountain — steeper, colder, and far more serious than Everest.
The highest point on Earth — less a technical climb than a two-month siege of logistics, altitude, and risk.
The classic first 7,000er — technically moderate slopes where altitude and weather do all the fighting.