UKH

What are views about suitable routes around chamonix for good training for ama dablam 

Aware of difference in altitude although thinking along the lines of grand montets ridge,  frendo spur and the like

Also are there similar objectives to ama dablam of the same or similar height either in Nepal or elsewhere 

In reply to llanberis36:

SW ridge of Cholatse supposed to similar & less frequented than the SW ridge of AD

In reply to llanberis36:traverse of the Meije and arête du jardiniere on the argenteire did the trick for me - but I did loads of 20kg backpacking in the U.K. to prep as well.  Good luck it’s ace.

In reply to llanberis36:

Alternate sets of laps of the fixed rope on the Dent du Geant with plods up Mont Blanc

In reply to jonah jones:

Good plan, thanks

In reply to Mike-Lea:

Thanks 

Will look into that

In reply to Robert Durran:

Amusing 'dislike' there. If they don't follow your advice they're not going to 'like' the huge physical task of climbing as big (22,000 ft) or as steep a mountain as Ama Dablam.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Well I was obviously joking a bit. A friend of mine climbed Ama Dablam a few years ago and the only time she used her ice axe was to chop some ice for making a brew - it was just a matter of following fixed ropes. And I failed to climb it 30 years ago simply because I couldn't acclimatise. Basically the priority should be to get as fit and strong as possible, and  to get to know how one acclimatises (if some acclimatisation can be retained from the Alps all the better). If this can be done with some fun or technically interesting routes then obviously that is great, though the fun and technical side of them are probably incidental!

In reply to Robert Durran:

Yes. Even before I went to the Everest area on a photo commission for a trekking company I got very fit, and had no problem at all with getting acclimatised and climbing Kala Pattar. A lot of people on the trek couldn't make it and a lot had acclimatisation problems (two actually ending up in the dreaded high pressure bag). There seemed to be an absolutely direct correlation between people's fitness and how easily they acclimatised.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

I don't think that is thought generally to be the case. I am an exceptionally poor acclimatiser and despite being as fit or fitter than others on every trip I've been on to the Greater Ranges, I have been completely outperformed by everyone else at altitude - never really achieved anything!

In reply to Robert Durran:

Yes. Anecdotally, having been involved in running commercial expeditions for 20+ years there is undoubtedly a correlation between the very fit being poor at acclimatising.  Not everyone, of course but I can think of lots and lots of cases. If someone puts "Sub 3-hour marathon" on their experience form, I worry.

Wrt Ama Dablam, it's basically a big, rocky Alpine Difficile. Mostly rock in recent seasons apart from the top summit slopes, so you'll rarely swing an axe, even if you never pull on any of the fixed ropes. The crux is VS 5a, so obviously you're going to use less energy the better you are on rock. Being comfortable in big boots on VDiff is basically where you need to be. 

In reply to Tom Briggs:

I'd understood that it was more that very fit people tend to have the ability to overdo things and get too high too fast before delayed altitude sickness sets in (rather than an actual physiologiocal difference in the acclimatisation process). I certainly feel I did this a few times before learning to hold myself back to a  pace of acclimatisation I was capable of.

In reply to Robert Durran:

That's a theory, but I think it's too simplistic and there's more to it than that. As a rule our altitude profiles are very conservative, so it's not down to pressing on when an acclimatisation day would be prudent. It would be a fascinating research project for someone!

In reply to llanberis36:

Assuming by "Ama Dablam" you mean ascending the SW Ridge using the fixed ropes, you would probably be best served by a lot of ascending steep slopes carrying a heavy pack - and for the top section ascending steep snow slopes carrying a heavy pack.

I think it's debatable whether you'd be at any advanage doing this in Chamonix or closer to home. Certainly the Frendo Spur is, technically, overkill for anything you'll find on Ama Dablam - whereas since the crux of AD is at about the 6000m mark, I'm not sure it makes much difference whether you practice climbing that kind of terrain at 3000M in the Alps or 1000M in Scotland or Wales.