Dan Mazur Ama Dablam Expedition: Dispatch Four

Dispatch Four: Dear EverestNews.com readers, I hope this email finds you and all your family, friends, and colleagues doing well. Thanks again for the fantastic job you are doing at EverestNews.com, reporting on the adventures of Himalayan Mountain-climbing.

Speaking of which, our Canadian Pumori group departed early this morning. Randy Shantz, Mikel Eder, and Robert Fulton and Jangbu Sherpa are on their way. Richard Claude is trekking in through Namche. Its raining lightly now, and they are just about to take off from the Kathmandu airport to the Lukla airstrip, in a Twin Otter plane. We hope that the rain does not mean a lot of snow is falling up high on Pumori, which is a fantastic and moderate mountain to climb in March, but is known for avalanche danger in October (Ama Dablam has no such avalanche problems in October). The four members were aware of the October avalanche potential and of bad avalanches in the past (October of 2001, when 7 Spaniards died) well in advance, but chose to climb the mountain via the South West Ridge in any case.