Photos

When ascending a mountain in the Himalaya you reach a certain height where the true vastness of the range is revealed. The peaks tower so high that from the valley floor all you can do is crane your neck up and look at their summits, you are unaware that in every direction you are surrounded by row upon row of jagged teeth, many hundreds of mountains, most of them bigger than the mightiest peaks in the other great ranges.

This picture was taken from high on the SW ridge of Ama Dablam at about 6100m and shows the huge number of peaks that disappear off into the distance and surrounded us on all sides. The two peaks in the foreground are Cholatse (6440m) and Taweche (6542m), the huge bulk in the background on the right is Cho Oyu, sixth highest in the world at 8201m. The other peaks are all at least 5500m high, many of them over 6000m and a few over 7000m.