Turquoise Lakes of Ama Dablam-EBC Trek

Dis­patch from Deana: One of my all-time favorite hikes is a vis­it to the turquoise lakes behind Ama Dablam. The rolling alpine mead­ow is rarely vis­it­ed, despite the pletho­ra of trek groups in the area, because the bare­ly-vis­i­ble trail is sim­ply a thin yak-herder’s path straight up the mountain.

In the spring, the lake beds are dry, but now after a sea­son of mon­soon rains, the small lakes are lus­cious­ly blue and stretch out to where moun­tain meets sky. Although we are over 16,000 ft, Ama Dablam (at 22,500 ft!) still looms over us. Lake­side lunch is an exquis­ite way to accli­ma­tize to thin air.

—Deana Zabal­do, Moun­tain Mad­ness Trip Leader