A Heavy Load
Anne Parmenter, guiding on Ama Dablam in Nepal, insisted on carrying all of her own equipment in one carry to Camp one on the mountain, forcing her to carry a pack nearly as heavy as she was to an elevation of 19,000 feet.
The Monk and the Mother Mountain
A monk from the temple in Pangboche stands below Ama Dablam, right, and looks over the Khumbu Valley, where Mount Everest and many others of the highest mountains in the world rise. The Pangboche Gompa was the first Buddhist temple in Nepal and is a traditional stop for expeditions to Everest and Ama Dablam.
Blessing Heidi
Heidi Blum, on her way to climb Ama Dablam, a 22,494-foot-peak in the shadow of Mount Everest in Nepal, has a protection cord tied around her neck during a puja - a Buddhist ceremony to bless members of the expedition at the temple in Pangboche, a village in the shadow of the peak.
Standing the Mother Mountain's Hand
Arriving at Camp One on Ama Dablam, the mountain the Sherpa people see as a woman with outstretched arms, Anne Parmenter takes in the view of the highest mountain range in the world.
Camp Two
Anne Parmenter cooks dinner for Heidi Blum, the client she is leading up Ama Dablam, at Camp Two on top of the Yellow Tower on the southwest ridge of the mountain.
The Gray Tower
Anne Parmenter leads Heidi Blum to The Gray Tower on Ama Dablam, one of the most difficult and dangerous sections of the climb.
The Tombstone Traverse
Anne Parmenter works her way across a wall of granite and snow that hangs a mile in the air above the Base Camp on Ama Dablam.
Spikes
Anne Parmenter sinks her crampons into the hard, blue ice above Camp Three on her attempt to reach the summit of the mountain with Heidi Blum, an experienced skier and climber who she was helping to lead up the mountain.
Ice Queens
Anne Parmenter and Heidi Blum make their way up to the hanging glacier that the mountain Ama Dablam is named for during their attempt on the summit. Heidi, who has lost parts of several toes on the mountain before, turned back, but Anne continued on to the summit after another guide volunteered to lead Heidi down.
Crevasse Rescue
Brendan Cusick, a mountain guide who was climbing solo on Ama Dablam, hangs where he fell into the giant crevasse on the hanging glacier that is the final obstacle to the summit headwall. Cusick, who had to be rescued by the photographer and mountain guide Anne Parmenter, broke several bones in the fall. The rescue dangerously delayed the climbers' summit bid.
