Adrian Ballinger has been all over the world as the owner, operator and head guide for Alpenglow Expeditions. He has led over 60 international climbing expeditions on 5 continents and recently completed his full IFMGA/AMGA Certification – one of only 40 in the USA to achieve this. Read more about Adrian on marmotpro.com. Ama Dablam is one of my favorite mountains in the world. It stands proudly over the Khumbu Valley in Nepal, close to Mt. Everest. I have climbed and guided it 4 times over the last 10 years, and every time have been entranced by its high quality climbing on steep exposed ridges and its tiny summit surrounded by the Himalayan giants. When Marmot named a lightweight down jacket the “Ama Dablam”, the pressure was on to live up to its namesake. I am happy to say it more than lives up to the task! I spent the last 3 months wearing the jacket almost daily, mostly while ski mountaineering in the Alps. It is the perfect companion for climbing and skiing. While in the pack, it packs up really small and feels light. Yet each time I put it on, I was pleasantly surprised by the warmth it offered. Whether at cold belays or skiing in high altitude conditions, it struck the perfect balance of a puffy jacket that did not feel bulky or get in the way of high movement activities like climbing and skiing. The cut is athletic, and long enough to stay underneath a harness or backpack waist strap. And the hood works especially well - it cinches nicely over a helmet with one-hand adjustments. I also wore the Ama Dablam all last fall while guiding Cho Oyu in Tibet, the world’s sixth tallest peak. On extreme high altitude peaks like this one, we wear one-piece down suits while high on the mountain. But at the lower camps, it is nice to have a lightweight down jacket to throw on. The Ama Dablam filled this duty nicely, and I found that with the good fit, I could actually wear it under other outerwear as a lightweight but very warm layer. It also makes for a perfect pillow when it is stored in a stuffsack! Overall, I can’t recommend the Ama Dablam jacket too highly. It has quickly become one of my favorite pieces in the Marmot line. I am attaching a couple of photos of the jacket in action from this past season. And I look forward to wearing it in the upcoming year on lots more peaks and adventures!