3G access arrives on Everest. But do we need Internet on the top of the world?

The company NCell has built a series of 3G towers in the Everest area. And not everyone thinks that's a good idea.

As every mountaineer knows, there is nothing sweeter than heaving yourself up onto a far-flung peak, hunkering down in your tent, and watching an episode of "The Office" on your laptop computer, while the sharp winter winds blow outside. And now, courtesy of the Nepalese company Ncell, you'll be able to download new episodes – and dispatch emails to your family and friends – all the way up on Mt. Everest.

That's right, folks. This month, Ncell installed nine 3G stations in the Mt. Everest area, from the local all the way up to the village of Gorakshep, at 17,000 feet. All nine stations went online on Thursday. "The speed of the 3G services will be up to 3.6 MB per second," Aigars Benders, the chief technical officer of Ncell, told CNN. "But we could have it up to 7.2 MB if there is demand."

Benders said it would be "theoretically possible" to access the network from the summit of Everest. So, to summarize: Mountaineers can now get mobile internet access at – or near – the very top of the world, while your humble Horizons blogger sometimes can't getmobile Internet access from the couch of his Brooklyn apartment. Go figure.

"Great, people yakking on their cellphone on the roof of the world," Kelly McParkland of the National Post wrote today. "That's one giant leap for the communications industry, one huge disaster for any sense of adventure. You think it's annoying listening to some Bozo yammer on his cell phone (or, worse, Bluetooth) in the coffee line-up, how about when you're waiting your turn at the highest spot in the world?"

'I'm on Everest:' High-speed Internet at base camp

Extract from The Associated Press: 

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — How's this for a Facebook status update: "About to start scaling Mount Everest."

Should they have time to check e-mails, climbers attempting to scale the world's highest peak now have access to high-speed Internet near its 17,000-foot (5,200-meter) base camp, the last gathering point on the journey to the top.

Ncell, a subsidiary of Swedish telecom company TeliaSonera, announced Friday that they have set up seven 3G base stations in the Everest region, allowing climbers and trekkers to access wireless Internet and make video calls, for example over Skype.

Thousands of trekkers from all over the world walk to the base camp every year. Hundreds of mountaineers go further up the slopes of the peak to the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) summit.

In the past, they were forced to carry heavy satellite equipment to the base camp to transmit information and images. Trekkers and villagers were able to talk on cell phones at lower levels, but could not access the Internet.

NCell official Pasi Kostinen said they hope to soon expand the service in the region, where a few thousand people live and 30,000 visit each year.

NCell is a private company based in Nepal. The majority of its shares are controlled by foreign investors, with TeliaSonera having the largest stake.

New Regulations for Tibet Expedition

By Loben Sherpa - Kathmandu

New Regulations for Tibet Expedition from Spring 2011:

In order to promote the organization of expedition, improve team quality and avoid waster of resources, China Tibet Mountaineering Association has implemented some additional provisions for future permit applications, size and reception.

1. Fee for the Nepalese cooks and kitchen boys has been increased to US$ 1800 which is the same as that of the climbing sherpas.

2. The age bar for the climbers has been limited between 18 - 60 years and if the climbers' age is not within this provision, must provide proof of special health-related applications and prior climbing experiences.

3. CTMA has withdrawn the policy of maximum 4 sherpas in 1 team. Now any number of Nepalese Sherpas can accompany the expedition team.

4. The minimum requirement for 1 permit is 5 pax which can include climbing members, base camp members, sherpas and support trekkers.

All expeditions must apply for climbing permits one month before expedition departure and entry date to Tibet for expedition must be arranged only after 10^th April 2011.

 

The regulations 1 to 4 will apply only for Mt. Cho-Oyu, Mt. Shishapangma and Mt. Everest.

Kyashar Expedition 2010 - Another coveted peak by Andy and Tony

Mt. Kyashar

By Andy Houseman - Posted on 7.10.10 11:01 51 

(www.scarpa.co.uk/team/blogs.asp?TeamID=36)

Kyashar Expedition :

Due to one reason and another a month ago I was pretty sure this years trip out to Nepal was going to have to be cancelled after a few months of its on, its off, its back on again, then it was off again. I was actually quite looking forward to a quick Autumn hit to the alps instead but after randomly bumping into a mate, the young and talented Tony Stone, down in North Wales, suddenly it was all happening again! We got the flights confirmed for the 12th October last week and with some extra support from the Alpine Club on top of the BMC grant we already had the psyche was back again.

Kyashar stands proud at 6769m guarding over the village of Tangnag in the Hinku valley, Nepal and caught both Nick and my eye when we were in the area two years ago. First climbed back in 2003 via the West ridge and West face (probably our decent route IF we get up the thing) we hope to have an attempt on the 2000m+ South Pillar (centre of the face in the photo below) which a Czech team tried last year. Unfortunately they had to retreat at around half height but reported climbing up to WI6 and M7 to where they got, ummm...

Many thanks for their support on this expedition to the BMC, The Alpine Club, Mountain Equipment, Scarpa, Black Diamond, Tendon Ropes, Lorpen Socks, Adidas Eyewear

Arriving in Kathmandu

Landing in Kathmandu on Wednesday after a brief stop in Dakar things seemed to be going unusually smooth until after an hour staring at the baggage conveyor there was still no sign of our 4 bags and 90kg of kit.  Leaving Tony at the airport for a nervous wait to see if our bags would turn up on the next flight from Dakar I headed straight to the Ministry of Tourism with our agent, Loben, to meet our Liaison Officer and get the permit for Kayshar.

Amazingly, thanks to Lobens efficiency I had the permit in my hand within 2 hours of landing in the country!  Things got even better when we drove back to the airport to find Tony with all four of our bags and a big grin as his bottle of 15 year old Glenlivet had arrived intact inside his boots (I’m not too sure which he was more worried about, the climbing kit turning up or the whiskey bottle!).

Weather permitting we fly to Lukla tomorrow (Saturday) morning then we’ve got a four day trek to our base camp at the village of Tangnag.  Since landing we’ve spent a couple of days just chilling out, catching up with friends and last minute shopping in Kathmandu.  Our flight back to the UK is booked for the 19th November so all  being well we’ll be back in Kathmandu a couple of days before.

British Annapurna III expedition 2010: Snow Cave at ABC

British Annapurna III expedition 2010: Snow Cave at ABC: "Picture: My MS Paint Skills So the team are out on the mountain today. They left BC at 01h45 this morning. Pete had made a nice brew for t..."

British Annapurna III expedition 2010: The path to Annapurna 3 unfolds...

British Annapurna III expedition 2010: The path to Annapurna 3 unfolds...: "Pictures: Machhapucher from the slopes leading up to the East Ridge; The first sortie onto the slopes of the East Ridge which towers abo..."

GANCHENPO 6380 - MISSION BY GRAHAM AND GARY

GANCHENPO - 6380M,  situted in Langtang region of Nepal well noticed peak but hardly climbed by any climber are going to attempt by Graham Desroy and Gary Smith from October 15, 2010 along with Loben Expeditions team.  


DMM's Product Developer Graham Desroy is one of Britain's most colourful climbing personalities (mainly due to his taste in Hawaiian shirts!). 

Gary Smith runs Gethigh.co.uk based in  Dinorwig, North Wales and aims to offer inspirational training and guided days out in the UK for climbers and mountain walkers of all abilities.

Darjeeling hills find depth for tourists’ descent

WRITTEN BY VIVEK CHHETRI, THE TELEGRAPH

Higher aim: HMI principal Rana glides from 18,700 feet on Mt Makalu

Darjeeling, Oct. 4: Days are not far when tourists can glide with the floating cotton clouds across the rolling hills of Darjeeling.

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) and the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) have recently inked a memorandum of understanding to introduce paragliding for tourists in the hills.

“The initiative is expected to be the first of its kind in this part of the region and we expect to start flying from March onwards,” Col Neeraj Rana, the principal of the HMI, told The Telegraph.

In fact, Rana himself is the first man to paraglide on Mt Makalu from an altitude of 18,700 feet to 16,076 feet.

Tourists need not be so adventurous and take risk as Rana did.

“We have selected a spot at Rohini in Kurseong subdivision. We will first take six boys from the village and will train them for a year and half before certifying them as trained paragliders. The WBTDC will develop infrastructure at the spot,” said Rana.

In the Rohini area, the highest point is around 4,000 feet and there are enough open spaces to descend as low as 2,000 feet. “The place is ideal for paragliding. The valley-like area is surrounded by hillocks and the scenery is picturesque as fliers can also see the plains,” said Rana.

Even though the six boys are expected to complete their training in 18 months, tourists need not wait for so long.

“The HMI will be bringing in authorised instructors from various parts of the country. While one set will be training the locals, the others will be flying tourists across the hills,” said Rana. “Provisions will be made to accommodate one tourist on a glider. The instructors will take them around.”

Rohini is ideal for paragliding two times a year and they coincide with the tourism season. “The first flying season will be from March to May and the next will be from October to December,” said the HMI principal.

The HMI and the WBTDC will also start a centre at Melli to train 12 people in rafting.

According to the memorandum of understanding, while the WBTDC will develop the infrastructure for the flying, the equipment needed for the gliding will be procured by the HMI.

The WBTDC will also frame safety guidelines for the rafting and the gliding.

Higher aim: HMI principal Rana glides from 18,700 feet on Mt Makalu

Darjeeling, Oct. 4: Days are not far when tourists can glide with the floating cotton clouds across the rolling hills of Darjeeling.

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) and the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) have recently inked a memorandum of understanding to introduce paragliding for tourists in the hills.

“The initiative is expected to be the first of its kind in this part of the region and we expect to start flying from March onwards,” Col Neeraj Rana, the principal of the HMI, told The Telegraph.

In fact, Rana himself is the first man to paraglide on Mt Makalu from an altitude of 18,700 feet to 16,076 feet.

Tourists need not be so adventurous and take risk as Rana did.

“We have selected a spot at Rohini in Kurseong subdivision. We will first take six boys from the village and will train them for a year and half before certifying them as trained paragliders. The WBTDC will develop infrastructure at the spot,” said Rana.

In the Rohini area, the highest point is around 4,000 feet and there are enough open spaces to descend as low as 2,000 feet. “The place is ideal for paragliding. The valley-like area is surrounded by hillocks and the scenery is picturesque as fliers can also see the plains,” said Rana.

Even though the six boys are expected to complete their training in 18 months, tourists need not wait for so long.

“The HMI will be bringing in authorised instructors from various parts of the country. While one set will be training the locals, the others will be flying tourists across the hills,” said Rana. “Provisions will be made to accommodate one tourist on a glider. The instructors will take them around.”

Rohini is ideal for paragliding two times a year and they coincide with the tourism season. “The first flying season will be from March to May and the next will be from October to December,” said the HMI principal.

The HMI and the WBTDC will also start a centre at Melli to train 12 people in rafting.

According to the memorandum of understanding, while the WBTDC will develop the infrastructure for the flying, the equipment needed for the gliding will be procured by the HMI.

The WBTDC will also frame safety guidelines for the rafting and the gliding.

FINALLY ANANPURNAIII AT BASE CAMP

Finally, after a work out the more than a year, Annapurna III team reached base camp by helicopter and established base camp at 4300m, higher than our planned Base camp. Had to make 8 shuttle from Pokhara with myself, team, staff and expedition load. We had to land between Base camp and Pokhara at the middle of nowhere - no exit point... thanks god .. weather was on our side and we manage to get out on time after dropping all the expedition load, team and staff at Base camp.

Not an ordinary expedition, the expedition had to returned back

last season without reaching base camp due to excess rock fall and danger to cross the col with our porters and staff.

Bullock, Helliker and Benson - Round II on Annapurna III

by Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC 30/Sep/2010

After failing to reach the mountain earlier in the year, Nick Bullock and Matt Helliker (this time accompanied by Pete Benson) are set to try again on the infamous unclimbed southeast ridge of Annapurna III (7555m).

The earlier expedition failed to get to the mountain when the climbers were stopped in their tracks by choss-rubble cliffs barring access to the peak. This time they are going in by helicopter.

The cost of the helicopter flights has been footed by the new expedition main sponsor Samsung, who are hoping to get a promotional film from the expedition.

Nick Bullock, ever in angst about his mountain activities, has written a long blog post on the ethical considerations of taking a helicopter in to base camp. In that post Bullock states:

"The more I think about taking a helicopter to base camp, the more I think it is the correct decision (apart from not going of course). The most obvious argument I can come up with for flying is it will avoid the death of a local and I was under no doubt that this would have happened if Matt and myself had not called a halt to the first attempt."

The use of a helicopter to allow access to the peak has obvious benefits, but also some quite significant drawbacks, one of which is the inability to 'get the hell out of there' under their own steam. If a retreat from base camp is needed, the climbers will have to wait for good enough weather to allow the chopper access to their camp.

Bullock, one of the UK's top mountaineers, is not only deliberating the use of a helicopter, but of the sponsorship that is paying for it. And with sponsorship comes the need for publicity. We reported back in March that the expedition was going ahead, and writing 'news before it happens' is always a tricky consideration for us at UKC.

Alpinist 4 - from the Annapurna Expedition Blog
UKC News, Mar 2010
© Alpinist / Annapurna Expedition Blog

This particular expedition ended no-where, as did the much publicised Tahu Ratum expedition - but we flagged them up as the basic fact they are happening is of interest to many readers, and the pre-expedition coverage is helpful for the climbers who want to attract support for their trips. But this doesn't sit easy with Nick:

"I actually hate all of the blogging thing before and during a trip... it's too much like reality TV, and mountaineering aint no reality TV...

Personally it adds too much pressure for me, I would rather just go and quietly get on with my thing, then when I get back report it if it's been a success, or quietly get on with the next thing if it has not.

I feel that there are too many folk who do not appreciate that something like this trip is 99% doomed to fail, and when it does, we look like prats. A trip like this depends on so many things falling into place, fitness, weather, conditions, getting in!, getting onto the climb, getting off the climb, having enough cash, the climbing being at a level that we can move quick enough given the size of rucksacks we will be carrying, and on, and on, and on... so lets say we stand no chance, and if a miracle happens and the planets align, and if Helliker can get by for 10 days without a mirror, we will feel exceptionally privileged and lucky."

But despite his reservations, Bullock is looking forward to what could be the climb of his life. The ridge they are going to attempt was proposed by Alpinist Magazine as one of the greatest unclimbed objectives in the world and, looking at the above photo that was published in the magazine, you can see why.

Why Mt. Abi has Few Ascents

By Graham Desroy

The description to climbing Mount Abi (6097 m), a trekking peak in Nepal's Khumbu region, painted a picture of accessible 45°- 50° snow slopes up a straight-forward ridge to the summit at about AD but as a footnote mentions that it hadn't seen many ascents. Perhaps we should have paid more attention to that last detail.

As it was it sounded ideal to combine with a high passes trek, all based around Tom's 50th birthday celebrations in May. Perfect for the team's first experience of a Himalayan peak - the team being Tom Hutton, Steph Duits, Al Vincent and myself (Graham Desroy).

However, nothing is quite as simple as it sounds - as is often the case on expedition. The first clitch was the trekking company that was organising the trip bailed out with three weeks to go. Fortunately my contact in Kathmandu, Loben Expeditions, came good within two days and all was back on track until volcanic ash, flights in chaos, stranded holiday-makers and so on.

But the dust clouds parted on the right day and we landed in Kathmandu on schedule and right into the middle of a major Maoist strike: no public transport, no shops, no restaurant, no usual hustle and bustle.

To our surprise, the flight to Lukla was still running - in between the rain clouds - and so against the odds we were duly deposited at the start of the trek, porters all organised, with the yaks, climbing gear, camping kit and climbing sherpa scheduled to meet us at the base camp in seven days time.

A week later suitably acclimatised by ascending a minor summit, Gokyo Ri (5480 m), we arrived at base camp just-off the Cho La where our peak gear was ready and waiting, tents all erected and the cook team serving up three cooked meals a day and the luxury of 'bed-tea' in the morning. Time to get stuck-in.

But what's this? Nobody mentioned a significant ice-fall to be negotiated up to the col. Where was the nice easy slog up a snow slope? Tamling, the climbing sherpa and I spent a nervous afternoon in the maze below tottering seracs and shooting galleries of stonefall finding a 'safe' route up through it and fixing 400 metres of polyprop rope to speed the subsequent summit day.

Except that it wasn't subsequent - Steph was not on top form - the polite way of describing a dose of Nepal's finest. Sadly for her she was no better the following day, the final day of our 'window' to go for the top.

So it was Tom, Al, Tamling and I that made the pre-dawn stumble up the ice-fall. Massive detours round gaping cevasses on the col gobbled up the time. It was late as we left the col. The views over Cho Oyo and Tibet were stupendous. Our ridge was threatened by another serac barrier. Snow slopes turned into hard blue water ice, somewhat steeper than 50 degrees: time to start pitching, calf muscles burning, and gasping for air. Progress slowed. Another full-pitch and it was crunch time. The clock said it all as stones started to whizz and whine. The clouds had rolled in and the summit was still 300 metres higher than we were. The decision was inevitable. Down for tea and sympathy.

The rest of the trip involved the Cho La Pass, up the Khumbu Valley, views of Everest from Kala Pattar, stunning scenery, Tom's 50th in Namche Bazaar, and three days loafing by the pool and drinking beer in Kathmandu.

We'd discovered there is a reason why Mount Abi doesn't get many ascents and the commercial trekking companies don't really do it. It's too hard for a simple summit. Why? Because in the last ten years global warming has had a dramatic effect on the region: snow slopes have become ice-falls, stonefall has increased and seracs have become more unstable. And I'm sure the air has got thinner, the ridge steeper and gravity stronger...

Graham Desroy

City duo on top of the world

Two Calcuttans have made it to the top of the world, becoming the first members of a civilian-run mountaineering club in India to summit Mt Everest.

Naktala resident Basanta Singha Roy, 47, and Debashish Biswas, 39, of Ultadanga reached the 8,848m peak at 7.45am on Monday.

Debashish, an officer in the income tax department, and Basanta, a Punjab National Bank employee, were accompanied by two sherpas — Passang Futur Sherpa and Pemab Chhoti Sherpa — who also summitted the peak.

The duo’s feat has sent spirits soaring in their club. “The duo informed the base camp about their successful climb via a satellite phone and they immediately conveyed the news to us. We are very excited,” said Souren Banerjee of Mountaineer’s Association of Krishnagar that organised the expedition.

The trip cost around Rs 50 lakh, raised through collection from sponsors, including the sports department, and donations by club members.

The summiteers left on April 1 with three others from their club. Loben Sherpa, of Loben Expeditions that conducted the climb for the club, told Metro over the phone from Kathmandu that the team had started from the Nepal capital on April 2 and reached the base camp at 5,200m.

“They pitched four camps on their way,” said Loben. While Camp I was pitched at 5,900m, Camp II was set up at 6,300m, Camp III at 7,400m followed by Camp IV at 7,900m.

“Two of them started from Camp IV around 8.30pm (IST) on Sunday and reached the summit after a 12-hour trek,” he added. The three members who stayed back at various camps as backup are Ashok Roy, 55, Sourav Mondal and Bibhash Sarkar, both in their mid-30s.

The team had planned to climb through the Rongbook glacier, North Cole and Northeast ridge route in Tibet, but the Chinese government denied them permission. They then decided to climb from the traditional Khumbu glacier, South Cole and Southeast ridge route in Nepal, which was used by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa to summit Everest for the first time on May 29, 1953.

“It is very difficult to climb during sunlight hours because of reflection and heat,” said Taraknath Sen, a member of the Krishnagar club. Temperatures of around -14 degrees Celsius and wind at 80kmph make the short climb from the last camp to the summit treacherous, he added.

Mountaineers say scaling the Himalayas is about taking two steps forward and a step back, a clear pointer to the challenge Mt Everest poses.

The families of Debashish and Basanta are keeping their fingers crossed. “I am very happy they were successful. But the climb down is very dangerous and I am awaiting his safe return,” said Debashish’s wife Mukti. Basanta’s wife Smriti echoed her. “The first thing I wanted to know was how my husband and Debashishda were,” said Smriti.

The duo’s achievement has also reached the chief minister’s ears. “The state government will felicitate them when they come back,” Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said.

The two have started the descent and reached South Cole, said Loben. They are expected to reach the base camp by Tuesday evening.