A team of Nepali mountaineers will leave Kathmandu tomorrow heading for Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, where they hope to climb to more than 8,000 metres (26, 246ft) to clear the mountain’s “death zone” of tonnes of rubbish and remove the bodies of dead climbers.
Though many foreign and Nepali expeditions have set out to clear parts of the mountain in the past, Namgyal Sherpa, leader of the Extreme Everest Expedition 2010, said no one had tried to clear at that height. “This is the first time we are cleaning the death zone. It is very difficult and dangerous,” said Namgyal, who has climbed Everest seven times.
The zone earned its name because it is almost impossible to survive the harsh temperatures and the thin air of such altitudes, where there is a third as much oxygen as at sea level for more than a couple of days. Anyone who remains within the zone for longer will almost certainly perish.
The climbers will use special bags to collect the bodies – which lie between the South Col and the 8,850m (29,035ft) summit – before lowering them down the snow and icefields of the mountain and then carrying them across the glaciers to base camp. The expedition hopes to retrieve five bodies, including that of a climber killed two years ago.
How will you know you’ve entered the Death Zone if the landscape isn’t littered with dead bodies?
The remarkable Eurocopter flight breaks the World Record for the highest altitude landing and take-off ever, for any flying machine on Earth, and sets an undeniable milestone in the history of aviation.
According to Eurocopter, here’s what happened: After taking off from its base camp Lukla on May 14th, 2005 at 2,866 meters (9,403ft) Didier Delsalle piloted his Ecureuil AS350B3 to the top of Mount Everest at 8,850 meters (29,035ft).
As required by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI – International Aeronautical Federation), the aircraft remained landed on ground more than 2 minutes on the top of the world before flying back to Lukla.
What an amazing feat. That’s 435 ft. higher then the service ceiling on my Cessna 310, and he has to hover to land and take off. I doubt I could take off at that altitude.
Thanks Bubbaray for the link!
And, of course the usual global warming culprit is in there…
Climbing Everest has become the ugliest kind of tourism — many spoiled rich people trashing the place in search of some personal bragging rights.
The mountain needs severe regulation — including a “pack it out” rule with huge fines for non-compliance. (big enough to deter very rich people)
It’s unlikely Nepal will implement such a rule because Everest is a cash-cow for a poor country.
BTW, despite all of this, I highly recommend Nepal — but go over to the Annapurna Range instead (and PACK IT OUT!)
They should force the various world militaries to do the cleanup to pay for their citizens garbage tossing habits.
It would be good training too. The 10th Mountain division would get valuable high altitude training.
Uhm… I don’t really know what to think… but I have a question I’d like to ask you in private, ideally by email. How can I reach you?