Mount Everest

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Ice Melt Makes Everest Climb More Dangerous: Sherpas

Crampons and ice axes don't bite into rock

(Newser) - Expeditions to Everest are becoming more dangerous, local guides say, because the mountain's snow and ice are melting at an alarming rate. Crampons and ice axes, once essential Everest-scaling equipment, are now hazardous to use. “When there's no ice and only rock, metal objects don't bite into rock, so...

13-Year-Old Is Youngest to Scale Everest

'Mom, I'm calling you from the top of the world'

(Newser) - A 13-year-old American boy became the youngest climber to reach the top of Mount Everest today, surpassing the previous record set by a 16-year-old Nepalese. Jordan Romero called his mother by satellite phone from the summit of the world's highest mountain, 29,035 feet above sea level. He is now...

Calif. Boy, 13, Tackles Everest

 Calif. Boy, 13, Tackles Everest 
TOO YOUNG?
May 20, 2010 5:54 AM CDT

Calif. Boy, 13, Tackles Everest

Climbers split on wisdom of Jordan Romero's quest

(Newser) - Nothing but a treacherous climb up Mount Everest's northeast face now stands between a California teen and his dream of being the youngest person to ever scale the highest peaks on seven continents, but some say that at 13, Jordan Romero is just too young. The boy's body can probably...

Sherpas to Remove Bodies From Everest

High-altitude cleanup to begin in 'death zone'

(Newser) - A team of 20 Sherpa mountaineers plans to remove bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest's "death zone," a treacherous stretch that has claimed some 300 lives since 1953. The team also aims to remove tons of garbage left behind on the slopes as part of a...

Nepal Holds Cabinet Meeting on Everest

(Newser) - Nepal’s cabinet held a chilly outdoor meeting on a Mount Everest plateau today, in a stunt to show their support for action on climate change. Sporting thick coats, wool, and in some cases oxygen masks, the cabinet set up shop at 17,192 feet, just next to an Everest...

Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty
 Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty 
Aug 1, 2009 6:45 AM CDT

Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty

(Newser) - Nepal's once-pristine natural beauty has been ravaged by years of civil war, neglect, and corruption, the Washington Post reports. Dangerous levels of pollution now cloud Kathmandu, forcing many residents to wear masks. Even the top of Mount Everest is marred by litter left behind by generations of climbers, and many...

'Typing Difficxult': Climber Tweets From Everest

Irish mountaineer expected to summit today

(Newser) - He calls it the "highest blog in the world": Gavin Bate, an Irish mountain climber, has been scaling Mount Everest for the past month, sending 140-character updates on his progress via Twitter. Today he's expected to reach the summit, where he'll try to post several sponsored tweets to raise...

18 Killed in Everest Plane Crash

German, Swiss tourists killed after Nepali flight crash-lands

(Newser) - A small tourist plane has crashed on Mt. Everest, killing 18 passengers and crew, AFP reports. Most of the passengers on the Yeti airlines flight from Kathmandu to Lukla were German tourists, officials said. Two Swiss nationals and five Nepalis were also on the passenger manifest. Witnesses said the plane...

Skydivers Jump From Everest
 Skydivers Jump From Everest 
Oct 5, 2008 11:32 AM CDT

Skydivers Jump From Everest

Trio spends 15 years, $24K for 29,500-ft. leap from world's highest peak

(Newser) - Three skydivers bounded into record books today, completing the first parachute jump from Mt. Everest, the BBC reports. “It was amazing, just spectacular,” gushed one adventurer, who, along with her fellow divers, shelled out $24,000 each and 15 years of planning on the 29,500-foot leap. The...

Olympic Flame Lit Atop Everest
 Olympic Flame Lit Atop Everest 
May 7, 2008 11:04 PM CDT

Olympic Flame Lit Atop Everest

Display designed to counter protests

(Newser) - Chinese and Tibetan climbers lit an OIympic torch at the top of Mount Everest today, the BBC reports. The climbers unfurled Chinese and Olympic flags and chanted slogans for TV cameras beaming their images live onto the nation's TVs. The Chinese hope the elaborate stunt will counter the damage from...

Sky-High Internet Caf&eacute; Opens
 Sky-High Internet Café Opens 
May 6, 2008 4:36 PM CDT

Sky-High Internet Café Opens

Everest office built to ensure communications as Olympic torch passes

(Newser) - The Olympic torch is bringing more than controversy on its round-the-world trek—it’s also responsible for the world’s highest Internet café, the People's Daily reports. China Mobile built the communications center at Mount Everest's 17,000-foot-high base camp to ensure communications for relay teams as the torch scales...

Nepal Boots Pro-Tibet US Climber

American banned from Everest for two years over protest banner

(Newser) - Nepal deported an American climber yesterday, the Times of India reports, after police at a Mount Everest base camp found a pro-Tibetan banner in his backpack. Nepal, staunchly pro-China, has enacted restrictions—and authorized security forces to use guns—to prevent protests when the Olympic torch ascends the world's tallest...

Nepal OKs Deadly Force Against Torch Protesters

Flame will ascend Everest next month

(Newser) - Nepal has plans for protesters intent on disrupting the Olympic flame's ascent up Mount Everest, the AP reports. An official today authorized the use of deadly force "to stop any protest on the mountain using whatever means necessary." Climbers are scheduled to reach the summit in the border...

China Closes Everest to Curb Protests

Torch route deemed 'unsafe' due to 'environmental' problems

(Newser) - China has closed down Mount Everest, worried that pro-Tibet protesters might disrupt what’s supposed to be the emotional and physical pinnacle of this summer's Olympic torch relay—the ascent to the summit. Just ahead of the climbing season—April, May and early June—authorities  told expedition companies the Tibetan...

New Zealand Pays Homage to Heroic Hillary

First man to conquer Everest laid to rest after state funeral

(Newser) - New Zealand paid tribute to its most famous native son today as throngs lined the streets of Auckland for the state funeral of Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealand Herald reports. The prime minister led the tributes. "Sir Ed described himself as a person of modest abilities," said...

Mountain of Litter Spoiling Everest Majesty

Peak draws hundreds of climbers, who leave behind trash

(Newser) - Mount Everest remains an irresistable lure for hundreds of climbers every year—and it shows in a bad way. In the wake of Edmund Hillary's death, the Independent surveys the landscape of the world's highest mountain and finds it littered with climbers' trash. It's a matter of logistics, experts say....

Everest's Hillary Dies at 88
Everest's Hillary Dies at 88
Jan 10, 2008 5:17 PM CST

Everest's Hillary Dies at 88

He became first man to conquer world's highest mountain in 1953

(Newser) - Edmund Hillary, the first person to scale Mount Everest, has died at age 88, Bloomberg reports. Hillary scaled the world's highest mountain in 1953, gaining renown as one of the great adventurers in the 20th century. Despite his fame, Hillary remained modest about his Everest achievement and those that followed,...

Sherpas Navigate Big Apple Canyons
Sherpas Navigate Big Apple Canyons
Dec 3, 2007 10:49 AM CST

Sherpas Navigate Big Apple Canyons

As tourism fades, expat Nepalese guides turn to driving NYC cabs

(Newser) - When a 10-year civil war drove tourists and climbers out of Nepal, the Sherpas who catered to them also left in droves, and many wound up in New York driving cabs. The taxis offer not only a livelihood but also fewer risks. "I stopped extreme climbing for my own...

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