Random: NYC Marathon, Chinese Alz, Pumori
A wonderfully inspirational story- Meb Keflezighi wins the NY Marathon Tough season on Pumori-no summits from Peak Freak in spite of a leading great effort and the Hanesbrand test team . Success on Ama Dablam: IMG with no drama The Alzheimer’s Association site is now in Chinese, drugstore Korean and Vietnamese. Interesting analysis of Colorado’s recent huge snow storm, impact on climbing conditions in RMNP 6 Early avalanches in the Colorado high country Found in Antarctica: two cases MacKinlay’s Scotch Whisky from 1908 Ernest Shackleton’s South Pole team United Airline’s last 737 flight Diamox – The Altitude Wonder Drug? Maybe. Maybe not.
No Fall 2009 Everest Summits
Fall is a difficult time to climb Everest. This year there were only two teams – one on each side. Both gave it their all and both have now left the mountain without a summit attempt. Heavy snowfall and high winds were the primary issues.
The "Other" Himalaya Climbs
When people think of climbing in the Himalaya, almost everyone thinks of Mt. Everest. But the post-monsoon period of Fall is difficult on Everest with higher winds, more snow plus ever-shorter and colder days so many commercial companies turn to the slightly lower and logistically easier Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Shishapangma as their primary Fall 8000m expeditions.
Tracking Expeditions
Keeping up with friends and family on a far-away mountain expedition has always been challenging. Some teams post dispatches every few days to their website, other climbers just use sat phones to call in. Now a new trend has emerged using a satellite transmitter to “beam” your location every few minutes enabling your location to be shown on a map. Also you can alert Search and Rescue with a touch of a button in an emergency. The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger has emerged as the leader in this category. There are some variations on this theme but SPOT has made it very simple – perhaps too simple. Their 2nd generation unit has just been released and is smaller, lighter with improved performance. To get everything needed – unit and tracking service – it costs over $350.00 with an annual renewal. You can read all the details on their website. continue reading in Gear Reviews