Naked on Mt Everest
No Comments »28th May, 2006; Category: General
Australian ABC News Online has an article about a sherpa who stripped off on the top of Mt Everest!
The head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association has urged the Government to take action against a sherpa who reportedly stripped off on top of Mount Everest.
The Himalayan Times reported on Friday that the Nepali climbing guide, whose name it gave as Lakpa Tharke, stood naked for three minutes in freezing conditions on the 8,850 metre summit of the world’s highest peak.
If confirmed, he would be the first person known to have stripped atop Everest, which is considered by Nepali Buddhists as a god.
I have two questions:
- Why hasn’t anyone done this before?
- Why do it anyway? It’s freezing up there!
I should know – I was at 4000 metres in the Everest area in January and the top is at 8848 metres and far, far colder than where I was! (Read about my trekking adventure in the archives of this blog).
Just thinking about the effects on certain parts of the body at that altitude brings tears to the eyes and numbs the mind (not to mention other things!)
To read the whole ABCNews Online story click here.
More Deaths on Everest
In the news today is the story of two more deaths on Mt Everest. This time it was experienced Australian climber Lincoln Hall who died while descending from the summit of Mount Everest. Fellow climber Thomas Weber also died after turning back from an attempt to reach the summit.
This comes only a few days after the controversial death of a British climber, left to die by other climbers who allegedly made no rescue attempt. This group of climbers included double amputee, New Zealander Mark Inglis. Mark has received sharp criticism from Sir Edmund Hillary, the first to successfully climb to the top of the world.
To read the story on ABCNews Online click here.
Postscript: CORRECTION
Good news: more recent updates from Everest have announced that Lincoln Hall has, in fact, survived and is receiving medical attention.
To read about my trekking adventures in the Everest region last January, go to the Archives section on the right and scroll down to the January posts.
Quick trip to Karoonda
Keith woke me up early this morning when he rang at 7:30am. Actually – I was already awake and trying to convince myself that the morning was really quite nice and wasn’t at all frosty outside. He rang to tell me that he had a job for me. Keith is a close friend and runs a courier business here in Murray Bridge. He regularly calls on me to be his relief driver. This job was a little different. A parcel should have been delivered yesterday to a business in Karoonda, a small Murray Mallee farming community about 65 km east of here. Keith asked if I could deliver it as soon as possible. That got me going, in spite of the chill in the air.
My wife decided to join me for the drive and we also took her mother with for the drive. Mother doesn’t get out all that much these days. This delivery job was work, but very pleasant work I might say. Being a relief driver for Keith is sometimes hard work, because some days are very busy and some of the parcels are quite heavy.
This parcel was small and only weighed a few kilograms. I had delivered it to the business concerned soon after 9 o’clock. On the return journey we detoured via Tailem Bend. We had packed morning tea before leaving. We drove down to the picnic area on the bank of the River Murray. We sat there for nearly an hour having a cuppa and some biscuits. While there we were entertained by a large variety of birds, including a flock of about 300 Silver Gulls.
Driving in the Adelaide Hills
This morning we did a few jobs around our daughter’s house and garden before heading home to Murray Bridge. We left after lunch. A short distance out of Clare we stopped at a native plant nursery at the little town of Watervale. I like indulging my wife in this way as she always enjoys looking at what is for sale and searching out some little treasure that she needs to add to her collection.
Perfect Autumn Day
It was a perfect South Australian autumn day today. Bright sunshine, no clouds, gentle breeze and a temperature of about 19 degrees. And I didn’t have to go to work. Actually, the trip meant little writing time was available today, but the relaxation factor was of paramount importance. Along the way we enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The green pastures springing up along the way promise a good year for the farmers. The changing colours of the autumn leaves in the fruit orchards and vineyards of the Barossa Valley wine growing area add massive splashes of colour everywhere. The ever present towering River Red Gums throughout the journey complete the idyllic setting.
Different Route
One aspect of visiting our daughter in the Clare Valley is the choices one has about the route taken. On most occasions we travel one route on the way and a completely different one on the way home. We have a choice of four main routes, each with several little variations. When we have time to spare we choose to go a different route each way. Distance and time are not always the determining factors; we usually choose variety.
This time we came home via Greenock, Tanunda, Angaston and Springton, one of the most beautiful drives in the Adelaide Hills. At Mt. Pleasant we turned off to take the Walker Flat road. This is an interesting variation on the route home. The road meanders through sheep and cattle grazing land and follows the ridge-top of the hills in that area. About half way along the road quickly drops down to the plains that surround the Murray River valley. Here there is still sheep and cattle farming, but far more cereal grain production, especially wheat.
Jamestown South Australia
Today we travelled north of Clare to the rural town of Jamestown. Family visiting time. We had lunch with my wife’s niece, her husband and three children – all under three years of age. That’s courage. That’s commitment. The twins are growing rapidly; they are nearly 18 months old. And their brother is almost three and quite the little man about the house.
Two Year Old anctics
I helped his father, Steve, putting up a new fence. Young Riley needed quite a few reminders that the posts were being set in cement and that they shouldn’t be moved in any way. Try telling that to an over-active two-almost three year old! Taking to a post one is trying to set in cement with a hammer is NOT recommended. Later in the afternoon my wife’s sister and brother in law came over from Peterborough for the evening. A very pleasant evening of catching up with family. We left quite a bit later than I thought we would and it was quite frosty on the way home.
Nocturnal bird sightings
As we neared Clare I was suddenly aware of a rabbit sitting on the edge of the road, but I quickly realised it wasn’t a rabbit as it flew off. By its colouration and size it must have been a Southern Boobook Owl. Good sighting. Reminds me of the sighting of a Spotted Nightjar on the way home from Geranium last week. Another great sighting and the kind one doesn’t get everyday.