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Tag: Nepal

74-year old Rosie Swale Pope restarts her 8,500km run from England to Kathmandu

2021.07.02 /

On June 25th, 2021, at 12 noon, the exuberant 74-year old Rosie Swale Pope restarted her 8,500km run from Brighton, England to Kathmandu, Nepal.

In July 2018, Rosie  started her 8,500km run that would have taken her through 18 countries. But for pandemic, she was ordered to stop her run in Turkey.

Rosie has remained determined to reach Nepal, but instead of continuing on from Turkey, she has restarted from the UK and is taking a different route in an effort to reach Katmandu and raising funds for the “charity PHASE Worldwide who work with remote Nepalese communities.”

Rosie previously ran around the world from 2003 to 2008.

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Video » Why Mount Everest’s height keeps changing

2021.03.18 /

VOX via YouTube »

In December of 2020, China and Nepal made a joint announcement about a new measurement for Mount Everest: 8,849 meters. This is just the latest of several different surveys of Everest since the first measurement was taken in 1855. The reasons why the height has fluctuated have to do with surveying methodology, challenges in determining sea level, and the people who have historically been able to measure Everest.

While Everest is the peak’s English name, the Nepalese have long called it Sagarmatha, and Tibetans call it Chomolungma – “Mother Goddess of the World.”

More » The Story of the First Sherpa to Climb to the Top of Mt. Everest – by Christopher Rand, The New Yorker, May 28, 1954

More » Indian mathematician Radhanath Sikdar first to identify Everest as highest mountain peak – The Economic Times, Jun 01, 2015

How Tall is Mount Everest? It Depends.

2018.04.04 /

The height of Mount Everest is widely recognized as 29,029 feet. But the calculation is inexact and subject to multiple factors.

Teams from around the world, including China, Denmark, Italy, India, and the USA have come up with other calculations, which have sometimes strayed a little bit higher, or a little bit lower, than that figure.

Italy, in 1992, lopped seven feet off the standard height, measuring it at 29,022 feet. In 1999, a measurement by American scientists pushed the peak a little higher, saying the mountain reached 29,035 feet.

Now, for the first time, Nepal is sending a team of surveyors to the summit to settle the “How tall?” question for themselves. More than a little bit of national pride is at stake.

Bhadra Sharma and Kai Schultz, The New York Times:

“Mount Everest is our treasure,” said Buddhi Narayan Shrestha, the former director general of Nepal’s Department of Survey. “What will happen if foreign experts continue to reduce the height of our mountain without us participating?”

Elizabeth Hawley: ‘Chronicler of the Himalayas’ dies at 94

2018.01.26 /

BBC:

Elizabeth Hawley, who chronicled hiking expeditions on the Himalayas for over 50 years, has died in Nepal aged 94.

The US journalist was a leading authority on the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, despite never having reached its base camp.

She was seen as a key person to authenticate climbs, keeping meticulous records and verifying claims about successful expeditions.

And

New rules bar single, blind, and double amputees from climbing Everest

2018.01.02 /

We start off the year with news of new regulations out of Kathmandu, Nepal. The motivation is obviously one of safety, however this will be controversial.

From The Himalayan Times:

The government has revised the Mountaineering Expedition Regulation under the Tourism Act barring people with complete blindness and double amputation, as well as those proven medically unfit for climbing, from attempting to scale mountains.

The Council of Ministers which passed the revised regulation yesterday also stated that Sirdars, mountain guides and high-altitude workers, who accompany expeditions to the top of the climbing peaks, including Mt Everest, shall get summit certificates.

More coverage by Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN:

Nepal has amended its mountaineering regulations, prohibiting foreign individual climbers from scaling all mountains in the country without an escort.

Double amputee and blind climbers are also banned (with the exception of those who obtain medical certificates) as part of the new guidelines, which were implemented in a bid to reduce accidents and climbing-related deaths.

Please tread lightly, pack out your trash, and treat every person and location with respect.

Please do not bury waste or wipes – even those that are biodegradable. Always pack out bags, sanitary wipes, and feminine hygiene products to minimize impact on the environment and the spread of disease.

If you find any errors, have any tips, or see anything that might need improving, please let me know.

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