Our last hike was through Altai Tavan Bogd national park to Malchin Uul, a sacred mountain. Tavan Bogd means Five Saints and refers to the highest peaks there: a tantalising curtain of rock behind the huge and graceful Potanin glacier, on the border with Russia and China. At 4,050 metres, Malchin is the baby of the five; the only one that can be climbed without specialist equipment, its bewitching curves covered in scree from the fracturing of the weather.
Traditionally in Mongolia, mountain guides are male but as our trip progressed Oyunaa became determined to climb. Especially when told by guides we met along the way that the mountain didn’t want her because she was a girl; that she would bring bad luck. Oyunaa was having none of it.
Category: Asia (Page 1 of 11)
Reuters is reporting that China has unveiled its ambitions to extend President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic by developing shipping lanes opened up by global warming. The Chinese are calling it the Polar Silk Road.
“China hopes to work with all parties to build a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through developing the Arctic shipping routes,” the paper, issued by the State Council Information Office, said.
China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in the polar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013.
Among its increasing interests in the region is its major stake in Russia’s Yamal liquefied natural gas project which is expected to supply China with four million tonnes of LNG a year, according to the state-run China Daily.
Shipping through the Northern Sea Route would shave almost 20 days off the regular time using the traditional route through the Suez Canal, the newspaper reported last month. COSCO Shipping has also previously sailed vessels through the Arctic’s northeast passage.
Updated 2021.03.09
The excellent Mark Horrell looks at recent scientific research on success and death rates on the world’s highest mountain »
Once a year (except this year, obviously), there is an Everest feeding frenzy as traditional and social media sink their teeth into the latest Everest season, producing an avalanche of opinion about how overcrowded and easy Everest is to climb these days.
Barring a few lone voices, such as the excellent Alan Arnette whose annual Everest coverage has become the unrivalled source of contemporary Everest history and commentary, rarely does anyone delve into the data to try to connect opinion with reality.
Which is why I was very excited to see a paper entitled Mountaineers on Mount Everest: Effects of age, sex, experience, and crowding on rates of success and death published on the open-access scientific journal PLOS ONE last week. …
Here are some of the things we now understand better »
- Summit success is becoming more likely
- Women are more likely to summit and less likely to die
- Success rates plummet after age 40
- Previous experience at high altitude counts
- Experience matters less now than it used to
- Everest is becoming safer
- …
Climb higher into the Mark Horrel’s post.
A morning shot of Fairy Meadows and Nanga Parbat. » Photography by Imrankhakwani
- Mount Everest
» 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level
» Located on the border between Nepal and the autonomous region of Tibet (OpenStreetMap / Google Maps)
» First summitted by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953 - K2
» Also known as Mount Godwin-Austen or Chhogori
» 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level
» Located on the border between China and Pakistan (OpenStreetMap / Google Maps)
» First summitted gy Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni in 1954 - Kangchenjunga
» Located on the border between Nepal and India, approximately 125 kilometres from Everest (OpenStreetMap / Google Maps)
» At elevation of 8,586 metres (28,169 ft), it is the second highest mountain in the Himalayas
» First summitted by Joe Brown and George Brand in 1955 Continue reading
Did Irvine and Mallory climb Everest? Archie Price Siddiqui investigates
This short video was produced and presented by Archie Price Siddiqui for a school project.
Officially speaking, the first successful Everest climbers were Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Archie had a some help from Terry Abraham, the Mountain Heritage Trust, the BMC, the Alpine Club, Leo Houlding, Julie Summers and Dave Hahn (US Mountain Guide, journalist & Lecturer).
Filmed by Terry Abraham.
Many little girls dream of one day being on top of the world, but Mexican climber Viridiana Álvarez Chávez grew up and actually did so.
In an incredible one year and 364 days, she scaled three peaks to achieve an adventurous Guinness World Records title.
In an admirable display of strength and determination, she has broken the record for the fastest ascent of the top three highest mountains with supplementary oxygen (female).
Viridiana’s journey started with Everest (8,848 meters; 29,029 feet high) on May 16, 2017, followed by K2 (8,611 meters; 28,251 feet) on July 21, 2018, and finished at Kangchenjunga (8,856 meters; 28,169 feet) on May 15, 2019.
Why Everest Isn't Earth’s Highest Mountain... sorta
Mount Everest is Chomolungma (ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ-Tibetan) “Goddess Mother of the World” or Sagarmatha (सगरमाथा-Nepali) “Sky Head” or “Peak of Heaven”.
It was named “Mount Everest” in 1865 to honour British surveyor Colonel Sir George Everest, who served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843.
This video documents the 3,000 km ride that cyclists took in 2019 from Leh in Ladakh, India to Kathmandu in Nepal.
Along the way they pedalled over passes as high as 5,000 meters, spun past remote forts and Gompas (Buddhist Monasteries), visited heavenly Himalayan hill stations, and marvelled at the snow-capped mountain views.
Cycling the Trans-Himalaya
Follow this link for more details about the Trans-Himalaya cycle tour.
Rebecca McPhee » ExplorersWeb »
At the end of June, Karlis Bardelis, 34, became the first person to row from South America to Asia. The Latvian left La Punta, Peru in July, 2018 and reached Pontian, Malaysia, one year and 11 months later — 715 days, to be precise.
He stopped at seven islands and contended with sharks, gales and some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. In all, he rowed over 26,000km. The mammoth solo row is just one leg of his plan to circumnavigate the entire world using only human power. His challenge is now on pause due to the travel restrictions currently in place.
» Follow Karlis Bardelis and his adventures at his website Bored of Borders