Happy birthday King Wangchuck and other national holidays

by Sean McLachlan on

Going to a far-flung destination and want to connect with the people and see something special? One easy way is through local and national holidays. These are often unique to a particular country and provide insights into its culture and history. But it can often be hard to find out what’s going on next week in Tuvalu.

The Holidays Around the World blog is your answer, providing daily updates on all the major happenings. Today, for example, is the birthday of the fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. He abdicated last year, but his birthday is still a national holiday. The website does more than list holidays, it goes into detail about what you can expect while you’re there. Today the people of Bhutan are celebrating by eating emadatse (chili pepper and cheese stew) and chang (warm beer made from barley, millet or rice). If it’s anything like Tibetan chang, be careful. With the high altitudes in the Himalayas this stuff gave me the worst hangover I’ve ever had.

November 11 is, of course, the anniversary of the end of the First World War. The ceasefire started on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. The soldiers on both sides knew it was coming, but instead of keeping a low profile until the war officially ended, they blasted away at each other with a massive artillery barrage. People are weird. This holiday is known as Armistice Day in France, Remembrance Day in Canada, and a more general Veterans Day in the United States.

So head on over to this cool little blog, and don’t forget to dance in the streets tomorrow to celebrate Azerbaijan’s Constitution Day.

Climate change bugs climbers on Everest

by Kraig Becker on

In another ominous sign of global climate change, climbers on Mount Everest are reporting that they are finding house flies in Base Camp for the first time. According to this story from The Guardian, the insects began appearing earlier this year, catching mountaineers, including the Sherpas who call the Himalaya home, completely off guard.

Everest BC sits at 5360 meters (17,585 feet), an altitude that was considered too cold and in hospitable for most bugs in the past. But the appearance of the insects was just another indicator of the impact of global warming on the Khumbu Valley, which has seen its glaciers recede at a rate of 10-20 meters per year. Further evidence can also be found in the mountain villages, where water sources are running dry, forcing inhabitants to hike miles each day for supplies.

These changes are having a direct impact on the tourism to the region as well. Each year, hundreds of climbers come to Everest to make an attempt on the world’s tallest mountain, and hundreds more trekkers make the hike up to Base Camp, taking in the mountain scenery that is unmatched anywhere else in the world. But with water supplies dwindling, there is less for the visitors to the Khumbu to drink as well.

Worse yet, the warming is changing the summit of the mountain itself. In the article above, Dawa Sherpa, a mountain guide who has reached the top of the world twice, says that in years past, as many as 50 people could stand on the summit of Everest. Now, fewer than 18 can be at that point at the same time, thanks to the shrinking of the cornice. Worse yet, it is likely to get smaller still in the years ahead.

U.S. Congreswoman’s husband dies on remote Himalayan peak

by Kraig Becker on

Clifton Maloney, the husband of U.S. Representative from New York Carolyn Maloney, has died while climbing in the Himalaya. The millionaire investment banker was 71 years old, and was on Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world, reaching 26,906 feet in height.

Maloney was described as an avid adventurer who was into running, sailing, and climbing. He had competed in the New York City Marathon on 20 occasions and climbed all over the world. After successfully summitting Cho Oyu, he gained the distinction of being the oldest person to achieve that feat.

Following that successful summit, Maloney and his team descended to one of their prepared high camps to rest after a long day at altitude. Reportedly he told one of the other climbers “I am the happiest man in the world. I just climbed a beautiful mountain” before crawling into his sleeping bag for the night. He never woke up, and at this time the exact cause of his death is still unknown.

Located just 12 miles west of Mount Everest, Cho Oyu falls on the border between Nepal and Tibet, and despite its height, it is generally considered the easiest of the fourteen 8000 meter peaks. Because of this, there are numerous guided expeditions to the mountain each year. Maloney was climbing as part of one of these professional expeditions.

Maloney is survived not only by his wife, but two daughters, his mother and sister.

China closes Tibet once again

by Kraig Becker on

China has once again closed off the borders of Tibet to foreign travelers ahead of the October 1st holiday celebrating 60 years of Communist rule. According to this story from the Associated Press, the travel ban went into effect on Tuesday and is expected to last at least until the 8th October and is the result of fears of protests and demonstrations in the Himalayan state. The article says that while no new visitors are being allowed in, travelers already in Tibet have been allowed to stay.

Besides shutting down the borders, security has also been increased across the country, particularly in the larger urban centers such as Lhasa. These measures have become common place in recent months, starting with a crackdown in March of 2008, following a series of riots, that left the country shut off to the rest of the world for months. The Chinese claim that 22 people were killed during that incident, but Tibetan nationals claim that that number is in the hundreds. Beijing made the same move in February of this year out of fears of further protests around the 50th anniversary of the exile of the Dalai Lama.

The economic impact of shutting down the borders is felt directly by the Tibetan people, many of whom make their living in the tourist trade. Autumn is traditionally the second busiest time of the year for tourism in Tibet, with trekkers and mountaineers visiting the country following the departure of the summer monsoon. According to the AP story, the effects are already being felt, with foreign visitors to local hotels already down 20%-30%.

Hopefully the October 1st holiday comes and goes without incident and the borders reopen on schedule on the 8th.

North Face Triology Expedition Underway on Cho Oyu

by Kraig Becker on

In the High Himalaya the Monsoon has moved on at last and the fall climbing season is well underway, with mountaineering teams already taking up position on the world’s highest peaks as they prepare to make their climbs before the frigid winter sets in.

One such expedition, sponsored by gear company The North Face, has set its goals very high. While most are content with reaching the summit on any one of the very tall mountains in the region, which includes Everest, topping out at 29,029 feet. But for the Cho Oyu Trilogy Expedition the summit is just the start of the adventure.

Cho Oyu is the sixth tallest mountain in the world and falls on the border of Nepal and Tibet. It stands 26,906 feet in height, and sits just ten miles to the west of Everest. It is often regarded as the easiest of the fourteen 8000 meter peaks to climb, which may be why the Trilogy team has decided that after they reach the summit, they needed to add a little more excitement to their expedition.

The plan is for climbers Simone Moro, Elizabeth Hawker, Herve Barmasse, and Emilio Prevatali to summit the mountain along two different routes. Upon reaching the top, Prevatali will climb onto his snowboard and attempt to make his descent along Cho Oyu’s north face, while the rest of the team descends on foot.

Once everyone is safely back in base camp, the second phase of the expedition will begin, with Moro and Hawker putting on running shoes and running all the way back to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, while their companions, Barmasse and Prevatali, make that same journey on mountain bikes. That journey is approximately 275 miles in length, with an average elevation above 15,000 feet, ensuring quite the aerobic workout.

Needless to say, this will be an incredible adventure for the team, and along the way they’ll not only pass through some of the most scenic spots on the planet, they’ll also be exposed to Tibetan culture in the form of tea houses, Buddhist temples, and quaint mountain villages.