Deadly Everest Airplane Crash

by Josh Lew on

A Yeti Airlines Twin-Otter plane carrying sixteen passengers and three crew members crashed at a remote airstrip in Nepal yesterday morning, local time. The plane’s wheel became entangled in a security fence as it was landing at the trekking base of Lukla, about 30 miles from Mount Everest. 18 people, including a group of 12 German trekkers, were killed. Only the pilot survived, though he remains in critical condition at an area hospital. Passengers waiting for other planes were first on the scene, but they were ill-equipped to fight the fire that had broken out on impact. By the time it was finally extinguished, everyone in the passenger cabin was beyond help.

The crash was initially blamed on poor visibility. It was quite foggy at the time of the crash, though two similar planes had already landed at the airstrip that morning. The government has promised a full investigation. The team looking into the disaster will be headed by the country’s attorney general. The airport is located at 2500 meters above sea level and many people say it is ill-equipped to handle the heavy traffic it sees during trekking and climbing season.

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Olympic torch on top of Mount Everest. Yes, burning.

by Iva Skoch on

Politics aside, this is actually pretty spectacular. Chinese mountaineering team, including a woman from Tibet, took the Olympic flame to the top of the world today, AP reports.

The team used torches designed by rocket scientists to take the flame to the peak of Mount Everest. Fueled by propane, the flame burned brightly in the frigid, windy, oxygen-thin Himalayan air thanks to technology that keeps rocket motors burning in the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The flame was carried most of the way in a special metal canister. As the team neared the summit, they used a wand to pass the flame to the torch.

Wow. All this effort just to say “we did it.”

The Mount Everest climbers were struggling for breath in a live television broadcast as five torchbearers each shuffled a few feet before passing on the flame to the next person. The final torchbearer, a Tibetan woman named Cering Wangmo, stood silently on the peak with her torch while other team members unfurled small Chinese and Olympic flags. They then clustered together, cheering “We made it,” and “Beijing welcomes you.”

One would almost think that China and Tibet are best friends. Almost.

How Convenient: A Highway to Mount Everest

by Iva Skoch on

As if Mount Everest isn’t getting enough traffic and trash….China announced it would start building a highway right up to the base camp at 5,200 meters (17,000 feet) next week, the Guardian reports. They want to get it completed by next year’s Olympic Games to accommodate the influx of tourists.

Ain’t a “free” market economy grand?

Not only that, in preparation for the Olympics, China has also designed the most far-reaching Olympic torch route in history: 85,000-mile, 130-day relay crossing five continents and scaling the 8,850-meter peak of Mount Everest.

What’s next? A lift up to the top?

Sir Edmund Hillary Blasts Climbers Who Failed to Assist Dying Man

by Karen Walrond on

Erik Olsen told use yesterday of the three climbers who died on Everest recently — and Sir Edmund Hillary, the first climber to summit Everest, had strong words to say about it.

Sir Hillary today said that he was shocked that dozens of other climbers left a British mountaineer, David Sharp, to die while on their own treks on the mountain.  Apparently more than 40 other climbers are thought to have seen Sharp as he lay dying of oxygen deficiency.

“Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain,” said Hillary in an interview with the New Zealand press.