Top 10 hilarious traveling cat photos

by Annie Scott on

When I took my cat Pistol on the airplane for the first time, it was a pretty crazy experience. From clutching her fearfully through the metal detector to meeting all the kids in the airport lounge, we had a fine — if somewhat stressful — time. Pistol did an outstanding job, and managed to remain adorable throughout the process.

It’s Friday, so I decided to focus my energy on writing about what really matters: traveling cats in their cases. Here are the top ten I found.

Top 10 Traveling Cat Photos!

1. Stitch, by ASurroca

Stitch looks a little less than thrilled about the prospect of travel.2. Truman, by John Morton

Truman is all ears and ready for action. He will wait patiently until you are ready to go spelunking with him.

3. Pirate and Kilgore, by Firepile

These two have been commiserating in their carrier and have decided to let you live if there’s a cheeseburger in it for them.

4. Maine Coon Cat, by Rockmixer

This little geriatric looks like he wants to tell you all about his back problems and make up stories starting with “When I was your age …”

5. Artemis, by A.M. Kuchling

This glamorous feline will continue pouting until she gets her martini and kibble at the hotel.

6. Gus, by Cjc4454

Gus may look like a cautious traveler, but get a little catnip in him and he’ll be the first one to suggest bungee jumping.

7. Mac, by Ewen and Donabel

Mac is king of his carrier and wants to know what time he should be ready for the opera.

8. Molly and Sydney, by SomeToast

Molly and Sydney are travel pros. Molly wishes you’d picked a nicer hotel, but she’ll try to be polite about it.

9. Pajamas, by Bochalla

Pajamas doesn’t know if you knew they were going to put her in the belly of the plane, but she has her suspicions.

10. Meatwad, by Allygirl520

Meatwad wants to tell you how many frequent flier miles he has.

[Top photo by Annie Scott. Additional photos by Flickr users as credited.]

Nepal plots to regain Everest “youngest” record

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday we heard how China was instituting age requirements for mountaineers hoping to climb Everest from the North Side of the mountain. These new restrictions are a direct response to 13-year old Jordan Romero successfully reaching the summit last month, setting off a heated debate in the climbing community about just how young is too young to climb the tallest mountain on the planet.

That debate is sure to get heated all over again, as Himalayan mountain guide Pemba Dorje Sherpa has announced that he is looking for a suitable Nepali child to take to the summit in an effort to break Jordan’s record. He has even gone so far as to say that he may even take his own son to the top of the world. The boy is currently nine years old, but will turn ten before the 2011 spring climbing season, when the expedition is expected to take place.

Dorje says that he feels all climbing records pertaining to Everest should be held by people indigenous to the Himalaya, and the Nepali government seems to agree. The Tourism Ministry in Nepal, which is responsible for issuing climbing passes, has set a requirement that states all climbers must be 16 years of age or older to climb Everest from the South Side, but they have already given the Sherpa permission to proceed with his plans none the less. Dorje is an Everest record holder himself. Back in 2004 he set the speed record for climbing the mountain in just 8 hours and 10 minutes.

This news fuels the fears that many in the climbing community had when they heard that a 13-year old was attempting Everest. The concern has been that younger and younger climbers would continue to climb these very dangerous mountains in an effort to push the “youngest” records even lower. So again, the question is how young is too young?

[Photo credit: Pavel Novak via Wikipedia Commons]

13-year old Jordan Romero summits Everest

by Kraig Becker on

13-year old Jordan Romero reached the summit of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, earlier today, setting a new record for the youngest person to achieve that feat. The successful summit also leaves him just one peak shy of his ultimate goal, to become the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits.

For much of the week, high winds buffeted the mountain, preventing climbers from going to the summit. But today, as predicted, a new weather window opened, granting access to the peak once again. This change in the weather has spurred another round of summit bids from both the north and south sides of the mountain. Jordan, and his team, topped out on the north, or Tibetan, side of Everest.

With Everest now added to his resume, Jordan can now turn his attention to the one mountain that remains on his list of the Seven Summits. This fall, he’ll travel to Antarctica to climb the 16,050 foot tall Mt. Vinson, the tallest peak on that continent. While not nearly as high as Everest, which stands at 29,029 feet, the extreme cold and harsh Antarctic conditions give the mountain its own unique challenges.

Jordan’s summit of Everest wasn’t the only one of note today. Climbing legend Apa Sherpa claimed his 20th summit of the mountain, extending his own record in the process. Apa first climbed Everest back in 1990, and has not failed to reach the top of the mountain in any year since then, an impressive feat of skill and endurance.

Congratulations to both Jordan and Apa on their amazing accomplishments.

Sherpas prepare to clean up Everest

by Kraig Becker on

With the spring climbing season on Mt. Everest in full swing, a special team of 20 Sherpas from Nepal is preparing to mount an expedition of their own. But rather than going to the summit, as most of the other climbers on the mountain are preparing to do, this team hopes to scour the peak, collecting tons of trash and other items from expeditions long past. They even hope to collect the bodies of dead climbers who have been left behind, and them down the mountain at last.

The team, which is led by Namgyal Sherpa, plans to focus on a portion of the mountain above 8000 meters, or 26,242 feet, which is commonly referred to as “The Death Zone.” This section of the mountain is especially dangerous because of the high altitude and extremely thin air, but surprisingly enough, there is still plenty of garbage to be removed, including spent air cylinders, old tents, fuel canisters, ropes, and more.

Namgyal, a seven time Everest summitteer himself, says that the plan is for the team to stay on the South Col for up to a week at a time, making multiple trips into the Death Zone and bringing down as much garbage as they can carry. They expect to collect as much as 6500 pounds of trash in this manner before proceeding down to Base Camp, where they’ll rest up in preparation for another climb. All told, they plan to make three such week-long clean-up missions before the monsoon arrives in early June, marking an end to the climbing season.

While conducting their clean-up duties, the Sherpas intend to bring down several bodies of dead climbers, including those of two rather high profile mountaineers. Namgyal says that they will be removing the body of American mountain guide Scott Fischer, who died on the mountain back in 1996. He also suspects that they’ll find the body of Rob Hall, a Kiwi guide who perished that same year. Fisher and Hall’s stories were made famous with the general public thanks to the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, which told the tale of that tragic day on Everest during which eight people lost their lives. The removal of Fisher and Hall’s bodies will close out a long and painful chapter in Everest history.

In recent years, the Nepali government has enforced strict rules on the climbers requiring them to carry all of their trash off of the mountain when they depart for home. Moving forward, that bodes well for the future of Everest, and thanks to the efforts of these dedicated Sherpa, a lot of old trash is being removed to clean up the mountain for future climbers as well.

Plans to scatter ashes of famous Everest climber canceled

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Earlier this month, Kraig reported on plans to scatter the ashes of famous Mount Everest climber Sir Edmund HIlary at the peak as a final tribute to the famous mountaineer. Now according to the BBC, it appears those plans have been canceled after concerns were raised by the Buddhist community.

Apa Sherpa, who is shooting for a record-breaking 20th climb of Mount Everest, was planning to honor HIlary by bringing his ashes to the top. But a group of Buddhist lamas has warned that doing so would bring bad luck to Everest, a mountain which is considered sacred by local sherpas. It was also feared that leaving the ashes at the summit would set a dangerous precedent, encouraging other climbers to leave remains at the top. Hilary’s ashes will instead be kept at a nearby monastery.

Edmund Hilary passed away in 2008 at the age of 88. He and his sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.