Posts

Showing posts from 2016

A Woman Who Has Climbed Mt. Everest Shares 4 Secrets That Will Help You Reach Your Fitness Goals

Image
I don’t really know what comes to mind for you when you think of a very fit person, but I’m pretty sure that you will not disagree with me when I say that any person who climbs Mt. Everest is likely to be fit… like scarily fit. Having conquered Mt. Everest six times, professional mountain climber Melissa Arnot knows a thing or two about getting fit. Having also set a world record for being the first woman to successfully climb the mountain without using supplemental oxygen, there is no denying that Arnot is basically the definition of #fitspo. In a rare interview with POPSUGAR , Arnot shared some seriously good tips for how normal people, like you and I, can reach our fitness goals. You may not be climbing the tallest mountain the the world, but no matter if your goal is to run 2km without stopping, complete a marathon, or go on a challenging weekend hike, these tips will help you to get there. 1. Set small goals For Arnot, climbing Ev...

'Standing on top of Mt Everest was my life's best moment'

Image
Shantha Thiagarajan K Sivakumar , havildhar attached to the Madras Regimental Centre in Wellington, is the first person in Tamil Nadu to have climbed the Mount Everest as part of an army mountaineering expedition this May. He is presently posted at II Madras in Sikkim. On his first visit, after the expedition, to his home town Lovedale near Ooty, K Sivakumar talks to TOI's Shantha Thiagaragan on his inspiration and challenges faced in climbing Mount Everest. What gave you the inspiration to climb Mount Everest? I joined the army in 2001. In 2004, I was sent to Mountaineering Training School in Gulmarg, Kashmir, for six months training. I passed out with 80 per cent score in the training. Initially, I drew inspiration from other army personnel in the training. But my motivation was heightened when I got posted at the same training school as my instructor for four years. During those years, I got the chance to climb six peaks in Ladak, Utharanjal and Himalay...

'Standing on top of Mt Everest was my life's best moment'

Image
Shantha Thiagarajan K Sivakumar , havildhar attached to the Madras Regimental Centre in Wellington, is the first person in Tamil Nadu to have climbed the Mount Everest as part of an army mountaineering expedition this May. He is presently posted at II Madras in Sikkim. On his first visit, after the expedition, to his home town Lovedale near Ooty, K Sivakumar talks to TOI's Shantha Thiagaragan on his inspiration and challenges faced in climbing Mount Everest. What gave you the inspiration to climb Mount Everest? I joined the army in 2001. In 2004, I was sent to Mountaineering Training School in Gulmarg, Kashmir, for six months training. I passed out with 80 per cent score in the training. Initially, I drew inspiration from other army personnel in the training. But my motivation was heightened when I got posted at the same training school as my instructor for four years. During those years, I got the chance to climb six peaks in Ladak, Utharanjal and Himalaya ...

Scientists trek to Everest to unlock mysteries of the brain

Image
by Suzanne Ahearne Monks with EEG monitors. Credit: University of Victoria For decades, scientists have brought monks and others into their labs to measure their brain activity while meditating. Now, for the first time, scientists trekked to the remote Mt. Everest region of Nepal to record the brain activity of meditating Tibetan Buddhist monks in their own monasteries. They came back with new findings about the human brain—and the benefits of meditation. The study was conducted in May of this year as par...

8 Things I Learned From Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Image
Maria Popo President of a Tech Company. Founder of a Non-Profit. Leader of the Unnervingly Brilliant. I recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the seven summits and the highest peak in Africa at 19,341 feet. Here are my post-climb observations. 8. Climbing one of the seven summits makes you “skinny.” I wanted to be sure I could physically make it to the top of the mountain and survive the experience, so I became a running, spinning, kickboxing, weightlifting fool for at least eight weeks before the climb. I lost over ten pounds finally becoming my version of skinny. 7. Climbing one of the seven summits makes you cool. You’re cool if you do something that seems slightly stupid and physically difficult, so upon my return I posted photos of the trek. The unanimous feedback was that I am incredibly impressive and inspirational! 6. Skinny and cool lasts less than six weeks. The weight is now back. My social media friends have since moved o...

Bodies of world-class climber, cameraman may have been found 16 years later

Image
By Madison Park , CNN Sixteen years after Alex Lowe, a world-class climber, and David Bridges, a cameraman, were struck by an avalanche in a Tibetan mountain, their bodies may have been found encased in blue ice.  Alex Lowe was a world-renowned alpinist -- many regarded him as the world's best climber at the time. He climbed Mount Everest twice, the Matterhorn and also scaled El Capitan in Yosemite 16 times. Avalanche strike He's climbed world's tallest peaks, sailed seven seas   In October 5, 1999, Lowe and Bridges were on a hike to check out a possible location they had hoped to ski on Shishapangma, the 14th highest mountain in the world, according to Outside Magazine . But that day, a massive avalanche struck and swept them away. Their companions on the hike, including climber Conrad Anker, searched for the pair, but never found them.    Sixteen years had passed when last Wednesday, Anker received a call from...

9 things no one ever tells you about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

Image
By Jo Piazza Mt. Kilimanjaro is a climb of 19,340 feet through all kinds of terrain and vastly fluctuating temperatures.  When my husband-to-be asked what I wanted to do for our honeymoon, I was stumped. I’m a travel editor. I’d traveled all over the world. We’d met in the Galapagos. How do you top that? Do you even try? We both love adventure and the outdoors, and we wanted a once-in-a-lifetime trip that would leave us with a sense of accomplishment, not just a tan. Then one night it hit me: “We’ll climb a mountain!” What better way to start a marriage than by scaling a high peak together? How symbolic. I paused and added, “What mountain can we climb without a lot of training or ropes?” Related Image There are plenty of mountains where you can do that in the U.S.; Colorado...

For the love of reading they scaled tallest peak

Image
Staff Reporter /Sharjah Rashid Al Kous holds the flag of the Knowledge without Borders and a '1001 Titles' logo at the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, which is located at a height of 5,895 metres in Africa. (Supplied photo) Reading initiative flag hoisted at Mt Kilimanjaro A team from the Knowledge without Borders (KWB) has raised a flag of the organisation and a '1001 Titles' logo at the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. The event took place following a five-day trip undertaken by the team with Shaikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Corporation, and Mohammed Khalaf, Director of Sharjah TV and Radio. Rashid Al Kous, General Manager of Knowledge without Borders who raised the flag, said: "I am extremely proud of Sharjah's achievements in supporting education, knowledge and culture under the directives of His Highness Dr Shaikh Su...

Hyderabad girl becomes youngest Everest guide

Image
Updated Mar 15, 2016, 10:33 am IST At 14, Hyderabadi mountaineer Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru is the youngest Indian guide at the Everest Base Camp.  Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru Hyderabad’s Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru, who aims to become the youngest girl to scale the Seven Summits, has broken many records. Now the 14-year-old mountaineer has set another record by becoming the youngest Indian guide at the Everest Base Camp (17,598 ft). “I have also created a new record as a guide by escorting a 10-year-old girl and her mother to the base camp successfully,” she says. “Guiding to the Everest Base camp is not an easy task when your clients are beginners, first timers or are very young. As a guide, you must be very calm and look into the safety of the clients in any situation,” says Jaahnavi adding, We must maintain the same pace as the client and make them comfortable.” Jaahnavi decided to condition herself before attempting scaling Mt Ev...

On road to Mt. Everest

Image
Ever since George Mallory’s expeditions in the early 1920s and Edmund Hillary-Tensing Norgay’s successful summit in 1953, Mount Everest has captivated thousands of passionate mountaineers. While climbing Everest still remains an impossible dream for most, trekking to the Everest base camp has become an achievable goal. Everest base cEver since George Mallory’s expeditions in the early 1920s and Edmund Hillary-Tensing Norgay’s successful summit in 1953, Mount Everest has captivated thousands of passionate mountaineers. While climbing Everest still remains an impossible dream for most, trekking to the Everest base camp has become an achievable goal. amp (EBC) trek is a feat that involves 10 days of arduous journey on foot, covering a distance of about 60 km one way, starting at 9,350 ft and reaching an impressive altitude of 17,598 ft. We set off with high spirits from Bengaluru and our fir...

More than a mountaineer

Image
Himalayan News Service   National Geographic selects adventurers from different parts of the globe every year as the Adventurers of the Year. Selection is based on a person’s extraordinary achievement in exploration, adventure sports, conservation, or humanitarianism. And calling Sherpa Akita “one of Nepal’s rising stars in climbing immersed herself in earthquake relief efforts, showing her courage both on and off the mountain” National Geographic chose her as one of the 10 Adventurers of the Year 2016. Among these nominees, one will be chosen as the winner of People’s Choice. For that you will need to vote for Sherpa Akita everyday through January 31, 2016. You can go to the link below and vote for her: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/…/vote/pasang-lhamu/ Courtesy: Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita Kathmandu There was a thunderous sound and she saw clouds of powder falling towards them. They ran in the house for safety. This was on April 25, w...