Summit Murder Mystery Series

By   RAJNEESH BHANDARI MAY 6, 2017 Continue reading the main story Share This Page Share Tweet Email More Save Photo Min Bahadur Sherchan in Kathmandu, Nepal, in April, describing the trail to Mount Everest. Credit Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal — An octogenarian Nepalese mountaineer who was on a mission to reclaim his title as the oldest climber on Mount Everest died on Saturday afternoon at base camp, government officials said. The climber, Min Bahadur Sherchan, 85, died at 5:14 p.m., said Dinesh Bhattarai, the director general of the Nepal Department of Tourism. The cause of Mr. Sherchan’s death was not immediately clear, but Gyanendra Shrestha, a government mountaineering official at the Everest base camp, said it might have been a heart attack. Tilak Ram Pandey, a government liaison officer for Mr. Sherchan’s team who was near the base camp, said Mr. Sherchan’s body would be taken to Kathmandu for an autopsy on Sunday. M...

We’d hacked and slashed our way through the jungle, inch by inch, for the better part of three hours. Every step we’d taken had been earned, from the trailhead at the base of the Andes range where the Peruvian jeep convoy dropped off our thirty-man detachment alongside the Urubamba River, to where we stood now a few miles into the Amazon. Although not exactly technically challenging by a seasoned climbers standards, the combination of the slight incline, humidity and exertion of hiking through the dense bush over the last few miles had even the most hardened member of our escort dripping sweat and feeling it now. There was no other option thought. In order to maintain the element of surprise, it had been determined as the only acceptable route of approach.  “A few clicks out, if the Intel was good.” Alex said as he trudged along next to me, wiping the sweat from his brow and swatting the buzzing insects away with his shemagh.   “Hope we aren’t too late.” I said, som...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...