Summit Murder Mystery Series

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 ...

The San Ramon Valley High School student’s name is displayed on a flag on the world's tallest peak, thanks to a special expedition.   Danville, CA By Bea Karnes (Patch Staff) - How many people reading this have been to Mt. Everest? Sixteen-year-old Alex Maddux, a sophomore at San Ramon Valley High School, hasn’t, but his name is on a flag there. Maddux has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness. A few months ago his mother Kim became aware of an expedition to Everest Base Camp with a flag carrying the names of 1,000 Duchenne patie...

Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Andrea Oschetti/For CNN   Most climbers who try don't succeed in climbing the 29,035-foot-high Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak. But they do leave their tr...

A Hot-Air Balloon Ride Over Mt. Everest Will Cost You $2.6 Million Greg Keraghosian Associate Travel Editor The Everest balloon ride would cost two people $5.215 million. (Courtesy: IfOnly) Is the garden-variety hot-air balloon ride not an exciting enough date for you? Got a few million dollars stashed under your mattress? If so, one man is offering the adventure of a lifetime – possibly a short lifetime. Chris Dewhirst, the man who in 1991 completed the first hot-air balloon ride over Mount Everest is looking for two passengers for his second attempt: it costs over $2.6 million per person . And lest you get cold feet, the trip is non-refundable, with no guarantee of a successful crossing. Pilot Chris Dewhirst, who was aboard the first successful balloon ride over Everest. (Courtesy: IfOnly) Looking down on the frosty peaks of the world’s highest mountain from over 30,000 feet is bound to be worth the price for someone – people ar...

Ranulph Fiennes Unable to Continue Expedition After Developing Frostbite The 68-year-old explorer hoped to become the first person to cross the frozen continent in winter later this year, but pulled out of the journey after suffering the injury during training. A spokesman for the expedition, dubbed the "Coldest Journey on Earth", said Ranulph Fiennes had fallen while skiing in a blizzard and attempted to fix his binding with his bare hands. His five team-mates are attempting to extract him to South Africa, but have agreed to embark on the 2,000-mile without him, beginning on March 21. Tony Medniuk of the Coldest Journey expedition told the BBC: "In seeking to reattach his binding he felt that he couldn't get it on and had to take his glove off in very cold conditions and exposed his hand to snow and as a consequence he has contracted frostbite. "After five years of preparation, a small slip like th...