Summit Murder Mystery Series

By  Paul Dworin   Mt. Everest  will soon become more accessible to adventurers with the construction of a 65-mile highway linking the village of Jiri to Lukla—considered the gateway to Mt. Everest. Despite the good news, however, the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, continues to suffer the side effects of climate change. And, as Kathmandu is the nation’s production and consumption center, any climate-related hazards impacting daily life there will have a spillover effect on the rest of this poor Himalayan nation. Nepal’s glaciers have lost about a third of their ice reserves since 1977, according to Bloomberg News . The ice melt is having a serious impact on the weather, as glaciers impact climate dynamics such as the high-altitude jet streams that can bring monsoons or prolong droughts. “It’s affecting daily life,” said Ram Sharan Mahat, Nepal’s finance minister, who projects just a one-half percent economic growth this year due to the...

  by Kevin S. Held Bob Wheeler, right, and his son, Jack Wheeler, at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) WEBSTER GROVES, MO (KTVI) – The Guinness Book of World Records certified an 85-year-old Webster Groves man as the oldest person to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday . Bob Wheeler reached the top of the 19,340-foot mountain on October 2, 2014 , along with his son, Jack. Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania, is the highest peak on the African continent and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. It took him five days to make the trek, according to the Guinness World Records website . Wheeler has also climbed Mt. Fuji in Japan and Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina. He published a book on mountain climbing in 2010. Wheeler is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point and a retired lieutenant colonel. For more information about the Summit Murder ...

Posted by PeterGreenberg.com   It’s a new year, and that means it’s time to find new travel inspiration. With topics varying from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to volunteering around the world to back-alley Vietnamese adventures, we found eight travel memoirs coming out this year you won’t want to miss. Displacement: A Travelogue  by Lucy Knisley – February 8, 2015 Lucy Knisley is a graphic memoirist and travelogue cartoonist with all the witty charm of a modern, twentysomething woman. In this story, Knisley paints the adventures of her volunteer travels aboard a cruise ship to watch over her ailing grandparents. Wide Open World: How Volunteering Around the Globe Changed One Family’s Lives Forever  by John Marshall – February 10, 2015 John Marshall, a middle-aged man in a deteriorating twenty-year marriage and father to two teenagers lost in their own worlds, decided to take his family on a trip around the world to reconnec...

  Dana al- Anzy, a Georgetown University in Qatar ( GU-Q ) student has become the first Qatari woman to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the world’s tallest free standing mountain. The Culture and Politics sophomore was part of a 12-person team of young Qataris and expats, including 3 guides, working to raise money for the “Elevate to Educate” expedition to build and renovate schools in Gaza through Reach out to Asia (Rota). The team was organised by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah al- Thani, who last year became the first Qatari to climb Mount Everest. “Dana's climb demonstrates one of Georgetown's core values: "women and men for others". Her selfless climb to raise funds for Rota's Elevate to Educate exemplifies commitment to improving our shared world. The entire GU-Q community is proud of Dana’s achieveme...

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...

Webster resident Robert J. Wheeler becomes oldest person to reach mountain's summit by Linda Jarrett Robert J. Wheeler and his son Jack at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. photo courtesy of Robert Wheeler ( click for larger version ) What do octogenarians do to keep in shape? Swim? Run marathons? Not Webster Groves resident Robert J. Wheeler. He climbs mountains. Wheeler, 85, recently returned from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak at 19,340, and will soon be listed in the Guinness World Records as the oldest person to reach the summit. Enjoying a well-earned rest in his Webster Groves century home, Wheeler, who returned Oct. 7, said he wanted to "demonstrate to people that they don't have to become couch potatoes just because they're old." Wheeler gave two reasons for doing this particular climb. In 2010, he published a book, "Mountains and Minds," that alternates chapters wi...

'I'm incredibly proud' says father of Wembley quadruplets set to climb Kilimanjaro for disabled children charity Bindya, Vanisha, Urvashi and Vinay, all 17, are setting off for Africa this month and have already raised thousands of pounds. The four 17-year-old Wembley-based Varsanis who are quadruplets about to climb Kilimanjaro. Quadruplets are to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for a disabled children’s charity. The four 17-year-old Wembley -based Varsani’s, named Bindya, Vanisha, Urvashi and Vinay set off for Africa on August 22. To date, they have raised £2,108 for Friends of Kera, a charity which works to help disadvantaged and disabled children in providing them with wheel chairs, hearing aids, braille and organises events to raise awareness of their needs. Their father and IT technician Jay said: “I am incredibly proud of them. “At their age, to go to Africa and climb Kilimanjaro, it is a big challenge...