1996 Everest Disaster Survivor Retraces Climb to Make Peace with the Mountain

Back then, Beidleman was working as a guide under his close friend and seasoned mountaineer Scott Fischer. Fischer died on that mountain and was buried there. Beidleman said he never truly understood what happened and that the tragedy nagged at him.

Neal Beidleman with Everest Photographs

Fingers were pointed in numerous directions and many were blamed for what happened that day but there were only words of praise for Beidleman, who went up as a mountaineer and came down a hero. Beidleman himself doesn’t see it that way.

For years, Beidleman was in high demand to speak about the lessons he had learned on Everest, about team building, about taking risks and living with the consequences, and about how disasters are rarely caused by one single action or one single person but often a cascading series of bad luck and bad choices. He also talked about second chances.On Everest, even the smallest of details matter. Every footstep holds the possibility of disaster.

It’s the kind of place where really catastrophic things can happen and you can’t see them coming.Part of the problem is the air. At altitudes like this — the Everest peak in 29,028 feet — the oxygen is so thin the brain gets foggy and judgments cloud.

 

Siachin Glacier – Against All Odds

The Siachen Glacier is one of the most inhospitable and glaciated regions in the world. Sliding down a valley in the Karakoram Range, the glacier is 76 kilometers long and varies in width between 2 to 8 kilometers. It receives an annual snowfall of more than 35 feet. Blizzards can last 20 days. Winds reach speeds of 125 miles per hour. Temperatures can plunge to minus 60 degrees. For these reasons, the Siachen Glacier has been called the ‘Third Pole.

Map Siachen Glacier and other regions

Siachin Glacier For more than 17 blustery, shivering years, the Indian and Pakistani armies have been fighting a “No-Win” war on the 20,000-foot-high Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battleground. Pakistan, like India, has about 10,000 soldiers camped on this glacier. For a soldier, this is where hell freezes over.

An avalanche smashed into a Pakistani army base on a Himalayan glacier along the Indian border on Saturday, burying around 100 soldiers. Both India and Pakistan should vacate the glacier instead open this for mountaineering enthusiast, that ways we will save many life on both the sides.

 

Backpacks Infographic: How to Find the Right Backpack

Checkout  backpacks and other adventure gear …..next time you head outdoors!

 

How to Dress in Layers for Upcoming Trekking in Summers

Changuch Peak in the Clouds and Our Basecamp

Comfortable Outdoors

Layering is the tried and tested method for comfortable outdoors by Mountaineers for long time. The beauty of this simple concept is that it allows you to make quick adjustments based on your activity level and changes in the weather.

So, lets understand what exactly layering for comfortable outdoors really means. While wearing clothes for outdoors they are used in three basic layers

1. Base Layer – near to the skin, manages moisture

2. Insulation Layer – protects from cold

3 Shell or Outer Layer – protects from Wind or Rain

Base Layer:

This Layer is next to your skin and helps in regulate your body temperature by moving perspiration away from your body. Keeping dry is important for maintaining a cool body temperature in the summer and avoiding hypothermia in the winter. If you have ever used a cotton T under your rain cover while hiking or trekking, you will get wet not from outside but from inside.

Base Layer

Cotton is not the good material for this clothing layer instead synthetic fabrics like MTS, Capilene, PowerDry and CoolMax polyester or Silk.

 Insulation Layer – protects from cold

The insulating layer helps you retain heat by trapping air close to your body. Fleece vests, jackets and tights are classic examples of insulation ideal for outdoor activities and for more extreme conditions feather jackets are most appropriate. Down has a very good warmth:weight ratio, and can be packed down (squeezed) to take very little room but are very costly.

They not only trap air but are also made with moisture transferring fibers to help keep you dry.

Shell or Outer Layer – protects from Wind or Rain

The outermost clothes are called the shell layer, they block wind or water and have good mechanical strength. Ideally the shell layer clothes are breathable i.e they lets moisture through to the outside while not letting wind and water pass through from the outside to the inside.

Gore Tex

Gore Tex is extensively used for outer layer and it is Waterproof and breathable made of the very strong fabrics. It is founded by W. L. Gore & Associates and they are best known for their this product which is used in various world leading brands.

During Stok Kangri (6153Mts) Expedition I used The North Face – GoreTex Jacket