Mero Dhangadhi

earthstory:

The Valley of Silence

Nestled below the western face of Chomolungma (The Holy Mother in Tibetan), the tallest peak on Earth, is a beautiful glacial valley also known as the Western Cwm (a Welsh word for a glacial bowl shaped valley, aka a cirque). It was given its poetic name by George Mallory in 1921 on a reconnaissance mission for what would prove to be an ill fated summit attempt. Accessed viathe Khumbu icefall, it is on the route from base camp towards the mountain. Accessed using a chopper as the airpano team did (after repeated attempts were foiled by weather) one gets a very different view, as revealed in the accompanying photo.

The valley has a warm microclimate as the surrounding snowy bowls focus the sun’s rays into the cwm, so despite ranging from 6,000 to 6,800 metres, it can get as warm as 35 Celsius, a bane for struggling mountaineers dressed for the harsher conditions (down to 60 below) that prevail at the roof of the world.

Loz


Image credit: airpano.com

Nepal

house-under-a-rock:

Bernd Zangerl - Himalayas bouldering

photo: Ray Demski

house-under-a-rock:

Ueli Steck bouldering at Annapurna basecamp, Himalayas, Nepal

photo: Dan Patitucci

whenwordsareinadequate:

so many limbs.

The wooden carvings around temples in Kathmandu always fascinate me

cerro-torre:

The Wall

Everest and Lhotse, highest and fourth highest mountains in the world respectively. Few people have attempted climbing Lhotse from this side and many have died trying.

Khumbu Valley, Himalayas Nepal

arjuna-vallabha:

Dancers at Indra jatra hestival, Nepal

Nepal

coffeentrees:

Photo by @argonautphoto (Aaron Huey). Jangbu Sherpa climbs the fixed lines from the top of the Yellow Tower (where two clients can be seen waiting) to Camp 2 on #AmaDablam (#Nepal) at around 20,000 feet (6,000m). Jangbu is one of the brave Sherpas who risk their lives to run ropes and anchors all the way to the summit of mountains like this so that commercial expeditions with little or no mountaineering experience can climb them. Hear about “Why Sherpas Climb” in an @natgeo video in my header at @argonautphoto. #Khumbu by natgeo