Explore Himalaya is organizing the Everest expedition for a 8 member team comprising of Canadian, American, British ,Omani And Saudi Arabian team members this Spring. The team is being led by Tim Rippel of Peak Freaks Expeditions, a Canadian adventure company.

Tim is a veteran of 27 Himalayan expeditions including Mt. Everest North and South six times and numerous expeditions on Mt. Pumori, Mt. Ama Dablam, Kilimanjaro, South America, Russia, Canadian Rockies, West Coast and Interior, USA and more.

Some of Tim’s Everest experiences have been aired on the international TV networks. He provided footage to National Geographic, the Discovery Channel “Climb for Hope” in 1991, and again currently for “Storm Warning”. In 2000 he was behind the camera for the CBC News world live broadcast “Mt. Everest” from the south side in Nepal.
Among the climbing members are Farouq Alzouman from Saudi Arabia and Sultan Al_Ismaili from Oman who are on a mission is to be the first climber from their respective countries to stand on top of Everest.

The expedition team is being supported by a group of competent climbing Sherpas. The climbing sirdar is the very experienced Dendi Sherpa (to view his Bio – data click here)
For the day-to-day updates on the expedition’s progress you can checkout peak freak’s website www.peakfreaks.com.

Tim Rippel and Dendi Sherpa at Ama Dablam base camp in 2006.

Satellite Phones
We, at Explore Himalaya aspire to make the Himalayan journey of our clients’ smooth, hassle free, enjoyable and memorable. We are always in the lookout for latest products and gadgets that would make your travel into remote pockets of the Himalayas easy and smooth. The satellite phone is one gadget which has proved to be indispensable in this regard. During emergency situations in the high mountains, when life hangs on a balance, satellite phones have been useful in reaching out for help. Satellite phones are also useful keeping in touch with friends and families while traveling in the remote mountains.

The Satellite Phone for Expeditions, Trekking and Tibet Tours : Thuraya SG2520
After searching for an ideal set, we have finally selected the Thuraya SG2520 satellite mobile hand sets, for our trips and expeditions this year. We have chosen this model, because: it has a built in browser (which does not require connection to a laptop or PC to browse the internet), camera of 1 mega pixel and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) phone. It is also quite light and sleek (170g). With the use of this set while traveling in the high mountains away from human habitation, you can stay connected with your family and friends, because the satellite service option in Thuraya SG-2520 allows you to connect with your family and friends (the satellite service option helps you to roam across nearly one third of the globe). Thuraya SG-2520 is GmPRS(Geo Mobile Packet Radio Service) enabled. The embedded micro browser facilitates Internet access. Which means you can enjoy reliable internet access and efficient data transmission at 60/15 kbps using Thuraya’s satellite network. Whether you are traveling in “the roof of the world” (Tibet) or climbing up a 8000+ meters Himalayan peak in Nepal, you can stay in touch with your office or your colleagues via the internet using the Thuraya network. You can make and receive calls, send SMS and e-mails .In addition, the GPS (Global Positioning System) feature in the handset allows users to navigate and find locations, and thus reach destinations quickly and safely. Moreover the phone’s integrated 1.3-megapixel camera allows you to capture special moments and grand sights on your journey to the wilderness of high Himalayan mountains. The Bluetooth technology allows you to recode sounds as well.

Phone Accessories
The set comes with a heavy duty battery, solar battery charger and USB data cable.

Heavy Duty Battery
Heavy duty battery is used to power the set for longer periods of time.
The battery takes four hours to charge It gives you a talk time of up to 2.4 hrs and standby time of up to 40+ hrs.

Solar Charger
The Solar Charger kit is used for charging the satellite handset even in the most remote areas or locations with limited, erratic or no power service. It can charge the phone battery in around 3 hours. The Solar Charger comes with a built- in cigarette lighter outlet. It also can be used for charging Notebooks.

USB Data Cable
The data Cable is used for connecting your Thuraya handset to the serial port on your Windows PC where you can go online (Internet) or send data/fax.

The data cable comes with a Software CD. The software package is compatible with Windows 98/Me/NT 4.0/2000 & Windows XP Home & Professional editions. Once configuration is complete, users are ready to dial in and surf the Web, check e-mail, send and receive faxes, trade stocks, research an issue during a meeting etc.

How to upgrade the software on your PC
Step 1:

Download the Software CD on your desktop.

Go to the desktop and run the setup file.
Note: To double check successful download, click on Start programs and check if you have Thuraya SG-2520 on your programs list.

Step 2:
Download the Thuraya SG-2520 Firmware release 4.4 into your hard disk.

Step 3:

Go to Start> Programs > Thuraya SG-2520> Thuraya SG-2520 Software Upgrade Manual

Earset
The earset is a simple earphone and microphone arrangement designed to allow the user to utilise both hands while engaging in a telephone conversation.

Payment terms
You can hire the handset and charger (together with the software CD and data cable) against a rental fee of US$ 85 per week. You need to purchase a scratch card of 39 units (US$70) and 80 units (US$140). The talk time & charge varies from country to country.
Please do send in your booking queries to sales@explorehimalaya.com or contact us directly by phone: 977-1-4418-100.

Calling/data/fax rates from Nepal (in US$):

Download the list of countries

During long mountaineering expeditions, we use specialised Solar Panels for electricity consumption. We have a 6 Panel Solar System which has the solar capacity of 90 watts. Perfect for camping and trekking, these Solar Panels are incredibly durable, lightweight, portable, extremely powerful and designed to standup to the toughest weather conditions.

Solar energy is cheap and very easy to change into electric energy. You just need to have a good spot to mount the solar panel. To ensure that the panel receives the most possible sunlight, it should be mounted on a south-facing slope unshaded by any object or trees. The solar panels will convert the light energy obtained from the sun directly into electric energy. This electricity produced is in DC format or Direct Current. The solar panels are connected to a 12 volt battery, through which direct current is acquired and is used to light DC bulbs. One DC port can light around 4 DC bulbs. You can charge around 5 batteries at a time but the more batteries you charge, the more time is consumed for charging all the batteries. After the batteries are charged, the DC is stored directly in the storage batteries, the charge remaining stored when not in use. A Solar Controller can be used to check the charge rate (fully charged, etc.) in the battery.

Direct Current can only light DC bulbs but cannot be used for other applications. Hence, Alternating Current (AC) is needed to operate computers, heaters, to charge laptops, mobile phones, satellite phones, etc. In order to obtain AC, an inverter is used. An inverter is an electronic circuit that converts direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). This solar panel is multifunctional, as both DC and AC can be acquired at the same time, for multipurpose use. This is a very easy technique, known by every climbing Sherpa.

Mera Peak Photo The pictures displayed below have been taken by a group of 3 climbers in Autumn 2007:
Barry Anspach, Pam Sbar, Mark Robbins.

Our trip: Mera Peak climb in 20 days

Photo Credit: Barry Anspach, Pam Sbar, Mark Robbins