Drop Zone : Shyangboche (12,350 feet)

16th May, 2010 – 1 lift

Test jumps for Everest Skydive 2010 were performed at Shyangboche at 9:35 AM (local time). 1 solo and 2 tandem jumps were made from above 20,000 ft.

Wendy Smith (New Zealand) jumped solo from 27,000 ft, while Bibek Pandey (Nepal) made a tandem jump with tandem master Tom Noonan (USA). Likewise Ful Man Tamang (Nepal) too jumped tandem with Dr. Ryan Jackson (UK).

<From  left: Pilot 1, Tom, Ful Man, Bibek, Wendy, Ryan, Pilot 2, Pilot 3

17th May, 2010 – 2 lifts
The jumps were held at 8:15 AM (local time).
First Lift – James Robert (UK) & Ryan Jackson made test jumps from 18,000 feet. Nik Halik (Australia) made a tandem jump with tandem master Tom Noonan from 29,500 ft. Wendy Smith jumped solo as Camera Flier from 29,500 ft.

Second  Lift – Jean Claude Mario (France) did a test jump from 18000 ft and Tom Noonan jumped solo from 25,000ft. Dr. Ryan & Dik Bahadur Khirsina (Nepal) made a tandem jump from 25000 ft.

18th & 19th May, 2010
Jumps cancelled due to bad weather.

Event  Organizer : Mr. Suman Pandey talking to media persons

From right: Nik , Myriam & Mario

20th May, 2010 – 1 lift
Jean Claude Mario (France) took Myriam Mura (France) on tandem jump, while James Robert (UK), Ryan Jackson (UK) and Wendy Smith (New Zealand) made solo jumps. The jumps were made from 29,500 ft.

Wendy Smith

Sharing their experiences with the media – Wendy Smith , Ryan Jackson & others

The jumps were made from  Tara Air’s Pilatus Porter.

Explore Himalaya had organized an expediton to Lord Baden Powell Peak in the Langtang region for a Finnish Scouts team.  Six Finnish Scouts (Piitu, Ville, Leena, Anna, Maija, Mikko) & a Nepalese scout, Naresh Maharjan reached the summit of Lord Baden Powell Peak on 1st April 2010.The sherpas accompanying the team were Pasang, Gumbu, Najdang, Jugel Tendup, Grimen, Sona, Naresh, Da Wangchu, Sange.

Explore Himalaya extends its heartiest congratulations to the successful team!

The victorious team at the summit – Baden Powell peak (5718m)

Making their way to the mushroom shaped summit- Baden Powell Peak

Visit Baden Powell Peak Climb (Scout Peak)

Tharpu Chuli Trekking Adventure: James  Ward

James Ward is a Technical Evangelist for Flex at Adobe and Adobe’s JCP representative. In his bio it is mentioned, “much like his love for climbing mountains he enjoys programming because it provides endless new discoveries, elegant workarounds, summits and valleys”. Perhaps it was his love for climbing that drew him to Nepal Himalayas. Explore Himalaya organized a spring trek to Tharpu Chuli for James and Jenny Ward.

While organizing trips for clients , Explore Himalaya always aspires to make it a memorable and pleasurable one. Working with this objective,  EH has  been rewarded with “thank- you ” notes and positive feedback from grateful clients. One such note was sent by James Ward. The note is reproduced below;

June 6, 2009

” This letter is honest and truthful feedback about a recent trek and Tharpu Chuli summit attempt with Explore Himalaya. Our guide for our trip was Maule Tamang. Maule’s mountain experience and his deep caring for his clients made our trip an extraordinary one. While we were not able to summit due to adverse snow and weather conditions, we ended the trip fully satisfied with the experience we had in the Himalayas.

Maule’s communication skills and English proficiency exceeded our expectations and did not in any way limit our experience.  I don’t know how we would have communicated with some of the tea house staff without Maule. His knowledge about Nepali culture , the mountains, climbing , trekking and may other topics allowed us to learn much more than we expected.

Maule’s attentiveness to time and schedule kept us from hiking in the rain and from feeling fatigued.

With six porters to take care of ,  Maule was effective and efficient. They all seemed happy with how well he managed them and took care of them. Our summit attempt experience couldn’t have been better considering the poor weather conditions. Camping at high altitudes was done better than any camping experience I’ve ever had. It was so luxurious!  Maule did a great job getting camps set up and torn down quickly. He kept us well fed and warm the whole way. As he led us up and down the steep route, we felt safe and secure. In a difficult section he took time to fix a rope for additional safety.  Based on Maule’s expert advice we decided not to attempt the summit. The conditions were dangerous , and it was wise of Maule to not push us into an unsafe position. We have peace that we made the right decision.

Overall we had a great trip with great staff and felt that we experienced the Himalayas and Nepal to the utmost! “

Sincerely,

James Ward, USA

e-mail: james@jamesward.org

photo: James Ward

Everest summit by Altitude Junkies

We have just recieved information that four members and five sherpas have successfully reached the summit of Everest.Phil Crampton(UK/USA) summitted yesterday (19th May) while three members-1. Charles Scott Woolums (USA), 2. Brian Russell Strange (USA) and 3. John Robert Strange(USA)and five sherpas – Pemba Sherpa, Jangbu Sherpa,Da Ongchu Sherpa ,Namgyal Sherpa and Pasang Sherpa summitted today. Explore Himalaya( logistic organizer for the group) congratulates the successful team members!

We have received information from the base camp that three members of the CAVAPLAND Kanchenjunga Expedition led by Oscar Cadiach Puig have successfully reached the summit of Kanchenjunga. Juan Jose Garra Lorenzo (Spain) and Kinga Baranowska (Poland) summitted yesterday (18th May), while Alberto Cerain (Spain) summitted today(19th May), a few hours ago. Kinga became the first Polish woman to climb Kanchenjunga. Oscar Cadiach Puig (Spain) and Julen Gotzon Anton (Spain) will try to top it tomorrow. Explore Himalaya( logistic organizer for the group) congratulates the successful members and wishes all the best for the summit push to the rest!