We're well into the Spring climbing season, and teams are crawling all over Everest and the other major Himalayan peaks, so natuarlly there is a contants stream of dispatches, updates and news flowing from the teams that are in BC. Sometimes there is actually too much to try to follow. Fortunately, there are some great websites out there to help us sort through all the news and offer some commentary on what is happening on the mountain.

First, I'd like to recommend Alan Arnette's Everest 2007 Season Coverage page. Alan is tracking every team on the mountain, and has a handy chart at the top of his page that allows you to tell at glance just where each team is. The team names are also links to their respecive websites where you'll find even more information. Scrolling further down the page, you'll find daily commentary from Alan himself on the latest news and events from Everest. Alan, who is an experienced mountaineer himself, and has summitted Everest, always has great insights and information to share. And when you're done reading his latest posts, be sure to drop in The Climbing Forum to discuss your thoughts with the motely crew that inhabit that virtual hang-out.

Next up, head over to The Adventurist for more news on Everest teams and events. The site is updated daily with the latest stories from the mountain, including insight from team dispatches, and progress reports from a wide variety of sources. Be sure to leave comments on the stories that you enjoy or have an opinion on as well, as feedback is always appreciated. The blog posts aren't strictly about Everest however, as you'll regularly see items about other peaks around the World as well.

Of course, there are always the old stand bys as well, such as MountEverest.net, which I often cite as a source for my articles. Most everyone already knows about them and visits regularly I'm sure. There is also EverestNews.com but quite frankly, I find the writing rather poor there, and the updates often lack depth or any real information. Still, from time to time, they have some scoops you won't see any where else.

We're still a few weeks away from summit bids, but you know things will be heating up soon. The news will be flying fast and furious before you know it, so be sure to check the above links regularly as you root for your favorite climbers to top out on the big hill.

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of America's national parks. They represent some of the most spectacular outdoor playgrounds in the world and I'd recommend travelers visit them whenever they get the opportunity. The video below was created by the National Parks Conservation Association and is a great reminder of just how amazing these places truly are.

NPCA SnapShots from NPCA on Vimeo.

This shoulder mount might be useful to those who use DSLRs for movie making. It's called the HabbyCam (don't ask me why) and it's reasonably priced at $250.

It's essentially a brace, is made of aluminum and stainless steel, and weighs only 3 lbs. The shoulder bracket is drilled with holes that can accommodate other accessories such as sound recorders and the like.

I don't have it so can't recommend it, but it certainly looks as if it could work well. I'm guess some enterprising person will eventually cobble one from hardware found cheaply at Home Depot etc.

Found via WIRED's Gadget Lab.

On my last trip to Kuala Lumpur, my local colleagues told me about some place called Kin Kin, which served some good noodles but also some killer chili sauce. I thus made a note to myself that I had to get them to take me next time I was up there, but I haven't actually gone into KL itself since then. Fortunately, they have since opened up a shop down here in Singapore (534 MacPherson Road).

We were a bit worried at first about these huge lines that we had heard about, especially on a Saturday at lunch time. To my surprise, there was absolutely no line at all when we arrived, allowing us to grab a table immediately. Maybe it was because of the rain, but I surely wasn't complaining. It turned out that the kitchen did take quite some time to prepare each bowl though; we waited at least 10-15 minutes after placing our order.

So how was the food? It didn't look that impressive when it arrived. But after I gave it a stir and took a bite, I immediately exclaimed, "Whoa...that's better than I was expecting." I took another bite and said, "Yeah, this is pretty darned good." The key was not only the fried shallots and egg yolk, but also the ikan bilis, which were thinner and crispier than what one normally gets. The chili turned out to be like Cantonese chili oil, but with less oil and more salt. We liked it enough that we immediately went back to get a second bowl.

Photo © David Storey-All Rights Reserved
Photo © Brenda Bravo -All Rights Reserved
I thought I'd post these two photographs of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop for posterity. The top photograph is of the instructors, assistants and staff who all donated their time, talent and knowledge to make Istanbul such a success. (I'm in the back as usual).

The bottom photograph is of some of the instructors, staff and students during the final beer bash at Kadikoy's Zurich beer bar. This was probably at around 1:00 am on Sunday June 27, if I'm not mistaken. (I'm sitting in the front center, for a change).

This is a place that I had been rather fond of many, many years ago (1 Cavenagh Road, 6733-8333). But I haven't been back here in ages, in part because of the millions of other good Indian places that have popped up since then, but also since these guys underwent a refurbishing and were closed for a while. Today, we decided to come back here for a business lunch.

Thankfully, they hadn't changed for the worse. The decor was nicer, but more importantly, the food was as good as I remembered it to be. To be sure, the curries were better than the kebabs (and the service was a bit questionable at times), but yeah, those curries were pretty good. One had to pay a price for it though, with that butter chicken above at a whopping S$28 (US$22)!

The Gear Junkie wraps up his week long look at the Ten Best Gear Items of the Past Five Years today by revealing the top two spots on the list.

His number 2 gear item is the Woolies Zip T-Neck from Ibex, which is a great base layer that is both thin, and warm at the same time. The wool top breaths well, isn't restrictive and gets high marks for use on the trail hiking, mountain biking, or running.

And the number 1 gear item of the past five years is... *drum roll*... The Original Buff from, well... Buff of course! Buffs are headwear that are about as versatile a gear item as you'll find. They can be used to cover your head, of course, but can also be a light balaclava, pulled down around your neck as a scarf, or pulled up to cover your face like a mask. The item has been made famous on CBS's Survivor where each team has custom Buffs, and I speaking from experience, they are great to own. I have two of them and use them constantly. They even went with me to Africa recently. And at $18.50 each, you'll be hard pressed to find a cheaper gear bargain.

Thanks for the list GJ and congratulations on your first five years. Now get to work on that "Top Ten Worst Gear Items" list. :)

Check out this cool article over at Climbing.com. It follows the crazy adventures of ice climber extraordinaire Will Gadd as he travels to Sweden to climb with Andreas Spak. The pair go looking for new ice in an unlikely place, namely deep under the Earth's surface in an abandoned Iron Mine.

The whole experience was filmed for NBC's World of Adventure Sports and will air in July. Spak also posted some thought and images on his blog as have the film crew.

This looks like a pretty cool climbing adventure. Gadd remarked that one of the routes was amongst the best he had ever climbed, and said that he thought there was potential for 200 meter climbs in the mines. Both men also commented on the ambiance of climbing in an underground setting, where it was pitch black around them, and they felt like the abandoned mine was like a scene right out of some post-apocalyptic movie.

Sounds like a pretty amazing experience, and as the article notes, this could be the future of ice climbing, as global warming erodes all the classic ice routes. It would be pretty sad if the only ice we had to climb were in holes in the ground like this one though.

Thanks goes out to The Mountain World Blog for the heads up on this one. Nice find!

Rowing across an ocean is an incredibly challenging endeavor. After all, it requires the rower to spend hours each day working the oars, often for weeks at a time. Isolated and alone, it takes dedication and determination to make a solo journey across a body of water that at times seems endless. There is a reason that fewer people have rowed across one of the Earth's oceans than have been in space. Quite simply, it is really tough to actually complete such a voyage.

That isn't stopping Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov from trying. According to ExWeb, Konyukhov intends to make a solo row across the Pacific, non-stop from Chile to Australia. Fedor believes that it will take him roughly 200 days to complete the crossing, which will cover approximately 8000 nautical miles (14,816 km).

The Russian, who is a polar skier, mountaineer, and sailor, says he'll set out on his Pacific crossing in December. Leaving from Valparaise, Chile, he'll first have to navigate through islands and atolls off the coast of South America, before he makes his way out into the deep ocean. As he approaches Brisbane, Australia, he'll encounter more islands and the massive Great Barrier Reef. In between, Fedor believes he'll have to dodge potentially nasty storms that could potentially bring an end to his voyage at any time.

In order to successfully complete this ocean crossing in 200 days, Konyukhov will need to average 40 nautical miles (74 km) per day. That doesn't sound like a lot, but considering the challenges he'll face out on the water, particular as the grind of rowing begins to take its toll, covering those distance can get extremely difficult. High winds and turbulent seas will work against him, even in the spring of the Southern Hemisphere when things are better than other times of the year. Hopefully he is well prepared for those difficult conditions, as he will be hundreds of miles away from rescue should anything go wrong.

Expect to hear more in a few weeks as Fedor gets closer to his departure.

With a motto like "Never Stop Exploring" you know that The North Face has a keen sense of adventure. That is exhibited well in the video below, which not only features some amazing imagery, but also moving narration by Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. This is truly an inspiring clip. Tip of the hat to who ever put it together.

I updated The Travel Photographer website with a new slideshow of more recent photographs made during my 2009-2010 trips, and added details of my planned In Search of Sufis Photo~Expedition™, which will be the first scheduled for 2011.

It's well on its way to being sold out, as I am restricting it to only 5 photographers.

The In Search of Sufis Photo~Expedition™ is not for first-timers to India, nor is it for photographers expecting choreographed photo-opportunities. This trip will be the quintessential fusion of travel photography and photojournalism, and aims to merge the visual with the intellectual.

It's structured for photographers interested in multimedia story-telling, interested in exploring the existing syncretism between Sufism and Hinduism, interested in documenting traditional ways of life of Gujarati tribal societies, and documenting Sufi rituals that include exorcisms and trances.

A couple of stories of interest from the world of cycling today. First up, Outside Online is reporting that Ivan Basso has resigned from Team Discovery just one year into his three year contract with the team. Basso claims that the ongiong investigation into last year's doping scandal has caused him to as for his release from the contract. The 2006 Giro d’Italia winner was cleared of any wrong doing last October, but new Spanish laws may uncover further evidence in the scandal that could implicate him.

Mean while, Floyd Landis says he may have to declare bankruptcy due to over $1 million in legal fees that he has accrued while fighting his own doping allegations. He further claims to have lost nearly $10 million in earning while he awaits his fate. It's important to remember that Landis is still the 2006 Tour winner, as he hasn't been stripped of the title yet, but I don't think anyone is lining up to have the guy endorse anything. Well, maybe The Whizzinator.

It's a bit ironic to eat at a place called Yankee Pier, seeing how I just got off a flight from Boston. But these guys are a local Bay Area seafood place that I've been wanting to try for some time. Fortunately, they were on the way to my gate as I transited to the International Terminal.

And yes, I liked it. Now, admittedly, those veggies above were a bit over-peppered, and the local snapper, while fresh, really wasn't anything that spectacular aside from that nice grilled aroma. But it was simple, fresh, and healthy...and exactly what I was looking for. Plus it came with the added bonus that everything served here was sustainable.

BTW, the new Boarding Area E at SFO's Terminal 3 is darned nice, eh? It's great to see all of these renovations that SFO is doing. I'm eager to see what the rest of Terminal 3 looks like when it's done.

This past summer, three friends quit their job and hit the road with one another on a two-month long adventure across the U.S. during which they visited some amazing outdoor places, taught photography workshops and caught up with friends old and new. Along the way they also managed to take some amazing photos and stitched together a fantastic timelapse video of their journey. You'll find that breathtaking piece of work below. Perhaps it'll inspire you to heed the call of adventure too.

Adventure Is Calling from Shane Black on Vimeo.

The New York Times reports that Apple announced it had sold one million units of its iPads as of Friday last week, and that demand outstrips supply. Apple also said there were now 5,000 iPad-specific apps available for the device.

Macworld also published a first look review at Apple's $29 iPad Camera Connection Kit, which confirms that the device can upload and store RAW images (nef and cr2) but there isn't a way to edit these images as yet. The iPad generates JPEG versions of these files, and it's these that iPad users can email, create sideshows with, and edit with 3rd party applications.

I am not convinced this device is an accessory can serve photographers in its current iteration. Some photographers (mostly studio) perhaps will use it as a viewer during photo shoots, and wedding photographers are thinking of buying them instead of wedding albums to send to their clients...while others will use it instead of portfolio books to showcase their work to important clients.

Other than that, the bottom line is let's wait and see....there's no just meat on these bones for me.

After finishing a day's worth of meetings today, I needed some food. At first, my mind went through the usual South Bay options of Mexican and Vietnamese, but then somehow the thought of Persian food appeared. I quickly punched the word "Persian" into Google Maps, and a million listings came out. I came here because it was the closest (1236 South Wolfe Road, 737-1222).

They had my usual koobideh at the top of the menu, but they also had some kind of a joojeh chicken that was their speciality. I thus went for a combo of the two, finding the chicken a bit on the dry side and the koobideh a bit on the (oddly) sweet side. I still ate it all, but next time I think I'll try one of the millions of other Persian places around. There certainly wasn't any shortage of them.

Back in August and September I posted a couple of time about the TitiKayak expedition. For those who don't recall, that was the attempt by Belgian adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke and Peruvian explorer Gadiel "Cho" Sanchez Rivera to become the first people to circumnavigate Lake Titicaca by kayak. The lake, which is located at 3812 meters (12,507 ft) in altitude and falls along the border of Peru and Bolivia, covers an area of 8372 sq. km (3232 sq. miles) and is widely considered to be the highest navigable lake in the world. Lonke and Rivera set out to paddle 1100 km (683 miles) around Titicaca's parameter while taking photographs if its shoreline and GPS coordinates of its current position. The hope is that the data will allow researchers to study the impact of climate change on the lake in the years to come by having baseline numbers to compare their readings to.

The expedition actually wrapped up in late September but due to busy schedules and other commitments, it has taken a bit of time to upload the photos from their journey and share details of what it was like out on the water. All told, it took Lou-Phi and Cho 38 days to paddle around the lake, staying close to the shore for most of the way. Stopping frequently to take photos and gather GPS data, the two men were meticulous in their approach and stuck closely to their plan as much as they could. They did run into some issues when attempting to cross the border into Bolivia, as law enforcement at the checkpoint between the countries were reluctant to let them pass, in part because they had never seen a kayak before. It took two days to sort out the paperwork, but eventually it came together and the adventurers were allowed to continue on their way.


Dealing with immigration officers were the least of their worries however and there were plenty of other challenges to keep them on their toes. For starters, August and September are winter months in the Southern Hemisphere and this was one of the coldest winters in recent memories. The boys faced freezing temps for much of the way and the Puno region through which they traveled received its highest amount of snowfall in the past 30 years. Cold temperatures, snow and a big lake don't always make for the best of conditions.

The primary focus of the expedition was to not just paddle around its shores but to also survey the health of the body of water. What Loncke and Sanchez Rivera discovered is that Titicaca is facing some serious challenges. The water was littered with garbage and is contaminated by chemicals and sewage dumped into into it from the surrounding communities. In short, the lake faces some major issues in the future and with no regulation or proper water treatment in place, it is going to get much worse before it ever starts to get better.

You can read more about the expedition and the team's experiences on the TitiKayak blog. You can also review the photos they took along the way in their Photo Inventory. All of the images have been uploaded and organized, but GPS coordinates have not been matched to them just yet. That is a big job that will be completed sometime early next year, completing the full data set of the inventory.

Congrats to Lou-Phi and Cho on completing this amazing adventure. Great effort on both the exploration and environmental front.

Reginald's Tower

Reginald’s Tower was once described by the famous Irish patriot Thomas Francis Meagher  in 1843 as being “a massive hinge of stone connecting the two great outspread wings, the Quay and the Mall within which lay the body of the city", Reginald's Tower is one of the finest surviving examples of medieval urban defence in Ireland.

The story of Reginald's Tower begins with the Viking adventurer Regnall who constructed a defensive base [known as a Longphort] where the tower stands today. Regnall was the grandson of the feared Ivor the Boneless, and by establishing his longphort at Waterford he created the foundations for Ireland’s first city. It quickly developed into an important trading hub, and Waterford become a vital part in an expansive trading network that connected it to far flung and exotic places like Baghdad, Greenland, Russia and Byzantium.

Access to each level is via the spiral staircase

Waterford grew in wealth and prestige, and gradually the Viking raiders became entwined with the Gaelic Irish population through alliances and marriage, forming a culture known to historians and archaeologists today as the Hiberno-Norse. The peace of Waterford was not to last though, the city was taken following a siege by the Anglo-Normans in 1170 after many of the Waterford men were slaughtered after falling into Raymond le Gros’s cunning trap at nearby Baginbun in County Wexford (click here for that story). The Normans held the leaders of the city in Reginald’s Tower, but released them following an intervention by their Irish ally, Diarmaid MacMurrough, King of Leinster. The leader of the Normans, Richard de Clare (known as Strongbow) married King Diarmaid’s daughter Aoife in Christchurch Cathedral in Waterford, strengthening the alliance between the Norman invaders and the Irish kingdom of Leinster.

The elaborate roof of the Tower

The Hiberno-Norse warriors that survived were expelled from Waterford, but rose in a bloody rebellion in 1174, forcing the Norman nobles and garrison to take shelter in Reginald’s Tower, where they managed to repel the attack and following reinforcement they took back the city. King Henry II in England had began to worry that Strongbow was becoming altogether too powerful and big for his boots, so he sailed into Waterford in 1171 and declared the wealthy Waterford to be a ‘Royal City’, thus denying its lucrative trade to Strongbow. King Henry had the city refortified in the early thirteenth century, and it is likely that it was at this time that the wooden fort of Reginald’s Tower was reconstructed in stone. He had large stone walls constructed to surround and protect the city with a number of defensive gateways and towers added. Very little of these walls still survive today, and of the seventeen defensive towers that once protected Waterford only six still survive, with Reginald’s Tower being the most impressive and best preserved.

 Reginald’s Tower was again at the centre of the action in 1495, Perkin Warbeck a pretender to the English Crown, sailed up the River Suir and began to bombard Waterford to force it to surrender. The people of Waterford retaliated by firing cannon from Reginald’s Tower and succeeded in sinking one of Warbeck’s ships, defending the city with such ferocity that Warbeck retreated. In recognition of the determined bravery by the people of Waterford, King Henry VII gave Waterford the motto: 'Urbs Intacta Manet Waterfordia' – Waterford remains the Untaken City.

However the Tower is not without its scars, and if you look high on the tower to the right hand side of the entrance you can see a cannonball deeply embedded into the stone. This was fired during the Parliamentary siege in 1650.

Cannonball embedded in the walls of Reginald's Tower

They had returned to capture Waterford after Cromwell had failed to do so in 1649, Waterford was the last Irish city east of the Shannon to fall to Cromwell’s forces.
Today visiting Reginald’s Tower you can become steeped in all of this history, and see the variety of ways that Reginald’s Tower has served Waterford over the centuries, from being a defensive bastion, a coin mint, an armoury and arsenal, a prison and the home of the High Constable of the city.


It is split over four floors connected by a medieval style spiral staircase, with displays on different aspects of the buildings history on each level. There are some really interesting artefacts on display, as a dog owner I was touched by the beautifully intricate copper-alloy dog collar dating all the way back to the twelfth century.

The 12th Century copper-alloy dog collar

Reginald’s Tower is a truly iconic landmark of Waterford, and today the superb museum is certainly worth a visit! It is under the auspices of the Office of Public Works, you can find information about opening hours, entry fees and accessibility here http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/South-East/ReginaldsTower/. It is one of remarkable Waterford Treasures, along with the Medieval Museum and Georgian Museum that make Waterford such a wonderfully historic and fun city to visit. You can find more information on the Waterford Treasures here http://www.waterfordtreasures.com/.

I really hope you enjoy our blog posts. If you’d like to consider supporting us you can do so by downloading one of our audioguides. They are narrated by professional actors, and have original music by talented musician Enda Seery to help immerse you in the story. They generally run for around 45mins and can be downloaded from our website at www.abartaaudioguides.com. A number are available free of charge and others cost just €1.99, so if you’d like to hear the story of Glendalough, or what life in Dublin was like when it was a Viking Longphort please do try our guides.

If you’d like to keep up with daily posts about Irish heritage then you can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. If you have any suggestions about great sites to visit I'd love to hear from you, please leave a comment below or you can email us at
info@abartaaudioguides.com.

Machame Camp (3000m) to Shira Camp (3840m)

On Day 2 of the Kili climb you leave the heat and humidity of the cloud forest behind and move into the moorlands of Kilimanjaro. The trees fall away behind you today and are replaced with a number of interesting and unique plants, many with beautiful flowers. During Day 1, there were times when the forest was a bit opressive with it's humidity, but on Day 2 things are much better. The wide open spaces allow for cool breezes to help make the climb more comfortable although when the sun is out, it can still be quite intense.

The views are far more interesting on Day 2 as well. While we hiked through the forest, we didn't see anything aside from thick, dense jungle, and aside from insects, there was no animal life. But on Day 2 you can get some great views, both down the mountain to the forest and plains below and up towards Kibo and Mawenzi peaks above. On top of that, you'll actually see some birds on the mountain, including HUGE black crows, and tiny chipmunk like rodents.

This is the shortest day of climbing on the Machame Route. Your hike on Day 2 will last about four hours as you climb to the Shira Plateau. However, there are several long, vertical climbs that will result in an elevation gain of 840 meters by the time you reach camp. You'll also have to do a bit of non-technical rock climbing/scrambling near the end of the day, which wasn't all that difficult, but could be a bit intimidating if you aren't use to that kind of activity. At one point, while scrambling up the rocks, there was a 200+ foot drop into the mist just off to the side. If being close to an edge like that gives you vertigo, you may not want to look down here. ;)

After the rock climbing, the trail will continue downward for a bit until you reach Shira Camp, which rests on the rocky plateau covered in volcanic rock left over from the last time Kili blew it's top. By the time you reach this point, you'll begin to feel the drop in temperatures associated with climbing higher. A slight mist in the air will bring a bit of a chill as well.

For me, Day 2 was a nice, brisk hike. There were sections that were certainly challenging, but nothing too difficult, and I actually enjoyed the sections of rock climbing/scrambling. The path has gone from the well groomed, clearly defined trail from Day 1, to someting more like I expected. It's still easily followed, but clearly this section isn't as well maintained, and it's more challenging to hike. You'll have to watch your footing a bit more as well, and your trekking poles become much more useful. I also appreciated the change in temperature as well. While in the cloud forest, I was sweating up a storm, but the wide open spaces of the moorlands helped a lot. The lovely scenery and change of flora were fun to watch as well.

At this point in my climb, I had about two hours of sleep on the mountain. Leading up to the climb I had traveled 28 hours from the States, and head about five hours of sleep the night before we started, and while camped at Machame Camp, I did manage to get a little shut-eye. I was hoping that by the time I got to Shira Camp, I would be tired enough to actually get some sleep, but while I was physically tired, sleep would not come.

Google suggested that perhaps this should be spelled molaga podi idli instead, but either way, the word podi here appears to be the key, as this thing was surprisingly spicy...so much that I immediately turned around and went right back to the buffet to get more before finally getting to my seat. Yum - that was so much fun to eat, especially when it left my stomach with a pleasant residual burn. :)

And yes, this was from the SATS Lounge at Changi Terminal 3, of all places. Lately I've been avoiding going to airport lounges, in part since they've become more crowded than the public spaces at airports, but also since the food is oftentimes more interesting at outside stalls too. So I was surprised to find how much I loved these things; I would have been happy to pay money for another plate of them!