FREIBURGER ZEITGEISTLITERATURE (Satis Shroff)

FLYING ABOVE THE ABODE OF THE GODS (Satis Shroff) "Will the passengers please fasten their seat belts," said a soft voice over the intercom. And I slid one end of the belt into the heavy metallic slot, sat back, and peered through the window of the Nepalese jet. The runway was clear and there was an Airbus 310, three Russian-made helicopters and a Dornier-aircraft near the control tower of Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport. Some people waved from the tower. It was one of those early-morning mountain flights that are run 'provided-the-weather-is-good' as they say in tourist-brochures. My seat was right near the port wing and I could get a fairly good view of the engines coming noisily to life. The jet taxied lazily down the southern end of the runway, swerved around and sped towards the north gathering momentum till I could finally feel a hollow in my stomach. We were airborne. It was a steep climb and the blue mountain front was looming close. You c...

Ueli Steck: was a fascinating Swiss climber from Basle (near Freiburg) and now he lives no more. He was known for his daredevil speed-climbing in the Alps and the Himalayas, and had a row with Sherpas while climbing a few years back.Ueli was a blogger, climber and an inspiration for young climbers throughout the world. The world of high-altitude climbing will miss him. May his Bergsteiger rest in peace. ---Satis Shroff The Sherpa Issue: Live and Let Die on the Death-Zone (Satis Shroff) Can you imagine over a hundred Sherpas throwing stones and threatening climbers from abroad? Even the Swiss climber admits that the deep animosity between the tourist-climbers and the Sherpas was more of a behavioural nature, and a longstanding one at that. What made the normally peaceful Sherpas threaten the visitor from abroad with ice-picks? Was it a deadly faux pas that brought the wrath of the Sherpas? The three foreigners wanted to climb the Lhotse’s flank up Camp 3 to...

Commentary: Nepal After the Seismic Shock (Satis Shroff)   The birds are flying in panic in the sky over the Durbar Square and Basantapur, Asan Tole like in a scenario from an Alfred Hitchcock film. The temples on which they formerly roosted have been pulverised and what has remained are gigantic conical heaps. The famous Nautale Durbar temple in the Basantapur Square has been destroyed and the white neo-classical Rana palace from where the former kings and royalty of Nepal used to greet the folk is also partially damaged. The Dhara tower, about which we Nepalese used to read about and the exploits of Junga Bahadur Rana, has also been demolished. Over 4000 people have died, 6,500 injured, and the death toll is expected to be more under the piles of earth, wood and bricks. A strong earthquake lasting almost 2 minutes hit Kathmandu this morning, 7.9 on the Richter scale, according to USGS. The epicentre lies 80 km north-west of Kathmandu, with a range ...

Nepal After the Seismic Shock (Satis Shroff) The birds are flying in panic in the sky over the Durbar Square and Basantapur, Asan Tole like in a scenario from an Alfred Hitchcock film. The temples on which they formerly roosted have been pulverised and what has remained are gigantic conical heaps. The famous Nautale Durbar temple in the Basantapur Square has been destroyed and the white neo-classical Rana palace from where the former kings and royalty of Nepal used to greet the folk is also partially damaged. The Dhara tower, about which we Nepalese used to read about and the exploits of Junga Bahadur Rana, has also been demolished. Over 4000 people have died, 6,500 injured, and the death toll is expected to be more under the piles of earth, wood and bricks. A strong earthquake lasting almost 2 minutes hit Kathmandu this morning, 7.9 on the Richter scale, according to USGS. The epicentre lies 80 km north-west of Kathmandu, with a range of 15 km. The...

EARTHQUAKE IN EVEREST COUNTRY (Satis Shroff) The famous Nautale Durbar temple in the Basantapur Square has been destroyed and the white neo-classical Rana palace from where the former kings and royalty of Nepal used to greet the folk is also partially damaged. The Dhara tower, about which we Nepalese used to read about and the exploits of Junga Bahadur Rana, has also been demolished. Over 400 people have died, 400 injured,  and the death toll is expected to be more under the piles of earth, wood and bricks. The streets are Long gaping holes. A strong earthquake lasting almost 2 minutes hit Kathmandu this morning, 7.9 on the Richter scale, according to USGS. The epicentre lies 80 km north-west of Kathmandu, with a range of 15 km. The worst thing about the quake is that multiple tremors are expected to come. The area of the earthquake hit also Pokhara to the west of Kathmandu.  The major quake was felt in New Delhi, Bangladesh and Pakistan.  Nepal is a tectonically ac...

Chomolungma: the Mother Goddess of the Earth (Satis Shroff) The highest peak on earth is Mt. Everest but to the Nepalese living below the Himalayas it has always been Sagarmatha, and to the Sherpas the mountain was always Chomolungma, the Mother Goddess of the Earth. The Sherpas are born at altitudes of 3000m and above, and you can find them around the Solokhumbu area, and they are acclimatized to high altitudes and are recognized for their climbing prowess. In 1953 Tenzing Norgay became the first Sherpa to climb Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) with Edmund Hillary, and since then the experienced Sherpas bear the title Tigers of the Snow. The Sherpas settled in the Khumbu area circa 300 years ago after a long journey from Tibet (China). The Sherpas were traders before they became famous as porters and mountain guides. A relatively small group of Sherpas also live in Helambu, and there are many clans among the Sherpas. All Sherpas speak the official language of Nepal, ...