A View From The Summit of Everest

Check out this amazing panoramic photograph taken from summit of Everest found at Panoramas.dk. The stunning 360º photo rotates around giving us a great view in all directions from the top of the highest mountain on Earth, a view that few of us will ever have the opportunity to see in person.

I sat and watched this panoramic shot rotate around for quite awhile. It was fascinating to me to see just how far your view extends when you're at the top of the world on a clear day, and it was great to look back down the Khumbu Valley and see the ice falls far below. I also had no trouble identifying Everest's next door neighbor, Lhotse, but when I clicked on the "i" icon on the photo, it also identified Changtse, Makalu, and Nuptse as well. Also, you can score bonus points if you can spot the climber in the photo. You have to look pretty close, but he's there.

This is a perfect photo to start off your week with, and something to keep your mind occupied on a Monday morning, when you'd rather be outside yourself. Keep in mind, that at this very moment, there are hundreds of climbers in Kathmandu preparing to take on this mountain, and about six to eight weeks, this is the very view that they'll hopefully have the opportunity to experience.

Thanks to Richard for sending this my way!

Sara Hylton | Holy Town

Photo © Sara Hylton-All Rights Reserved

Vrindavan; the holy little town not far from from Mathura, Krishna's birthplace, and a refuge for Bengali widows, which earned it the nickname of 'city of widows. I visited it some years ago, and -against the odds- was able to photograph at the ashrams where these impoverished 'cast-offs' congregate to earn a few rupees by singing devotional verses for visiting pilgrims. I called them White Shadows because widows in India have to wear plain white saris, with no adornments whatsoever.

During my March 2014 photo expedition-workshop to Varanasi and Vrindavan, my group and I were not allowed to photograph there due to stricter regulations, possibly triggered by bad publicity. It is estimated there are about 20,000 widows living on the streets of Vrindavan, many of whom have spent over 30 years there.

Sara Hylton spent about a year documenting a small community of these widows in Vrindavan, and produced Holy Town, a gallery of 15 large color photographs of these women, achieving a remarkable degree of intimacy with them. As Sara tells us, their story is one of perseverance, resilience and humanity in an environment of poverty and neglect.

Sara is a Canadian documentary and portrait photographer based between Brooklyn, New York and New Delhi, India. She first became interested in photography in 2011 while working with an international humanitarian organization in Uganda. She began taking photographs to document the organization’s work in the field, and discovered a love of visual storytelling. She's especially drawn to portrait photography as a way to share people’s stories.

She holds a Master of Arts in International Conflict Studies from Kings College London, and also recently completed a post-graduate certificate in Photojournalism and Documentary from the International Center of Photography (ICP).

I normally don't include my work on blog posts about other photographers, but I make an exception here since the more exposure given to the plight of these widows the quicker their circumstances might improve. "White Shadows" on my Vimeo channel.

Catching Up with The Rest of Everest

it's no secret that I'm a big fan of The Rest of Everest, the video podcast that does such an excellent job of showing us the ins and outs of climbing in the Himalaya. While I was out of the country, there were two episodes released, and I'm just now catching up. For some of you, this is no doubt old news, but I wanted to share some thoughts none the less.

The first episode is entitled Cowboys But Not Indians, and has Jon Miller, Josh Butson, and Ben Clark once again talking about their attempt on Annapurna IV, which they also hope to make the first ski descent on as well. In this episode, the team actually returns to base camp after their first attempt at an alpine ascent on the mountain. The first climb was good for acclimatization, and making a recon of the conditions higher up, but in the end, they were forced to head back down to regroup and dry out their gear, before making another go.

The team admits that they had a rough first day of their climb, and if you saw the previous episode you know that TIm Clarke, the third member of the team, has decided to give up on his attempt to summit, and will let Ben and Josh go on without him. The team discusses this change and how they will now approach the climb. With the Austrian team they had been sharing BC with gone, they'll have the mountain entirely to themselves.

While the boys are back in BC, they do get some amazingly beautiful shots of the mountain and once again do a good job of capturing the feel of life in base camp. The video gets even more interesting when they also capture a debris cloud that was kicked up from an earthquake in China that has flown hundreds of miles just to dump on their camp.

The second episode that was awaiting me upon my return from the Amazon was an audio only bonus episode that offers some details on Ben and Josh's Spring 2009 expedition. The episode was recorded as Rest of Everest creator Jon Miller was driving Ben to the airport as he was heading out for Nepal, where the team will be attempting to climb and ski down Baruntse, a 23,688 foot mountain located in Eastern Nepal, between Everest and Makalu.

The old Annapurna IV website is undergoing a transformation now to reflect this new expedition, and it is becoming the "Ski the Himalayas" site. In this episode, Josh talks about how much he enjoys climbing and skiing in that mountain range, and that he intends to continue to focus on those ski descents in the near future. He also talks about his approach to climbing in the HImalaya, having knocked off Everest at the age of 23, and now pursuing lesser known peaks not on the 8000m list.

Obviously we'll be hearing more about this expedition in future episodes of the Rest of Everest, and I'll be following it from the website as updates come in over the coming weeks. For now, the show will go on hiatus, while Josh and Ben head off to Nepal to take care of business, and Jon will soon follow with his Everest Trek 2009 project.

Good luck guys! We're pulling for you!

Trip to Pisa, Italy

My wife and I were feeling a child like excitement, the moment we stepped out from our hotel to catch the regional train from Florence (Firenze Santa Maria Novella) to Pisa. We were sure it was going to be a visual treat to be a witness of the architecture marvel, one of the seven wonders, the Leaning tower of Pisa. We hurriedly bought tickets from the Tabak shop on the train station and rushed towards the train. With some breaths up and some down, we boarded the train. There was a bunch of daily travelers who largely alighted before Pisa. The comfortable (odd hour) journey cut us through from some really beautiful rural landscapes.

Pisa greeted us with a bright sunshine, a rather welcome change from the overcast Florence that we had left behind.

Fountain outside the Pisa Centrali station

There is a beautiful fountain just outside the station which turned out to be a popular snapshot point. Few meters away, we could spot a skating surface quite popular among the locals.

Skating surface quite popular among locals

The streets that led us to the 'Leaning Tower of Pisa' were largely commercial in nature. The famed Arno and lovely ponte across it leads to the 'Historical Center' that finally leads to the complex. Along side this street there are some popular brands and restaurants dotting both the sides. Though one has to admit that Pisa could still manage to preserve its town-like feeling. Apart from the main commercial street, there are few other streets, worth visiting in the town.

Clear blue sky in the backdrop

We finally reached Piaza dei Miracloi, the main tourist complex of Pisa, which apart from the Leaning tower, also houses other monuments like Duomo Di Pisa and the Bapistry(Battistero). Against the popular misconception, the compound has multiple monuments around the Leaning tower of Pisa and all of them are worth visiting. Leaning nature of the tower is attributed to the marshy nature of the land that was the base of the tower during construction.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

There is a convenient tourist center located within the complex that can provide useful guidance on how to divide time (and money) among the monuments. On most clear days, one can view scenic mountains behind the Leaning Tower. The  front gardens are quite appealing and clinically maintained. One can easily spend 3-4 hours in the monument complex.

Front gardens outside the Leaning Tower

We left for mesmerizing Venice, the next day, a trip that'll never ever be forgotten.

Shop What

• Leaning Tower of Pisa Souveniers
• If you must, T-shirts.

Bottom Line

• Pisa is a relaxed one day trip from Florence.
• If travelling with less luggage, you can go from Florence to Pisa and then from Pisa to Venice.

Travel Facts

• Stayed : One Day Trip from Florence.
• Stayed at : Hotel Embassy, Florence - Yes, highly recommended.
• Traveled with my better half on a single Day trip 
• Traveled in regional Train from Florence in January 2013.

The Rest of Everest Episode 101: Typically Himalayan

The adventure on Annapurna IV continues this week with another new episode of The Rest of Everest, with climbers Ben Clark and Josh Butson once again joining show producer and host Jon Miller.

In Episode 101: Typically Himalayan, the guys are now a bit more settled into base camp, and have explored the mountain some as well, hiking and skiing the immediate slopes. Early in the episode the team is stuck in their tent, thanks to the lovely Himalayan weather, and they have a chance to reflect some on the climb ahead, and the thoughts that are in their head while they wait for their opportunity to go up the mountain.

Later in the episode, Ben calls home to get a weather report from his father, where he learns that the weather patterns should shift some in the days ahead, but for now they'll have to wait for the jet stream to move. The team will need a five day weather window to make an attempt at the summit, but before they can do that, they'll need to acclimatize some as well. The plan is to make the climb in alpine style.

This weeks video gives us a lot of images from base camp with some shots of the mountain behind it, while the team sits and waits, something that is common in the Himalaya while they wait for their attempt. While it's not the most action packed thing to watch, it is part of the experience, as anyone who saw the 2003 Everest expedition will remember.

Iditarod 2009: "Last Great Race" Gets Underway Tomorrow

The 2009 Iditarod, dubbed "The Last Great Race", will have it's ceremonial start tomorrow in downtown Anchorage, when 73 of the top mushers in the world will make the 20 mile first leg to Campbell Airstrip, where the race will officially get underway on Sunday.

This year's race will be taking the southern route, as it typically does on the odd numbered years. The course is more than 1100 miles in length and stretches all the way to Nome, recreating the famous route that was taken by sled dog teams that delivered medicine to the remote regions of Alaska back in 1925, when a diphtheria epidemic broke out.

The field or racers for this year's event include two time defending champ Lance Mackey along with his arch-rival Jeff King, who is a four time winner himself. They'll be joined by the likes of Rick Swenson, the only five time winner of the race, and veteran racer Mitch Seavey, amongst many others. Sebastian Schnuelle, the winner of the Yukon Quest a few weeks back, is hoping to become the second man, after Mackey, to win both events in the same year.

It should be interesting to see who dominates the front of the race this year. Last year it was a game of cat and mouse between Mackey and King all the way to Nome, with Mackey pulling out ever trick in the book, including pretending to sleep, to get the edge on the faster and more well rested King. It's unlikely that King will fall for similar tactics this year however. Perhaps we'll see some new names rise to the top of the leaderboard, as the race seems to always have a few surprises waiting for us. Can't wait to see what they are! Go luck everyone!

Vietnam Nature Trails - Visits to VietNam

Get up at air terminal and exchange to lodging. Free walk around to investigate Hanoi's 1000 Years Old Quarter (if time grants). Stay overnight at inn.

You will be grabbed at your lodging in Hanoi for heading to Cuc Phuong, around 140 km south of Hanoi by street, is one of Vietnam's most seasoned national parks and thusly one of the best oversaw. It's give or take 22, 000ha of subtropical woodland and karst limestone view, and home to an unprecedented scope of extraordinary species. Separated from investigating the backwoods, you'll visit the recreation center's Endangered Primate Center, where you'll have the capacity to see two of the rarest species on the planet, the discriminatingly imperiled Delacour and Cat Ba langurs. Stay overnight at National Park visitor house.

Maintain a strategic distance from the mid year as the parks biodiversity incorporates an expansive unexpected of bloodsuckers that get ravenous in hot sticky climate. April to May sees billows of a large number of butterflies spiraling in pockets of daylight.

After breakfast, strolling to visit vegetation, fauna and one-thousand-year-old sequoia tree, the hollow of Prehistoric man in Cuc Phuong National Park. Eat in the Park restaurant. Turn over to Hanoi for flight to Hue. Stay overnight at lodging in Hue

Leave at 08: 00am from your lodging, for one and half hour you will land at Bach Ma National Park. The recreation center is overwhelmed by a solitary 1, 448m top wrapped in tropical rainstorm woods underneath and beat by sub-tropical vegetation. You will visit Do Quyen Waterfall - is shocking and tremendous in the lush mountain. It is astounding to watch the silver water running into the splendid red of water-rail blossoms. Where individuals can have a surrounding perspective of massive ocean and encompassing landscape.

See more: travel Vietnam

Morning in the recreation center with strolling around and find the nature to investigate the wonderful view and numerous endemic species, and is especially rich in birdlife. Turn again to Hue airplane terminal for flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Stay overnight at inn in Ho Chi Minh City.

Once off Highway One, the street passes through vast regions of elastic ranches before fanning out the expressway on an unpleasant track to the national park. An unimaginable assorted qualities of fowls and warm blooded creatures, live in the timberland and wetland natural surroundings of Nam Cat Tien, including an expected 230 types of winged animals. Imperiled feathered creatures to be found here in thier supper. The Afternoon is used birding along the street from the recreation center central command.

Have a 4x4 drive to Bau Chim and Bau Sau territories, arranging focuses for the day's trek. Trek for over two hours profound into the woodland. In Bau Sau, kayak around a lake, then trek once more to the parking garage for the drive again to the guesthouse. (Discretionary night 4x4 ride into the Nui Tuong timberland to search for nighttime creatures).