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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - May 1, 2015 - 10:23am PT
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Six days after the quake, Nepal news has fallen off the front page of the New York Times which is probably about average for a major disaster.
Of course the real work of reconstruction has not even begun and I am still waiting to find a safe way to get money to my village without the government seizing it. I will for sure let everyone know when we get it figured out.
And now for some good news.
Our tax dollars at work.
USAID contributed 700 rolls of this heavy duty plastic tarp.
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John M
climber
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I've read that parts of India shifted ten feet to the north and that the area around Kathmandu was raised 3 feet and that Everest is now an inch shorter.
wouldn't it be something if the solution to overcrowding on Everest was that it was no longer the tallest mountain. Of course then that would shift the burden to some other mountain.
I'm praying that the proper solutions are worked out in Nepal. That the people demand a better government and an end to the graft.
Thank you for keeping us updated Jan. I know that you have a heart for that country and those people, so I hope that your friends get the help that they need.
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saa
Social climber
sadly, far away from yos and josh
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a few days after the quake, after info has arrived that everest climbers and other himalayan sites have been impacted....
on the taco, nepal earthquake posts are relagated to number 50 or so.
goodbye. I don't understand how I could feel part of such a community.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that the light at the end of the tunnel or a tr
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More than a million souls are suffering.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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It's encouraging to see that Himex is concentrating on the important things.
It seems that the media is all very ready to tell the world that I have made a decision to continue to climb on Everest, when in my last newsletter I said that we would assess the situation: the ministry, the expedition operations association, my team, the Sherpas as well as the scale of the disaster in the whole country had to be considered. At that stage I had not made a decision as there were so many factors to be considered. Now having considered all facts, I can tell you that we will not be continuing any of our ascents in Nepal this season.
http://himalayanexperience.com/newsletters/everest-2015/the-daily-moraine-2015-4-everest-decision#.dpuf
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - May 2, 2015 - 10:31am PT
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On the good news side.
An article on the government's attempt to grab the funds of small scale donors and how after a big backlash (surprise!), and the threat to cut off further funds to Nepal, the government has backed down, saying that all that is required now is to send an email to the Social Welfare Council and the Chief District Officer telling them how much is being sent and where it will go. Needless to say, those emails will go out after the aid is distributed, so it can't be seized on the way.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/11577706/Nepal-aid-donors-may-halt-fundraising-amid-fears-government-will-seize-donations.html
I'm still waiting for a report and photos from my village. The local reincarnate lama and a friend of mine flew in the rescue helicopter up to the village with tarps, meds and food, and then walked the four days back with the young boys who were attending a Buddhist school up there.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - May 2, 2015 - 10:55am PT
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And U.S. Marines to the rescue !
Brigadier General Paul Kennedy of the US Marine Corps said The U.S. is sending four tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey aircraft along with three Huey helicopters, four Air Force C-17 Globemasters and two Marine Corps KC-130's along with 150 military personnel to Nepal to boost earthquake relief efforts.
“We are bringing in significant capacity,” Kennedy said Friday of the U.S. assets, which will include Air Force personnel out of Guam who can control air traffic, repair airfields and offload supplies with heavy equipment.
Ospreys have seen extensive service in Afghanistan and deployed to the Philippines during relief efforts after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013. Flying in the Himalayas will be a new challenge, Kennedy said. They have never been in anything that approximates this.
(No Kidding!)
The response of Army Special Forces troops out of Okinawa, who were doing cold weather training in Nepal when the earthquake struck, has been impressive, Kennedy said.
They went to Mount Everest and started pulling people out,” he said. “It wasn’t just at Base Camp. They went up the mountain and they were pulling people out. The soldiers recovered the body of Google executive Dan Fredinburg from the mountain.
As soon as they were done with that, they were down here going out to villages doing first-aid and even search-and-rescue,” he said.
(excerpted from Pacific Stars and Stripes)
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Mexico City, D.F.
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Anyone who would even contemplate climbing Everest after this earthquake should be banned from the country forever. I was a little disburbed by all the helicopters rescuing climbers from EBC, but then after thinking a little more, they have to save all the foreign tourists first. The entire economy of Nepal depends on tourism, and harming the tourist industry could hurt Nepal even more in the long run.
Should we rescue the Everest climbers?
* a better idea: don't ban them from the country forever, but mercilessly ridicule them on the internet for all time. The reason they're climbing it in the first place is to try to impress other people.
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John M
climber
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Anyone who would even contemplate climbing Everest after this earthquake should be banned from the country forever. I was a little disburbed by all the helicopters rescuing climbers from EBC, but then after thinking a little more, they have to save all the foreign tourists first. The entire economy of Nepal depends on tourism, and harming the tourist industry could hurt Nepal even more in the long run.
If this is true..
The entire economy of Nepal depends on tourism, and harming the tourist industry could hurt Nepal even more in the long run
Then aren't you suggesting long term harm to Nepal's economy with this statement?
Anyone who would even contemplate climbing Everest after this earthquake should be banned from the country forever.
Everest is dangerous, but how often do such large earthquakes happen? What you are suggesting is to harm the nations economy because of rare occurrences.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - May 2, 2015 - 06:04pm PT
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Unfortunately on the Tibetan calendar, next year is also supposed to be a bad year. That will be three in a row.
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John M
climber
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http://himalayanexperience.com/newsletters/everest-2015/the-daily-moraine-2015-4-everest-decision#.dpuf
Hey Don. My apologies. . I misunderstood the first part of your statement. I thought that you said that no one should climb Everest ever again.
It is a dilemma, and after rereading you statement, I see that you weren't saying that no one should ever climb Everest again. Just that they should not climb it immediately after this earthquake, which eventually was the decision.
the link that Big Mike posted is worth reading. The decision to climb or not had not been made, and part of the reason was that not everything was known at base camp and the Sherpas depend on making much of their money during that season, so much was at stake.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - May 2, 2015 - 08:54pm PT
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It turns out a U.S. Special Forces team from my old home of Okinawa was in Nepal when the earthquake happened and they flew some of the people out of Base Camp. They also rescued people from Langtang who were trapped there. I wonder if any of them were my old students?
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Trad climber
Will know soon
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Thanks for letting us know about the Marine help, Jan. My nephew is a heli pilot in the Marines and we are proud of all he does around the world.
I also appreciate each of you that contribute to this Thread. Let's not let it wander off our radar.
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Unfortunately on the Tibetan calendar, next year is also supposed to be a bad year. That will be three in a row.
Frightening, considering the unprecedented 2014 tragedy and now an exponentially greater nightmare for 2015.
Thank you so much Jan for all you've poured into this.
Best to all.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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I happen to be at John Porter's house, in the UK, at the moment, and John is meeting up with Doug Scott, shortly, to deliver quite a few sleeping bags, which will be sent Monday to Nepal.
The shipment is being flown over by the British military by the Ghurka's, who will make sure it gets delivered directly to the people in need.
Chris Bonnington was here last night, who is also involved with this effort.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, steve A... wow, hope they get there well and good... and thanks so much for sharing...
:)
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - May 3, 2015 - 11:50am PT
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And this just in.
The Nepalese Politicians Caved!
Leaders of the three major political parties in the coalition government have just declared that anyone is free to distribute aid anywhere they want to.
That's a huge victory for international aid and Nepalese poor people.
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