The Dark Side of Everest...

Compilation of videos from TED and National Geographic on the 1996 Everest disaster. Eight people died on May 10, 1996 during summit attempts.

One of the survivors, Beck Weathers, who was left to die - spent a whole night in an open bivouac in a terrible blizzard with both hands and his face exposed. His fellow climbers said that his frozen hand and nose looked and felt as if they were made of porcelain, and they did not expect him to survive. With that assumption, they only tried to make him comfortable until he died, but he survived another freezing night alone in a tent unable to drink, eat, or keep himself covered with the sleeping bags he was provided.

Beck Weathers had his right arm amputated halfway below the elbow. All four fingers and the thumb on his left hand were removed; his nose was amputated and reconstructed with tissue from his ear and forehead and he lost parts of both feet to his injuries. He continues to practice medicine, and deliver motivational speeches from Dallas.
SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beck_Weathers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Everest_disaster

The Dark Side of Everest - A film by National Geographic narrator Paul Boucher
The dark side of everest - part 1
The dark side of everest - part 2
The dark side of everest - part 3
The dark side of everest - part 4
The dark side of everest - part 5

remembering that insane Kashmir motorbike trip...!

Came across this on somebody's blog today. It is the first part of what we did last year in Kashmir. The stretch between Pang to Tanglang La was the most testing... I really did not know whether I would reach Leh alive - especially after the army doc at Pang told me that I was a retard to have taken two Diamox pills within 4 hours due to mountain sickness and that a Russian dude died there a year before because they could not get him to a lower altitude in time). The good news is that I did live to tell a lot of guys that this was by far the best trip of my life. Pics: http://tmakhija.blogspot.com/2009/07/kashmir-2009-motorbike-trip-pictures.html

I might not do this on a motorbike again, but would definitely be up for hiring a car and doing it all over one more time! Vince on the other hand is planning to take it t0 a different level altogether this time. But then thats Vince... and you can expect him to do the impossible.

Check out: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&story_fbid=108285165865860&id=571932209

Sharp Peak calling again

Sharp Peak was being missed. The last time I had been there was more than a year ago. Luckily on Friday, Dave proposed hiking on the Hong Kong trail. Now, we all know that the HK Trail has no scenery to offer and it is an almost flat (albeit long walk of as long as you want - 50kms). This clearly as not happening and convincing Dave on Sharp Peak was not that difficult (he had never been there!)

So on Saturday, we started walking from Pak Tam Au, reached Sharp Peak in about 2 hours, went down to the beach which took another 2.5 hours, took a 1 hour lunch break, and walked back to the starting point i.e., Pak Tam Au which took as another 1.5 hours i.e., a TOTAL of say 6.5-7 hours which included half an hour of getting lost and a 1 hour (heavenly) lunch break. Felt good to have done some proper hiking after a long long time! But the amount of time we took was a rude reminder of how unfit I am!

Kshan - a 24x7 service which connect patients in need of blood to volunteering blood donors using smart SMS technology.

Few of us have been working on Kshan a concept that was initiated about 3 years back by a bunch of motivated students and young professionals in Mumbai. Kshan is now envisioned to be a 24x7 service which will help connect patients in need of blood during emergencies to a large group of volunteering blood donors using smart SMS technology.

smsGupShup, India fastest growing mobile community platform is supporting us in our SMS technology needs.

There are 3 beliefs driving this initiative:

1. Cutting edge SMS technology can be used effectively to help connect volunteering blood donors directly with patients in need of blood
2. There is a pressing need to support patients who need blood transfusion throughout their entire lives e.g., thalassemics, haemophiliacs, anaemics
3. In an ideal world, patients should not be required to pay for blood that has been donated.
   

We are addressing all these points in our effort and are currently operational in Mumbai with reasonable success so far. (http://www.kshan.org/images/times_of_india.jpg)

But the mission is to get this model to work across India - in major cities. We need your help to spread the word on this. Following are the 3 ways you can get involved and make a difference.

1. If you are based in India, would be much appreciated if you could register as a donor HERE. You will receive a SMS request every time someone close to your location is in need of blood. We will provide the patients contact information to you and you will touch base with them directly, only if you have the time to volunteer. We are only "connecting" a potential donor to the patient in need of blood. Nothing more! Visit www.kshan.org to read more.

2. Click on this LINK to share Kshan's donor registration page in your Facebook account and encourage your India network to register as donors there.

3. We are looking to engage student bodies/societies. We need a lot of active blood donors to make this a success and we will find such volunteers only in colleges. So let me know if you have any ideas/introductions you can help me with please!

Follow Kshan on Twitter
Become a Kshan Fan Facebook Fan Page
Follow Kshan on Facebook Causes

Thank you for your support.

Kashmir 2009 - Motorbike Trip Pictures.. Will write about it soon.

Kashmir 2009 - Motorbike Trip

Phir Dekhiye..

So I have been hooked to this song for 2 days. Just uses an acoustic guitar (and a bit of piano). Strumming pattern and chords unchanged through the song. Simplicity at its very best. Check it out if you have not heard it yet!

Phir Dekhiye - Rock On!

Go Pakistan!

1. Over the last 6 months, this nation has seen thousands of innocent people being "murdered" and millions rendered homeless due to a series of suicide bomb blasts and the Swat Valley operation. Cricket is as big a religion in Pakistan as it is in India. Pakistan needs to celebrate something. Anything. Why not win the T20 world cup which they lost to their biggest rival on and off the cricket field 2 years back?

2. In recent times, India has dominated Pakistan in cricket. The India-Pak cricket rivalry is no longer as big as it used to be. Indians would still love to see a Shoaib Akhtar run into Sachin Tendulkar as compared to a Bret Lee. Pakistan has talent, but so many times have they given us a feeling that they lack the desire. A win here, will help fuel that desire... and make India verus Pakistan a much more enjoyable affair.

3. And lastly, England, not Pakistan was the reason for India being out of the T20 World Cup. So I dont really care if Pakistan win this one!

.. Go Pakistan!