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I'm calling from Mt.Everest!

         London: The British plan to climb Mt.Everest and then establish a world record by making a mobile call from the top of the summit, weather permitting, reports the BBC. The attempt is scheduled to take place in late May. "There's no reason why it should not work," claims Baber who already holds a world record for reaching the highest point of every European nation. Making a phone call from Everest is possible thanks to a mobile base station installed in China that has line of sight to the north side of the mountain. Baber is confident that the attempt on the world record would work because the phone he will use has been tested in very low temperatures and the final climb will only happen if weather conditions are good. The downside is that staying in contact with this base station demands that climbers follow the north ridge to the top - generally regarded as the toughest route. Baber will travel in an expedition organised and run by experienced mountain climbing group HimEx which, says Baber, has one of the best records of getting climbers to the top of the mountain. Baber set off for Kathmandu on March 30, and will spend the next few weeks acclimatising his body to high altitude. He says that he has been running eight to 10 miles a day, doing weights and spending time on a cross-training machine. To help his body cope with high altitude, Baber has also had to eat a lot. Baber is being sponsored by Motorola, which has provided the phone he will use to make the call and send a text message from the summit. The final push for the summit usually takes six to eight days. Baber will not spend long on the top of Everest, perhaps only 15 minutes, largely because conditions at that altitude (8,848m, 29,028ft) are so harsh.
-April 3,  2007