Flying Off Everest (28 page)

*
The Indian constitution currently recognizes twenty-two different languages as “official languages.”

*
The Indian constitution currently recognizes twenty-two different languages as “official languages.”

*
Sagar Island is also regularly referred to as Ganga Sagar.

*
A barrage is similar to a dam, but not the same. A dam stores water, creating a massive reservoir behind it, whereas a barrage is simply a weir with gates that are meant to control the flow of a river and help redirect it.

*
A full lunar eclipse, as opposed to a partial lunar eclipse, occurs when the centers of the moon, earth, and sun are in near-perfect alignment. It’s a rare occasion, but when it does happen, the atmosphere also plays a role in how dark a lunar eclipse will be. If the sky is clear, it may allow some refracted light to stray onto the moon’s surface, making the eclipse not quite as dark as it otherwise would be. On the night of June 15, 2011, when Babu, Lakpa, and Krishna were being chased by bandits down the Ganges, the sky was made even darker with the help of the ash thrown into the atmosphere by the recent eruption of Iceland’s most active volcano, Grímsvötn, as well as the ash still present in the atmosphere from the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull.

*
It’s also quite likely that Bangladesh’s growing population has something to do with the decline in the Sunderbans mangrove forests, but the lower water level of the Ganges certainly doesn’t help the situation.

*
At the time of the interview being described, neither Niviuk nor Sup’Air officially sponsored Babu or Lakpa. The same held true as this book was published. However, both companies did sponsor Babu at the 2013 Red Bull X-Alps event, Niviuk by giving him a brand-new wing and Sup’Air by providing him with a new lightweight harness and backpack. Sup’Air also provided for free the harnesses that Babu and Lakpa used on Everest.

*
It’s worth noting that voters for the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Award are allowed to vote multiple times, but only once daily. Boomer actually voted for Babu every day for the duration of the voting period, instead of for himself and Turk.

†
A week later, the twenty-five-year-old Honnold and his climbing partner, Shawn Leary, also managed to climb the Nose on El Capitan three times in one day, breaking the speed record for consecutive ascents on the route.

*
Up until 2012
National Geographic
gave the winners of the award a small plaque. It discontinued the plaques the year Babu and Lakpa won the award.

*
In Nepal and India, the term
jeep
is commonly used to refer to any sport utility vehicle. Babu, Lakpa, and Krishna likely hired a TATA brand jeep, although none of them remember for certain.

*
In the week after they flew from the summit, Babu and Lakpa’s flight from Everest was also briefly mentioned in blog posts on Outsideonline.com, Gadling.com, and GrindTV.com, which repurposed content from the original XCmag.com story and listed Lakpa and Babu’s exploits on the mountain along with other noteworthy happenings on Everest that week. Also featured were Alpine Ascents International expedition members Garrett Madison, Tom Halliday, and Michael Horst, who became the first climbers to stand atop two 8,000-meter peaks within a twenty-four-hour period (summiting Everest and neighboring Lhotse the same day); Bhakta Kumar Rai (aka “Supreme Master God Angel”), who had stayed on top of Everest for thirty-two hours straight just before Babu and Lakpa had flown from the summit; and RMI Expeditions guide Dave Hahn, who summited Everest for the thirteenth time that same week.

*
Himalayan Trailblazer refused to comment for this book.

†
As of December 2012, Lakpa was still paying Himalayan Trailblazer back.

*
The author of this book, Dave Costello, wrote the article about Babu and Lakpa’s expedition for
Canoe & Kayak.
It was titled “The Ultimate Source to Sea.”

*
The other publications that mentioned Babu and Lakpa’s expedition did so on their websites and simply posted a selection of the four “free” photos Phinney had provided for them to use—a common practice in the magazine world, where editorial online budgets are close to zero.

†
Although VHS video format is the same throughout the world, the electronic signal that is recorded on the cassette varies from country to country. NTSC is the standard used in North America and most of South America. PAL is the predominant standard used everywhere else, including Nepal.

*
At the time of publication,
Hanuman Airlines
was still available for purchase on XCmag.com, as well as Pevec’s personal website, Fauxreelfilms.com.