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Stormy mountain and solar weather
10:02 a.m. EDT Oct 24, 2003
Despite unrelenting snow all day, the Adventure Consultants expedition shouldered their packs and made their first carry up to “Yak Camp” at 5,500m. Luis reports in his audio dispatch today that the team quickly dropped their loads and hustled back to Base Camp for warm tea. Tomorrow is another rest day for the crew. Their hope now is that the snows subside and the sun shines through to warm things up for “shower day!”
In other Ama Dablam news, Araceli Segara and Hector Ponce de Leon summited the peak on October 18.
And speaking of the sun, ExplorersWeb reported Wednesday on the sudden increase in solar activity being a possible cause of communications failures from the Himalayas to the Atlantic Ocean. A space weather advisory issued by the NOAA predicted that the flares could impact susceptible systems (such as satellite, GPS, HF radio) for up to two weeks.
Well, fasten your seat belts today for possible power disruptions! On Thursday, a solar storm exploded above the largest cluster of sunspots seen in years and sent 10 billion tons of superhot gas and charged particles toward Earth. The “coronal mass ejection” (CME) is expected to reach our planet today at about 3:00 p.m. EDT, and could disrupt satellites, power systems and cell phones today for up to 18 hours.
On the bright side, night sky watchers from the mid-latitude could be treated to a spectacular display of the Northern Lights.
Solar activity typically peaks in cycles approximately every 11 years. The last recorded peak was in 2000, so the level of activity we see now is a bit unusual and will be interesting to watch.
The NOAA has rated the geomagnetic storm a G3 out of a possible G5 rating and BBC headlines warn, “Earth put on solar storm alert!” However, wireless phone company AT&T reportedly assures that the solar flares will have no impact on their wireless service.
Adventure Consultants is headed to Southwest Ridge of Ama Dablam this fall. Three-time Everest summiteer, Luis Benitez is leading the month-long expedition to the 6,828m "Jewel of the Khumbu." Adventure Consultants is an IGO 8000 member and has a strong reputation among climbers for its very high standards, experienced guides and sherpas.
Image of Steve Moffat and Luis Benitez courtesy of Adventureconsultants.co.nz
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