GettingStarted
Isteppedofftheplaneandsawthem!Thehigh,snow‑coveredmountainsoftheHimalaya.WehadflownintothevillageofLuklainNepal.Iwouldn’tseeMountEverestuntilthenextday.WhenIdid,Ihadtolookuptothesky.ThatiswhereI’dseethe summit.
IwaspartofanexpeditiontoMountEverest.Iwasherebecauseourplanetischanging.Rightnow,we’reseeingdramaticclimatechanges.Wedon’tfullyunderstandthem.Especiallyinextremeplaceslikehighmountains.Wedon’thavealotofdataforsuch places.
Here,theglaciersprovidewatertomillionsofpeople.TheyalsofeedriversthatflowtopartsofAsiawherebillionsofpeoplelive.Warmertemperaturesarecausingtheglacierstomelttooquickly.Wewanttoknowmoreaboutthis.So,wecollectedsamplesofice,snow,rocks,andwater.Wealsosetupweatherstationsalongthe way.
TheLuklaairportishighinthe Himalaya.
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AMERICA
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OCEAN
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AFRICA
SOUTH
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Nepal
India
Mount
Everest
meltwaterneartheKhumbu Glacier
ExpeditionWork
Beforewecollectedsamplesordata,weneededtotestourequipmentintheextremeweather.WealsoneededtoworkwithourSherpaclimbingteam,thekeytooursuccess.SherpasareTibetanpeoplelivingintheHimalaya.Theyareknownforhelping climbers.
ThebasecampmanagerandIsetupasurveystationfor3-D mapping.
Sherpateammembersattendedaceremonyforthesafetyofourteambeforea climb.
Cramponsonbootsandiceaxeshelpwiththe climbing.
Totravelthroughthesteepsnowandiceslopes,weneededspecialiceclimbingequipment.Crampons,ormetalspikes,stickoutthebottomandfrontofourboots.Theyhelpyourfootingonslipperyiceslopes.Ice axeshelp,too.You swingtheaxeintotheiceandpullyourselfup!OurrouteupEverestputourskillstothe test.
Eachmemberoftheteamlearnedtousetheiceclimbing tools.
