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Climbing Everest with an iPhone and iPad

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Climbing Everest with an iPhone and iPad
If you are climbing the world’s tallest mountain you need to have the most reliable gear out there. So what do the world’s top mountaineers pack on their way to Everest? 

Ski-mountaineer Hilaree O’Neill participating in the 2012 Everest expedition is following the route charted by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay back in 1953, but while there were no computers then, O’Neill has now packed both an iPad and an iPhone in her backpack.

Comparing the 1953 expedition with this year’s trip to Everest, you’d see that a lined paper notebooks and a pen were what Hillary used to take notes, while now it’s an iPad. The reason Apple’s tablet survives the heights is the fact that it uses a solid-state drive while traditional spinning hard disk drives often fail at such altitudes.

When it comes to communication, bulky wireless “walkie-talkies” were what was originally used in the 1953 expedition. And bulky here means nearly 5 pounds. An additional pain was carrying the dry-cell batteries in a safe and warm place under the vests. Now, there’s signal throughout the whole region and the O’Neill is using an iPhone for communication.

What would be the gadgets you'd take with you in such harsh conditions?


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1. frydaexiii posted on 22 Mar 2012, 04:28 2 3

*facepalm*

2. 9_HeLLs_oF_DrOid posted on 22 Mar 2012, 04:37 11 2

He should carry the new iPad. Atleast, it can keep him warp up there.

3. 9_HeLLs_oF_DrOid posted on 22 Mar 2012, 04:39 2 1

I meant *warm

7. azri05 (unregistered) posted on 22 Mar 2012, 06:15

haha warm+up=warp

4. pongkie posted on 22 Mar 2012, 05:02 1

that'll put the thrill away. just pop up the ipad and play angry birds and feel like back at the valley again.

5. kainy posted on 22 Mar 2012, 05:22 5

That's some piece of news! I'd love to hear more about that expedition!!! Did she used iPod Nano while climbing i think it's lighter than Sony's Walkman! /s

Guys ... is this news? Really? If you mean that she is super hardcore and uses the most reliable gadgets, I'm sure that for comunication she would prefer Sonim, not iPhone... Other than that ... for tablet ... do she really needs one to carry around? That's just pure bullcrap... didn't see ONE word that was news worthy here... Great Job. /s

6. azri05 (unregistered) posted on 22 Mar 2012, 06:06 3

Well no surprise. I use ipad as surfboard, and macbook air to cut an apple.

8. G2userLuvit posted on 22 Mar 2012, 08:05 2

I thought there was an article about a month or two ago, that stated that the iphone wouldnt work in temperatures below 20 f. She problably has her sgs2 up there, but is an apple employee and doesn't wanna get in trouble...

9. Fallout09 posted on 22 Mar 2012, 08:27

I was going to say the same thing.

10. darktranquillity posted on 22 Mar 2012, 09:52

I heard its very cold out their in Everest and that the new ipad overheats with minimal use. Perfect combination!

11. bayusuputra posted on 22 Mar 2012, 11:48

"If you are climbing the world’s tallest mountain you need to have the most reliable gear out there."

reliable? Yeah, sure..

12. Mandroid posted on 24 Mar 2012, 19:16

ipad/iphonearena.com
Also reliable? "S***, my dumb ass is on everest and I can't get a signal because I'm 'holding my iphone the wrong way', and my ipad can't get a wifi or 4G signal. I've lost three toes, a hand, and my ears to frostbite, but at least I'm trendy!"

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