I am sitting here drenched in sweat even though our little house in Islamabad is rather cold at the moment. Winter has started and the temperatures have dropped significantly and in spite of being warm outside in the sun, it requires a shawl, a hat and a…
It has been exactly four weeks that I came back from Makalu, spent five days with my friends in Kathmandu and quickly took off again to start another batch of working for the Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation (SDC) here in Islamabad. It has been a…
Finally, my mind has arrived where my body has been for the past five days – in the heat and dust of Kathmandu, where roadworks are still ongoing and even getting on a bike through the traffic has become almost impossible. However, it has been great to…
This is just a quick update to let everyone know that I am back in Kathmandu after a short helicopter flight from Yangle Kharka. Well, the helicopter flight was short but the walk from base camp to Yangle Kharka was long as it took us 10 1/2…
Robot: As reported by Billi on her satphone: "EXPEDITION OVER. WE R AT C2 BUT ITS FAR TOO WINDY TO MOVE TO THE MAKALU LA. WEATHER NOT SUPPOSED TO IMPROVE, SO WE ARE GOING DOWN. MORE ..." soon.... See more updates on Billi's Twitter feed.
This is just a very brief update to let you know that we are attempting to reach the summit again on Monday, 8th October. I personally don't think that I'll stand a big chance to set foot on the smallest 8.000 er summit in the world as…
http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/outdoor-adventure/expedition-watch-climbing-makalu.html?172175051
I am lying in my sleeping bag at base camp and it is feeling cold - but maybe not as cold as two nights ago when I was shivering in my tent at an altitude of 7,900m, where it was about -20C. A lot has happened since…
Hopefully will will now also being on Twitter and posting from her satphone over the coming days. Hopefully. Follow her here: https://twitter.com/BilliBierling Tweets by @BilliBierling
Robot here. Received a small text from Billi yesterday. It mentioned that she is safe and well and hoping to be up the around 29 September (i.e. today). She says also that she is feeling good but slow, as always. More updates as I receive them!
This is just a quick note to let you know that we are leaving base camp on 24 September and are hoping to be near or on the summit at the end of the month. The weather is looking very promising for this period, which we certainly…
Why do we forget how hard high altitude climbing is? I'm not sure but I guess it is the same reason why women have more than one baby or überathletes like my friend Chrissie do more than one ironman. I guess the difference between high altitude climbing…
Finally, we have touched this beautiful mountain properly. After having been up to our camp 1 at 6,100m for one night and tagged camp 2 at about 6,500m, we are back at our base camp. I am saying 'our base camp' as we seem to be camped…
Hello, This is Billi's robot. 10th September update (and Billi has run out of Satphone credit): We are at ABC at 5400m and it is beautiful. We are the only expedition here and the walk in was great!! 5th Sept update: IN YANGLE KHARKA. BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE. STILL…
After having spent a week in Kathmandu it is time to leave again. It has been great to see friends and be back in the city for a few days, however, the current road widening campaign that is going on all over the city makes getting around…
After having come back from Kilimanjaro and the Safari that goes with it, I all of a sudden noticed that it was only 10 more days until I will leave for my next adventure and go to Makalu, the fifth highest peak in the world. The Tanzania…
After having spent six beautiful weeks in Europe I am on the road again – first to Tanzania, then back to Nepal and later in the year to Pakistan for work . Europe was beautiful and I really enjoyed Bavaria, my friends’ and family’s company, the peace…
I have been in my hometown Garmisch-Partenkirchen for a few weeks and it is absolutely gorgeous to be here. When I am away I keep forgetting how beautiful Bavaria is and how much it has to offer. I guess it is when you grow up in such…
Dear Friends Please be advised that the Billi Bierling page on Facebook is NOT mine. And even though you can see a FB icon on the top of this site, I have never been on Facebook myself and I am not intending to join it either. Somebody,…
This year’s Everest season has been heavily covered by the international news and I am wondering whether I should actually comment on it or not. I have had a few phone calls from journalists wanting to hear my opinion about what happened on the mountain this year,…
After two days of brisk walking, I arrived in Lukla on Sunday night hoping that I would get to Kathmandu on Monday morning. However, the Agni Air plane that I was supposed to fly to the capital with, unfortunately crashed in Jomsom - the gateway to the…
Most of you might have heard already that Russell Brice has cancelled all his Himalayan expeditions for this season. The reason is the particularly dangerous route through the icefall this year as well as the rockfall on the Lhotse Face. You will find the reasons for this…
Hello, this is Billi's robot in Kathmandu posting on Billi's behalf. Billi is very busy chasing men around Everest Base Camp asking them questions, including the guy in the red jacket above. You can listen to the short interview here on World Radio Switzerland.
We have just come back down from Lobuje East and, as always, it was beautiful. Lobuje offers the most amazing views of the surrounding peaks and when we go back up on Tuesday for our two nights of acclimatisation, I shall post a picture of the panorama…
After about 12 days at base camp I am looking forward to going climbing again – even though it is only obuje East, a peak that I have already climbed eight times. I will be joining our Lhotse and Nuptse teams and will be going with my…
I am sitting on a rock near Pumori base camp after I went for a short morning walk to blow away the cobwebs. I have been at base camp for five days now and even though it is great to be here there is a lot of…
This is just a quick hello from base camp - or rather Gorak Shep, the last village before base camp from where we can send data via mobile 3G technology. I had a good walk in and met a few people on the trail, which is always…
After almost one month in Kathmandu it is time to leave again and go to the Everest Region – an area I know so well and I am very much looking forward to going back to and taking in the stunning views of the surrounding Himalayan giants.…
Another fortnight has gone and I have been rushing around Kathmandu trying to catch up with the teams I need to interview for Miss Elizabeth Hawley’s Himalayan Database. Kathmandu’s tourist district Thamel is noticeably filling up with trekkers and climbers, bars are getting busier and mobile phone…
It has been less than 36 hours that my plane touched down in Kathmandu and even though it is good to be back in the madness of this sprawling city, it was great to get out into the surrounding hills on Saturday morning. After five months of…
