with Stefan Nestler
Original blog (in German)
School up!
Money for relief flights in Nepal runs short
Earthquake relief by helicopter
The World Food Programme (WFP) has sounded the alarm. If the "United Nations Humanitarian Air Service" (UNHAS) does not receive additional money, the helicopter relief flights for the earthquake victims in Nepal have to be stopped at the end of August. According to the WFP, which manages the UNHAS, there is a shortfall of more than nine million US dollars to continue the flights as scheduled until the end of October. The UNHAS is transporting staff and relief goods from UN agencies, the government in Kathmandu and Non-Governmental Organizations from all over the world to remote mountain areas in Nepal, which were particularly hard hit by the earthquake on 25 April and the aftershocks.
30 percent more flights
In continuous use
"The earthquake damaged or destroyed already precarious mountain trails and roads. Monsoon rains have exacerbated this problem by causing landslides", Seetashma Thapa from WFP Nepal writes to me. "The damage to transport infrastructure has been unexpectedly high." Helicopters are often the only way to reach the remote villages. The six UNHAS helicopters "have been used 30 percent more than was initially envisaged at the beginning of the program", says Thapa.
Don't lose any time!
According to the UNHAS, about 140 remote communities have been served so far. "The cargo transported has mostly been shelter materials – such as metal roofing sheets –, food, health supplies, equipment for the provision of water and sanitation facilities", says Seetashma Thapa. "The three most-served districts have so far been Dhading, Gorkha (both located west of Kathmandu near the eight-thousander Manaslu) and Sindhupalchowk (east of the capital)." About 150,000 people are still reliant on the relief flights. Thus, there is no time to lose!
P.S. Thulosirubari is a village in Sindhupalchowk District. The earthquake has damaged the local school, which had been attended by 700 students before, so badly that it must be demolished. With our donation campaign "School up!" we want to rebuild the school as fast as possible. Please support us! You find the details on the right side of the blog.
14. August 2015 | 16:06
Earthquake, Helicopter, Nepal, Relief flights, Seetashma Thapa, UNHAS, WFP
Winter expeditions: Waiting for end of snowfall
Bad weather forces the climbers of the winter expeditions on the eight-thousanders K2 and Nanga Parbat in Pakistan and on Manaslu in Nepal to inactivity. The team from Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan led by Vassiliy Pivtsov returned to K2 Base Camp yesterday after the seven climbers, according to their own words, had fixed ropes on the classical Abruzzi route up to an altitude of 6,300 meters.
Nanga Parbat: Nardi and Co. again in Camp 3
While the winter expedition teams at the eight-thousanders K2 and Manaslu have only just moved into their base camps, the Italian Daniele Nardi and his three companions on Nanga Parbat are in a more advanced phase.
Winter expeditions are on
Several winter expeditions in the Himalayas and Karakoram started in the first days of the year. Two of the three climbers who had succeeded the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in 2016 met in Lhukla in Nepal, however now with different goals: The Spaniard Alex Txikon wants to tackle K2 in Pakistan, the last remaining eight-thousander to be climbed for the first time in the cold season, the Italian Simone Moro is drawn to Manaslu again.
Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008)
"You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated."
Aid project in Nepal: School up!
Tweets @Springinsfeld
Tweets by @Springinsfeld
Avalanche Elisabeth Revol Mingma Gyalje Sherpa Pakistan Mount Everest Tamara Lunger Broad Peak Earthquake Shishapangma Dhaulagiri Nepalhilfe Beilngries Aid project: School up! Expeditions Expedition Karakoram Thomas Huber Nanga Parbat K2 Manaslu winter ascent Lhotse Thulosirubari Luis Stitzinger Nepal Tomek Mackiewicz Kangchenjunga K 2 winter expedition Ueli Steck Annapurna Billi Bierling first ascent Amical Alpin Cho Oyu Tibet Makalu Ralf Dujmovits Alex Txikon Daniele Nardi Simone Moro
See you on "abenteuer-berg.de"!
Two Polish climbers flown out of K2 Base Camp
Tima Deryan: Strong Arab woman heading for Everest
Rugby on Everest
Shutdown stops Kobusch at Denali
In their husbands' Everest footsteps
stefan.nestler(at)dw.com