Mt Everest Radio Comms?

[citygirlleosprtr]

Hi. I'm Chloe. Unfortunately, I only speak English but I can copy and paste to Google Translate.

Is it possible to listen to Everest climb ops or rescue ops and/or weather reports? Is it even legal?

Are they streamed online? YouTube? I searched in the past before joining RadioReference to no avail.

I ask because I am watching Everest on MAX and I was curious because radios (Motorolas like American public safety) are used throughout the film.

Thanks in advance!

Be safe. Cheers.

 

[kevinparrish]

2-Meters (simplex) is widely used for 2-way radio communications at Mt. Everest and surrounding areas. . . Climbers, Professional Guide Companies, Base Camps, Sherpas, Helicopters, etc all operating within 144-148 MHz for routine operations.

 

[citygirlleosprtr]

Thanks, mate!

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Hi. I'm Chloe. Unfortunately, I only speak English but I can copy and paste to Google Translate.

Is it possible to listen to Everest climb ops or rescue ops and/or weather reports? Is it even legal?

Are they streamed online? YouTube? I searched in the past before joining RadioReference to no avail.

I ask because I am watching Everest on MAX and I was curious because radios (Motorolas like American public safety) are used throughout the film.

Thanks in advance!

Be safe. Cheers.

I have watched these shows about climbing Mt. Everest as well. I also have wondered about the communications. From what I can tell, the radios are analog FM radios in VHF or UHF bands. They do not sound like encryption is used. It would be simple for someone within line of sight of the base camp and above to receive those communications. I wonder if anyone in China or Nepal has published the frequencies and better yet could stream them to internet. Bear in mind, some of the comms are tragic. They also use satellite phones, though for operations, that would be expensive and actually less reliable in practice.

 

[citygirlleosprtr]

I listen to public safety 24/7. There isn't much I haven't heard. My ex boyfriend was a paramedic, now fire police. I have friends with the LAPD, Cheyenne Police, and London Metropolitan Police. Unfortunately, not too much of this has adverse effects on me. Certain calls for service, however, bother me, obviously.

I understand the practise of comms; I was wondering if a stream already exsists.

Be safe, mate!

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Maybe some enterprising radio freak in Nepal will read this and set up some streams. It would probably be a nice feature for the stay at home family of these climbers to be able to monitor the climbs. But then again, pretty harrowing when the weather turns.

 

[citygirlleosprtr]

💯

 

[citygirlleosprtr]

Via google dot translate dot com.

Nepali:
के कसैले सगरमाथाबाट रेडियो संचार साझा गर्न सक्छ? यदि तपाईंसँग मौद्रिक साधन छ भने, म यी साहसी व्यक्तिहरूबाट सुन्न कदर गर्नेछु!

Kē kasailē sagaramāthābāṭa rēḍiyō san̄cāra sājhā garna sakcha? Yadi tapā'īnsam̐ga maudrika sādhana cha bhanē, ma yī sāhasī vyaktiharūbāṭa sunna kadara garnēchu!

English:
Can someone share the radio communication from Everest? If you have the monetary means, I would appreciate hearing from these brave people!

 

[kevinparrish]

Chloe,

I'm not aware of any feeds from Nepal - Mt. Everest and from personal experience can tell you that internet availability was very scarce.

Back in April 2015 an extreme earthquake, 8.1 magnitude, (Gorkha Earthquake) hit Nepal which then triggered an avalanche on Mt. Everest. During this time I was involved with RF engineering for a very large Discovery Channel project. . . We were setting up for a live broadcast television special originating from atop Mt. Everest and various high elevation mountain base camps. . . Our 2-way radio communications (Discovery Channel Engineering & Production) was all UHF with the equipment having been brought in from both New York and Maryland. . . In order for the TV production crews to have 2-way radio communications with established Mt. Everest business services and the Sherpa People working with Discovery Channel Production, we just used established 2-Meter Amateur Radio Frequencies. . . The use of 2-Meters at Mt. Everest is very well established and for the locals it's essentially their version of CB Radio. . . It's widely available, cheap, no licenses or regulatory issues and it WORKS WELL for everyone. . . Everything was "simplex only" operation. . . As a result of the earthquake and avalanche the entire Discovery Channel project was immediately cancelled and never re-attempted. . .

Kevin

 

[footage]

If you look at webpages from Everest climbers and mountaineering groups, they state that people use 2m HTs (Yaesu FT-70 and FT-65 are often recommended) on simplex frequencies. I could find no apparent band plan and no common frequencies.

 

[kevinparrish]

From my operations back in April 2015 there was no established Mt. Everest band plan at that time. . . However "common simplex frequencies" were in use on the mountain.

 

[p1879]

Checked up on Mt Everest comms some years back after reading a couple of great Everest books--including the one by the Russian guide who was trashed so thoroughly in the Jon Krakauer book "Into Thin Air". ( The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest. Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt) Both books were on the 1996 season of tragedy on Everest.

My reading, as you folks said, indicated 2M radios are about the standard there. One post I read in a discussion, though, puzzled me. It mentioned Everest Base Camp comms from below the Khumbu Icefall to the base camp on the Tibetian/Chinese side of the mountain. I wonder if there is HF capability for this? Otherwise, it would seem a difficult feat.

Yes, you did mention sat phones, but I got the impression this was done by radio.