Mohammed goes to the mountain: Everest, that is. Dave Hughes, the 75-year-old unlicensed wireless advocate, and guru to a generation of gurus on the topic, has made the trek to visit the Sherpas he's been working with long distance from his home in Colorado.
Dave arrived with piles of donated gear: antennas, bridges, SIP phones, and so forth, and the goal of helping the Sherpas -- who are all over this technology, especially Tsering Sherpa, grandson of one Hilary's team -- have a real link with the rest of the world and provide distance learning. Sherpas are scattered everywhere, and some of them would like to stay, but not be so informationally far away from the rest of the world. Throw in the work of some Maoist Nepalese rebels, and that's a hard job with a landline.
Dave wrote in email to some wireless lists: As of last night we can reach EVERY building in Namche (maybe 200) and now I have to drag myself up to the high plateu where we will put the first long-reach relay point, toward the Hillary School over the mountain in Khumjing, and where I can see, and photograph a clear view of Everest only about 18 airmiles away.
I met Dave in April, and he was somewhat dubious about making it to even 12,000 feet. He did a lot of hiking in the meantime, and it sounds like the trip is going well.