Word: nepal
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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With a 10,000-ft. vertical fall into Tibet on one side and a 7,000-ft. fall into Nepal on the other, the South Summit, at 28,750 ft., is where many climbers finally turn back. The 656-ft.-long knife-edge ridge leading to the Hillary Step consists of ice, snow and fragmented shale, and the only way to cross it is to take baby steps and anchor your way with an ice ax. "You can feel the rock chip off," says Erik. "And you can hear it falling down into the void...
Erik, sitting in the Kathmandu international airport, waiting for the flight out of Nepal that will eventually return him to Golden, Colo., is surrounded by his teammates and the expedition's 75 pieces of luggage. Success has made the group jubilant. This airport lounge has become the mountaineering equivalent of a winning Super Bowl locker room. As they sit amid their luggage, holding Carlsberg beers, they frequently raise a toast. "Shez! Shez!" shouts a climber. That's Nepali for drink! drink! "No epics," a climber chimes in, citing what really matters: no one died...
...like Westerners has left them wondering what will become of the formerly elder-respecting, ancestor- worshipping, opposite-sex-avoiding youth. Traditionalists and monarchists lay blame for the nascent dissolution on the liberalism engendered by a 10-year-old democracy that has already seen 10 Prime Ministers. King Birendra ruled Nepal as an absolute monarch until 1990, when he was forced by violent protests to step down in favor of a constitutional monarchy. But critics have assailed the new democratic values, saying they encourage people to do whatever feels right, regardless of the consequences: dump the Prime Minister, take a bribe...
...pink walls hung with temple and landscape paintings. After pouring himself another drink, he began arguing with his parents, shouting at his mother, Queen Aiswarya, who didn't approve of the Crown Prince's romance with longtime paramour Devyani Rana, 23, the daughter of a former Foreign Minister of Nepal. The Crown Prince was furious that his family wanted him to marry Priyanka Shaha, a princess of royal blood. His sister Shruti scolded him to "stop slurring your words! You're the future King...
...palace aides dashed into the room, they found that the King's head had been blown nearly in half, and the Queen's body was unrecognizable save for the sari she had been wearing. Eight of the victims, including the King, were declared dead on arrival at the Royal Nepal Army Hospital. Five of the six wounded were listed in critical condition. But Shruti had been prophetic when she had admonished Dipendra. The next morning, in a coma and sustained by life-support systems and respirators, the Prince who killed the King was enthroned as King. The Privy Council declared...