British climber Rod Baber has set a markedly pointless
record by making a mobile phone call from the summit of
Everest.
Baber, who also holds the world record for climbing the highest
point of every European country, is sponsored by a large mobile phone
company and used one of their latest all-singing, all-dancing
handsets to make the call which was made feasible when China set up a
mobile base station with line of sight to the North Ridge.
In the call, which you can listen to on the BBC News web site,
Baber, who sounds breathless, describes the temperature, time
and profoundly notes that 'the Himalayas are everywhere'. He then
called his wife and children.
He also set another record for sending the highest land-based text
message.
More at news.bbc.co.uk.
Angela Deppe
