Mt Everest WiFi

Ncell, a subsidiary of Swedish TeliaSonera, has set up a high-speed cell tower at an altitude of 17,000 feet, about 3 miles high, near Gorakshep village at the base of Mt. Everest. Amazing that at three miles elevation Everest is only beginning. In comparison, Denver, CO, the mile-high city, has an altitude of (you guessed it) one mile. The peak of Everest is 29,000 feet, about 5.5 miles high, and reachable from the new cell tower so when you reach the summit you can now whip out your cell phone and call home, update your Facebook page, and check your email without the need of an expensive satellite phone.

Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career. - Abdul Kalam

Wikipedia has lots of great information on Mt. Everest. It's called the "tallest" mountain since its summit is the highest point on Earth above sea level. But there are other ways to measure height that give alternatives for the "tallest" mountain on Earth. Mauna Kea in Hawaii is tallest when measured from its base; it rises over 6.3 mi from the ocean floor but is only 13,796 ft above sea level. If instead you measure the distance from base to summit, which is the height you really see, Mount McKinley, in Alaska, is tallest. McKinley is "merely" 20,320 ft above sea  level but it has a very low base yielding a height above base of over three miles (Everest's peak is 2.5 miles above its base).

The summit of Chimborazo in Ecuador farther from the Earth's center than Everest because the Earth bulges at the Equator. However, Chimborazo attains a height of only 20,561 ft above sea level, and by this criterion it is not even the highest peak of the Andes.

Bottom Line

The world is getting smaller as technology makes all places reachable.