BBC reports on a British climber, Ron Baber, who set a world record by making a mobile phone call earlier today from the peak of Mount Everest. Of note:

• Logistics: the mobile base station was one set up in China with a direct line of sight to the peak
• Archiving: the first call was made to a voice mail account to officially record it; a second call was made to his family
• Danger: he had to remove his oxygen mask to make the call, keeping the calls short
• Power: he had to tape the batteries to his body to maintain a high enough temperature to power the phone

But the Chinese will not be able to read this report on a call via their telephone system.

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