This is basically an American magazine that targets American readers. However, there are still interesting topics which backpackers, hikers and adventurers can discover.

Most valuable in this issue has to be the guide to trekking destinations. There is the 165 mile Tahoe Rim Trail. 2 brothers document their 2-week sojourn. It’s a very personal or even an emotional writeup, but practical details are also given. Detailed maps and GPS data for this trail can be obtained from backpacker.com/tahoerimtrail

Other destinations, covered in less detail, are exotic trails like Horse Creek Trail, Ice Age Trail, Cloud Rest and others.

Maps for these trails can be obtained online at backpacker.com. Someone should set up something like this for Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and other destinations closer to us.

Apart from navigation information, there’s even a section on self-diagnosis of health/medical issues which may arise on such long treks. I find this rather useless or even unsafe. In case of medical problems, I think the safest course of action is to get off the trail and seek medical help immediately. You can always go back on the trail on another day.

Another skills segment tells you what to do when lost. There are reviews on boots, trekking poles, sleeping bags, backpacks, wool and so on.

Next segment. Short weekend trips. Interesting suggestions, but unless you like in the US, it’s not going to be of much use. There’s one interesting suggestion - climbing Mera Peak in Nepal.

Finally, the trails to Neverland - New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Again, it sounds terribly distant to those of us in Asia, but I have no doubt it would be an interesting trip.

When British mountaineer David Sharp died on Mt Everest on 15th May 2006, he might not even have made the news back home. But listen to this. David was climbing alone late in the afternoon when he reached the summit. Exhausted and without oxygen, he only managed to descend 450m to a rock overhang. Practically immobilised with frostbite, hypoxia and fatigue, he stayed there until 40 ascending climbers passed him. Nobody turned back to rescue to him. Everybody just headed towards the summit. When they passed him again 9 hours later, practically everyone was too exhausted to bring him down without endangering his own life.

David was left there. A Sherpa gave him his oxygen. When other ascending climbers passed him again, he was dead. The internet was soon abuzz with condemnation. How could 40 climbers have passed dying David without giving up their summit attempt to mount a rescue?

Amongst the 40 climbers was the first double amputee to make it to the top of the world - Mark Inglis. Mark’s achievements were remarkable, but they were completely overshadowed by accusations of selfishness, the loudest of which probably came from another Kiwi, Sir Edmund Hillary himself. Mark tried to push the blame by saying that he had consulted with the expedition leader over the radio and was given the order to go ahead. The expedition leader denied this and this was supported by everyone on the radio network. An even angrier Sir Edmund blasted all the herosim out of Mark Inglis’ feat.

There are deaths on Everest all the time. One of the deadliest seasons was that in May 1996 when 15 climbers, including 2 experienced guides died. What touched everyone was the fact that the two guides, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, could have survived if they had abandoned their struggling clients when the storm struck. The moral of the story? Don’t be a fool. Run for your own life.

But David Sharp or rather the 40 climbers’ situation was different. They were not in trouble. They had enough energy to reach the summit. They certainly had enough energy and manpower to bring David Sharp down. But that would mean that the tens of thousands of dollars each climber had forked out for an attempt to get on the highest piece of real estate on earth would go down the drain. Would the people who condemn them be willing to compensate these climbers and donate towards their next expedition?

The outcry didn’t quite stop until Linda Sharp, David’s mother, spoke to the media: “David’s survival was his own responsibility …. Your responsibility is to save yourself — not to try to save anybody else.”

Now let’s add another dimension to this controversy. David signed up for the expedition with a Nepalese trekking company, paying them an impossible $6200 for logistical support up to Advanced Base Camp. Climbing on such an impossibly low budget, he had no guide, no oxygen and some said he didn’t even have proper gloves and adequate food supplies. To put it rather unsympathetically, David was practically asking the mountain to kill him.

On the same mountain at the same time, there were clients who have paid $65,000 (more than 10 times David’s budget) for good Sherpa support from base camp to summit. Of course, they also had adequate supply of oxygen, radio sets to communicate with base camp and some even had an expedition doctor. These are the expeditions which are well-planned, well-financed and well-managed. They have the resources for success on the summit. They have the resources to react to contingencies.

But as more and more “budget” climbers enter the scene, they quite unabashedly ask for these resources to be shared. Should the better-equipped fellows feel obliged to share not just a few some Mars bars but tents, equipment, precious oxygen, doctor and Sherpas? Should they give up their painstakingly planned, organised and financed expedition to save a fellow climber who cannot afford to climb the mountain safely and within his capacity?

It’s so easy for the moralists and retired celebrities to condemn others from behind their keyboards, but have they really looked at the issues closely and put themselves in the other climbers’ boots? Would they themselves have done it, like giving up an important exam they have spent years preparing for to save some reckless stranger’s life?

TAIPEI - Eggs from free range chickens contain nearly six times more of the toxic chemical dioxin than eggs hatched by caged hens, a Taiwanese study has found.

Dioxin, a by-product of garbage burning and industrial activities, can cause a range of illnesses in humans including cancer and miscarriages.

The study, which analysed egg samples from six free range areas and 12 caged areas, was carried out by environmental scientists at National Cheng Kung University and published by the American Chemical Society earlier this month.

It confirmed previous research showing that chickens roaming in the wild had higher chances of being exposed to dioxin, experts said.

Taiwanese authorities last year slaughtered 9,000 ducks contaminated with dioxin from a farm polluted by a nearby illegal furnace slag dump.

CALCIUM, a necessary part of the diet to build strong bones and teeth, may increase prostate cancer risk in men who are of small build, a recent study found.

The study also found that even at relatively low levels and from non-dairy foods such as soya, grains and green vegetables, calcium significantly increases the risk among Chinese men.

The data for the research, published this month in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, was taken from the Singapore Chinese Health Study of more than 63,000 ethnic male Chinese living here and aged between 45 and 74.

Day 1: Arrival in Kathmandu, drive to Syabrubesi
Day 2: Syabru Besi (1430m) to Lama Hotel (2500m)
Day 3: Lama Hotel to Langtang Village (3400m)
Day 4: Langtang to Kyanjin Gompa (3800m) + short hike to Kyanjin Ri Viewpoint (4700m)
Day 5: Long day hike (11 hours) to Tsergo Ri (4980m)
Day 6: Kyanjin Gompa to Lama Hotel (2500m)
Day 7: Lama Hotel to Syabru Besi, drive back to Kathmandu
Day 8: Shopping day at Kathmandu
Day 9: Home