When it comes to climbing the big mountains in Nepal – and lesser extent Tibet – The Himalayan Database is the definitive record for everything has been accomplished there over the past 50 years. The information contained in the database has been meticulously compiled by Ms. Elizabeth Hawley for five decades, and soon all of those records will be available to the general public online for free.In an announcement posted to The Himalayan Database website reads as follows:
"Version 2 of the Himalayan Database will be released to the general public at no charge via download from this site in early November 2017 after the Spring 2017 update to the database is completed. Owners of the current version will need to download and upgrade to the new version in order to gain access to future updates and changes."The data covers all expeditions to the Himalaya starting in 1905 and running through 2003. It covers more than 340 different mountains across Nepal, and along the border with Tibet. According to the database website "the database is searchable by peak, climber, expedition, nationality, season, mortality rates and causes and more."
Updated data from 2004 through 2016 is available via the Himalayan Database website, with the 2017 data to be compiled and added later. The combined information from the downloadable database and the online resource, marks the most comprehensive collection of information on mountaineering expeditions ever assembled.
Over the past few years, Ms. Hawley has eased into retirement, after maintaining the database on her own for decades. Much of her work has been taken up by German climber and journalist Billi Bierling, who along with a few other dedicated people. have been collecting and compiling the data.
Now, this resource will become available to anyone who wants to access it and search its information. For those of us who do regular reporting on the Nepal and the expeditions that visit there, it is a welcome addition to help us with that coverage. But, beyond that, it should prove very interesting for anyone who follows the mountaineering scene closely.
Watch himalayandatabase.com for an update soon.
