BigPond launches 'state-of-the-art' website for historic Everest bid

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 07 February 2008 08:59

Opinion and Analysis

Every now and then there’s some good Telstra news that doesn’t involve ADSL2+, the ACCC or fibre networks, with BigPond launching a site for anyone to follow the bid by the first-ever mother and daughter team to conquer Mount Everest.

Sydney businesswoman Cheryl Bart and her daughter Nikki are attempting to climb Everest, the world’s highest mountain; the successful completion of which will mark the first time a mother and daughter have climbed the famed “Seven Summits” – the tallest peaks of each of the seven continents.

The expedition commences when the Barts leave Australia in late March but in the meantime a specially crafted BigPond Everest site will be the place to visit for information on the expedition, its progress, Cheryl and Nikki’s previous climbs and other information on Everest.

BigPond Group MD, Mr Justin Milne, said the historic attempt will unfold online, saying that: “BigPond loves being at the cutting edge and we are really excited to be the major supporters of Cheryl and Nikki’s attempt on Everest”.

“So that all Australians can share in the excitement of the expedition, we’ve worked with RUSH Digital to build a fantastic website which will contain regular dispatches from the women, plus photos, videos, maps, weather updates, routes, history and full descriptions of all aspects of their current and past climbs. Cheryl and Nikki will have the technology to keep us up to date as they make their way up the mountain”, continued Milne.

On a humourous note, the technology used to keep us all up to date surely won’t be made using the Next G network – Telstra’s network has the widest coverage in Australia but it doesn’t stretch all the way to Mount Everest – or at least not yet!

Cheryl and Nikki’s progress also will be tracked via a Global Positioning System which will update to an active map on the BigPond Everest site and there will be expert commentary from Australia’s own Everest expert, Lincoln Hall.

Milne said that: “It would be quite poignant, in the year that has seen the passing of Sir Edmund Hillary, for a couple of dynamic Australian women to make their own historic attempt on the summit”.

Cheryl Bart is a Company Director, Chair of the SA Film Commission, and Sydney-based mother of two, who climbs mountains in her spare time, while Nikki, 23, is a Medical Student and co-chair of the Medical Student Aid project, which collects superseded medical equipment to donate to hospitals in developing nations.

The BigPond Everest site says the two women are ‘Oz Chicks with Altitude’, and will depart from the Everest Base Camp from March 2008.