In tracking the proliferation of images via digital production and distribution technologies, the idea of instantaneously sending pictures from the top of Mt. Everest has a special magic. No doubt it's generational, since when growing up in the '50s the ascent of Everest and the “conquest” of the moon defined human ambition achieved. So it's fun to read through a short article in Wired about how easy it is these days to send images [and follow expeditions] virtually in real time:
“Imagine watching in almost-real time as a loved one scales the world's tallest 
mountain. It's possible with Contact—software designed to bring Earth's most extreme environments into your living room. Created by HumanEdge Tech, a developer of expedition-grade communications systems, Contact allows climbers to instantly upload georeferenced dispatches containing video, photos or text from the flanks of Everest and other remote locations to an expedition's server. No webmaster necessary. [...]
...the newest generation called Contact 4.0 GEO has multi-layered, 3-D flash maps created from photos and models of Everest. Armchair adventurers can follow an expedition's route, zoom in on specific camps and positions, and look at weather forecasts and live satellite images. Comparatively, Google Earth is blurry and brutally slow over the Himalayas. [...]
...outfitted with HumanEdge Tech's 7-Summits Package, which includes a GEO-equipped, satellite-phone-compatible iPaq PDA; iridium satellite phone; Sony Cyber-Shot digicam and every cable and charger needed. The entire setup weighs about three pounds and costs $3,000. [...]
And GEO is simple enough for mountaineers to use with frozen fingers and oxygen-deprived brains. After transferring data from camera to PDA, the climber types a headline and text into the e-mail-like interface; attaches the images, date and GPS position; and hits ”submit.“ Moments later, the data uploads on the expedition's website. [...]
But while the blog-like entries are good for updating folks at home, they aren't interactive. Enter Inmarsat. In December, the company launched BGan, a broadband service that could allow climbers in the Himalayas to hold video conferences at 29,000 feet up, using laptop-sized sat terminals.”
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