Rocky Mountain Wi-Fi?

Asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, famous mountaineer George Mallory replied simply but poignantly, "Because it is there." Ask mountain climber Rod Baber why he wants to ascend to the highest point on Earth, however, and he might tell you, "To make a phone call."

The BBC reports that Baber plans to reach the mountain's summit sometime in May. When he gets there he'll pull out a cellular device that has been tested in extremely low temperatures and make the world's highest phone call.

Climbing Everest is an impressive feat in itself, but taking out a cell phone to chat at 29,028 feet (that's 8,848 meters for you metric lovers) is nothing to shake a backpack at. It's possible thanks to China's recent installation of a mobile base station that has line of sight to the north side of the mountain.

One can only imagine what Baber will say to the person on the other end. Maybe something like "OK, I'm here. Now send a plane to get me down. And make it fast! Do you know how much this is costing me?!?!"

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