theage.com.au

5 November 2009 - theage.co.au

It's 24 years since British climbers Simon Yates and Joe Simpson tackled Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes.

They were the first to reach the summit of the near-vertical west face of the 6344-metre mountain but what happened on the descent has been the subject of a book, a film and endless controversy in the mountaineering world.

The bare facts are that Simpson slipped into a crevice and Yates, believing his partner was dead, cut the rope joining them.

Miraculously, Simpson survived the plunge and, with multiple injuries, crawled back to their base camp, arriving three days after his fall, just as Yates was about to leave.

Now, for the first time, Yates will lead a trek to the area. In September next year, he will lead a 19-day World Expeditions circuit trek of Cordillera Huayhuash, which will include a day trek to Siula Grande.

Yates tells Smart Traveller that he has no reservations about returning to the area. "What happened in 1985 was not a pleasant experience to live through but in the end had a positive conclusion," says Yates, who has guided many treks for World Expeditions.

"It is a rare experience to do a full circuit of a mountain range and I can assure anyone who joins will witness some of the most spectacular mountain scenery on Earth."

The Huayhuash Circuit with Yates leaves Lima on September 14, 2010. The cost is $3490. See worldexpeditions.com.

Qatar arrives in Australia
Another chapter in the remarkable story of the rise of Middle Eastern airlines in Australia starts tomorrow with Qatar Airlines' first Australian flight, from Melbourne to Doha.

At the start of this century, Middle Eastern airlines accounted for 4.4 per cent of traffic to Europe; in August, Emirates and Etihad carried 10 per cent of all international passengers. The executive chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Peter Harbison, expects the rate of growth to accelerate with Qatar's entry into the market.

Last month, Qatar Airlines was named the best business-class airline in the World Travel Awards for the second year running. Earlier this year it was named as the best airline in the Middle East and the world's best economy airline in the annual Skytrax awards.

According to Qatar Airlines, there's more space in its economy cabin compared with other airlines. "Economy class is arranged in a three-three-three seating configuration," a Qatar spokesman says. "This is one seat a row less than most other airlines operating the same aircraft (Boeing 777-200LR)."

This translates to 217 seats in Qatar economy compared with 236 seats in Emirates economy. The seat pitch is 32 inches and seat width 18.17 inches, making the seats both longer and wider than Qantas's A380 economy.

But irrespective of comfort, the one thing everyone craves on long-distance journeys is arrival.

Qatar claims it provides the quickest route to London - 21 hours - made possible by a 55-minute turnaround at Doha.

Qatar is operating three flights weekly until the new year, when it will go daily. A daily Sydney- Doha service will be launched in the first quarter of next year.

See qatarairways.com.au.

Source: theage.co.au

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