This was the (now) famous text message that Rod Baber, a mountain climber who reached the summit of Everest last week sent to Moto. It actually reads “One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind - thanks Motorola.” BBC’s news item last May 22 tells us the Baber reached the mountain’s north ridge early the day before, when he made two record-breaking phone calls.

First he called his voicemail and described the “view, how cold it was and what he wanted to do when back at base camp.” This voicemail was set up by Motorola, in order for the documentation to be made possible. The second call was to his wife and his children. The calls were made possible by the mobile base station set up by China. This base station had a line of sight to the North Ridge, making it possible for Baber to make his calls using his Motorola Z8.

The conditions at the summit of Everest are not ideal for phone calls, really. In fact, it is not ideal for many things at all. To make the phone calls, Baber had to take off his oxygen mask, which could have spelled disaster if done so for too long. The temperature at those heights was so low that Baber had to tape the battery pack to his body to keep it warm enough!

There we have it, another record breaking attempt melding nature and technology.