By Guy D. Garcia

It was hardly his first major summit, but former President Jimmy Carter found trekking through the Himalayas in northern Nepal to be a challenge nonetheless. The goal of his two-week expedition was the pinnacle of 18,192-ft.-high Mount Kala Pattar, one of the scenic peaks in the valley surrounded by the loftier Lhotse and Everest. Accompanied by Rosalynn, Carter quickly outpaced four of his Secret Service men, who had to return to camp because of altitude sickness. When the group reached a rarefied 15,000 ft., his wife was flown out by helicopter while he proceeded to the top. The next day, while visiting a jungle lodge, the Carters were charmed by the sight of an elephant painted as they often are in Nepal. "The scenery was more spectacular and breathtaking than I imagined," said Carter, who was back home in Plains last week. "Nepal is the most beautiful country in the world, certainly the most beautiful I have ever seen." One advantage of being out of office, apparently, is that personal enthusiasms need not be tempered by diplomatic concerns.

He reaches the autumnal age of 85 this week, but in every other respect Aaron Copland seems to be basking in an Appalachian spring. To honor the quintessential American composer, public television will broadcast live on his birthday an all-Copland retrospective by the New York Philharmonic, led by Zubin Mehta and Guest Conductor Leonard Bernstein. The special performance will range from Copland's First Symphony (composed in 1928) to a newly orchestrated version of his recent piano piece, Proclamation, a span that delights the still octavely active octogenarian. "It is one of the most interesting programs of my work imaginable," says Copland, con brio. "It even makes me look forward to being 85!"

He is not known for his love of journalists, unless, of course, the interviewer happens to be his own daughter Nancy, 45. During a rare on-camera chat, to be broadcast in two parts on the syndicated Hour Magazine this week, Frank Sinatra, 69, again answers critics who have suggested he has Mob connections. "I never had anything to do with that kind of world," he explains. "I may have been introduced to people in nightclubs who owned them and who hired us, but I'm not alone there. Everyone in our business has done the same thing." Father and daughter are planning a TV mini-series on his life, and he talked to her about his longtime regimen of swimming and running ("before it became fashionable"), hoofing it with Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh ("he kind of danced down to me, which was wonderful of him") and Rocker Bruce Springsteen ("I think he is a tremendous performer"). Obviously, the Chairman of the Board knows something about some kinds of Bosses.

In a day when star-studded benefits for African relief have become ever so fashionable, it was only a matter of time until--you guessed it--Fashion Aid. At London's Royal Albert Hall last week, the catwalks were alive with such comely sights as Grace Jones (modeling Issey Miyake) and Mariel Hemingway (introducing Calvin Klein models). But despite the competition, there was no question that Jerry Hall, supermodel and longtime love of Mick Jagger, was the showstopper, when she emerged from a giant silver box in a red-and-gold lame Anthony Price dress. Considerably less stylish was Co-Organizer Bob Geldof, who sported a striped jacket, T shirt, jeans and scruffy baseball boots. "I know I'm no male model, so there's no point in dressing like one," he explained. Added to the proceeds from related fashion benefits in Tokyo and New York, the evening raised a total of more than $3 million. --By Guy D. Garcia