EXPEDITION NEWS is a monthly review of significant expeditions, research projects and newsworthy adventures. It is distributed online and by mail to media representatives, corporate sponsors, educators, research librarians, explorers, environmentalists, and outdoor enthusiasts. This forum on exploration covers projects that stimulate, motivate and educate.
Hard to believe there was a time when an explorer would travel to the ends of the earth and not be heard from again until returning home. If at all. We can recall when not so long ago students would assemble in study halls to learn about the latest achievements of the Mercury space program from a single grainy black and white television set. That was then. This is now, when the Internet has created the expectation that an explorer's every move must be documented - daily - for all the world to see.
Avid boaters Phil and Carol Dunn of Hopkins, Minn., are taking instant PC communications one step further. Starting in late 2001, a worldwide network of Web surfers will monitor their 46-ft. motorboat's every move, directing them where to travel next.
Four Canadian canoeists are on the trip of a lifetime to raise awareness for the plight of Canada's threatened boreal forests. The Boreal 2000 Canoe Expedition is a 2,790-mi. (4,500 km) canoeing expedition from Saskatchewan, through Manitoba and across Northern and Central Ontario to Ottawa. They began their journey 124-mi. (200 km) northwest of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on May 20 and plan to arrive in Ottawa by mid-October.
Bancroft-Arnesen Are Good to Go - Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen are still on track to be the first all-women's team to ski across Antarctica. Their Bancroft Arnesen Expedition, a 2,400-mi. traverse of Antarctica, is scheduled to occur between November 2000 - February 2001.
Breast Cancer Survivors Summit Mt. Fuji - Hundreds of cancer survivors and their families sought inspiration last month on Japan's most famous landmark: the summit of Mount Fuji (12,388-ft.). More than 200 climbers - 160 from Japan and about 50 from the U.S. - participated in this, the third expedition of the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund.
Jon Bowermaster Gives Thanks; A Little Emily Post Goes a Long Way
The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market last month in Salt Lake City was an explorer's dream. It's the world's largest trade show for outdoor recreation products and there among the 900 manufacturers were the sleeping bags, tents, parkas, packs, and GPS systems that could outfit any expedition in style. Manufacturers focus like laser beams on attendees wearing the all-important "Retailer" badge, for these are store buyers who can make or break a product with their spring 2001 orders.
Also sprinkled among the 15,000 participants are magazine advertising salespeople, distributors, ad agencies, adventure filmmakers, and a seemingly endless procession of explorers seeking sponsorship. Among them was writer-adventurer Jon Bowermaster, 46, of Stone Ridge, N.Y., who was trolling the aisles, but with a difference. He was there to give thanks. Under his arm was a binder full of media coverage from his summer 1999 kayak adventure to a chain of mountains in Alaska. His portfolio contains an impressive display of magazine covers, magazine stories, and ads that relied upon photography by teammate Barry Tessman, 41, of Kernville, Calif., who accompanied the Four Mountains Expedition to the Aleutian Islands.
Bowermaster advises explorers to stay in touch with sponsors, send e-mails and postcards to let them know the status of the trip, before, during and after, and provide great photographs.
Bowermaster says he raised about $50,000 in cash and equipment for the Aleutian trip and has commitments for upwards of $75,000 for next spring's 800-mile kayak expedition along the coast of Vietnam, including a recent deal he signed with Perception kayaks. It's apparent that a simple thank-you goes a long way in the expedition business, besides being good manners.
Viesturs Stars in Action Thriller - Just two peaks shy of his 14th summit over 8000 meters, Ed Viesturs took a break to accept a role in the upcoming Columbia Pictures action thriller, "Vertical Limit." Mummy's Boy - Archaeologist Johan Reinhard, 56, ranks as one of America's 100 Most Eligible Bachelors in the July 10 issue of People magazine. The Franklin, W.Va. discoverer of the 500-year-old Incan maiden in Peru would now like to discover the joys of wedlock, but according to the magazine, over one 17-year stretch, Reinhard was never home for three months straight. Says he, "My heart is still in the Himalayas."
-Inexpensive, well organized. 7000 and 8000 meter peaks. Beginner and expert routes. Tel: 406-363-7747, e-mail: himalaya_inc@cybernet1.com.
2 WEB SITES: www.shishapangma.com and www.nojintangla.com
Costa Rica's dual coasts are featured in the exclusive "Rain Forests & Reefs" expedition, a 16-day odyssey encompassing five Central American countries, two oceans and the "Eighth Wonder of the World" - the Panama Canal. Sailing aboard the sleek four-masted Wind Star, explore Panama, traverse the historic canal, visit remote coastal islands off Nicaragua and Honduras, and experience the stunning cays of Belize. From howler monkeys, dart frogs and scarlet macaws, to a rainbow of butterflies, it's a journey filled with nature's vivid wonders. February 2001.
For reservations/information:
ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS, 192 Nickerson St., #200, Seattle, WA 98109. Phone: 800-628-8747 or 206-285-4000; Fax: 206-285-5037; Web site: www.zeco.com; E-mail: zoe@zeco.com.
is published by Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc., 28 Center Street, Darien, CT 06820 USA. Tel. 203 855 9400, fax 203 855 9433, blumassoc@aol.com. Editor/publisher: Jeff Blumenfeld. 2000 Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN: 1526-8977. Subscriptions: US$36/yr.; international postal rate US$46/yr. Highlights from EXPEDITION NEWS can be found at www.expeditionnews.com; credit cards accepted through www.mountainzone.com/news/expedition. Layout and design by Nextwave Design, Seattle.