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.
Four American men will paddle for three months in the summer of 2001 through the rivers and lakes of Northern Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut to the Arctic Ocean.
Arctic Canoe Expedition 2001 will raise money to send underprivileged children to Camp Manito-wish, a wilderness canoe-tripping organization in northern Wisconsin where the adventurers have spent 35 summers cumulatively. It promises to be a grand adventure budgeted at a modest $26,360.
Learning from Aborigines - Dan Buettner of Minneapolis is back from an Australian cycling expedition from the continent's southern coast to its geographical center. During his AustraliaQuest journey of 35 days and 1,400 miles, he created daily video and stories for classroom.com and cnn.com. Live reports were also heard on WCCO Radio in Minneapolis. AustraliaQuest tried to decipher ancient Aboriginal myths (the oldest on the planet) and distill wisdom and knowledge that can be applied today.
"Sturgeon General" Report - In a memorable welcome address during the Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Awards Dinner last month in New York, honorary Club president and master of ceremonies Sylvia A. Earle, Ph.D., explained to a roomful of ocean explorers, cinematographers, authors, and guests, "Most of the mountains on the planet have yet to be seen, much less climbed. They are under the sea and are yet to be touched by human flipper."
She told the audience including Peter Benchley, James Cameron, Clive Cussler, and Jean-Michel Cousteau, "More has been learned about the oceans in the last three decades than in all of history and we're here with people who have made that happen." Earle is a passionate defender of the seas, earning her the nickname "Sturgeon General." She continued, "At a time when we've been reaching for the stars, we've been neglecting the oceans. ... The greatest era of exploration has just begun."
Polartec Challenge Grant Recipients Announced - The 2001 Polartec Challenge award recipients were announced at the Banff International Mountain Festival last month, unveiling 18 of the world's best adventure expeditions to take place over the next 12 months. The awards, which total $75,000, support trips by frugal, low-impact individuals and teams whose vision, commitment, credibility and respect for the local culture and environment serve as role models to outdoor enthusiasts worldwide. Polartec Challenge is sponsored by Malden Mills Industries, Inc., manufacturer of Polartec fabrics.
"Setting out each morning, they gave us avalanche detectors to put inside our costumes. That wasn't to save our lives, though ... it was so they could find your body and send it back home for the funeral." - Robin Tunney, appearing in director Martin Campbell's "tick-tock thriller," "Vertical Limit." Tunney tells the Los Angeles Times (Nov. 12), "I wish we had a Sandy Pittman in this movie ... she was incredibly colorful."
Explorers Begin Adventure in Retailing
One apparel company has a lot riding on the success of Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen's current expedition across Antarctica. The two women and Yourexpedition - the presenting sponsor - announced the selection of Minneapolis-based Simply Retail to develop a new line of adventure gear under the Bancroft Arnesen Explore brand.
The Bancroft Arnesen line features three design styles and includes official logo-branded fleece vests, caps and T-shirts, journals, limited-edition prints, a double-sided fleece blanket, and an adventure kit for children. Prices range from $5 for official expedition patches to $400 for a limited-edition, signed print.
Columbia Sportswear Sponsors Men's Journal Adventure Team
Columbia Sportswear, Portland, Ore., will become the official outdoor gear sponsor and apparel supplier to the Men's Journal Adventure Team.
Author Proposes Women Explorers Award
An author from Palisades, N.Y., believes the great women explorers are under-recognized and deserve an award of their own called "2001 Women Explorer."
Milbry Polk, 45, has been working for several years with Mary Tiegreen to collect oral histories of women explorers for a book titled, "Women of Discovery" (Clarkson Potter). With a forward by correspondent Christiane Amanpour and publication next fall, the book covers more than 80 women from over a dozen nationalities spanning the past 1,800 years. "Women of Discovery" tells the story of modern-day explorers including Dian Fossey, Mary Leakey, Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle, Eugenie Clark, and Ann Bancroft.
No greater authority than polar explorer Will Steger has verified the existence of Santa's Workshop at the North Pole. It's in Robert Sullivan's book, "Flight of the Reindeer" (1996, Macmillan, Inc.), so it must be true.
The book, which has been adapted for primetime broadcast on the CBS Television Network on Dec. 17 (check local listings), says polar explorer Will Steger was the only man to have visited Santa's village at the North Pole. "The sled crested, and at that moment the fog blew away. There it was, below us. The whole village. The reindeer. The small sleds being pulled all over the place by deer and elves."
Steger continues, "Of course, we wondered whether we might see him. But you can't count on much that far north."
This account made the editorial department of Expedition News wonder: "What would the Big Red Fat Guy send to the favorite explorers on his Holiday list? For a free copy and a subscription form to Expedition News, send a self-addressed, long No. 10 envelope to the address below.
-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
From WWII shipwrecks to remote jungle tribes and the chance to swim with whale sharks, Zegrahm's exploration of the PHILIPPINES archipelago offers a bounty of incredible wonders. From Manado to Subic Bay, we will sail through a host of beautiful, history-rich islands. Culture and nature at its wildest. Join us for this exhilarating 16-day odyssey to the land of smoking volcanoes and pristine coral gardens. April 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.