April 2005 – Volume Twelve, Number Four

EXPEDITION NEWS, now in its 10th year, is the monthly review of significant expeditions, research projects and newsworthy adventures. It is distributed online and via snail 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.

The following are highlights of our April issue, but this is only part of the story. Click here to subscribe to the full edition. or e-mail us for a free sample copy at editor@ExpeditionNews.com

STAYING SHARP ON EVEREST

Two young climbers, one a Columbia Business School student, the other studying for an MBA at Wharton, will be researching mental capacities on Everest this spring. The project will be conducted in cooperation with scientists from Brown and Harvard University who are performing research on behalf of NASA. During the climb, the team will be using PDA-based software-dubbed MiniCog-that enables the assessment of mental functions and the deterioration of cognitive ability at altitude.

KITING ACROSS BAFFIN ISLAND

Baffin Island, located in the Canadian Arctic, is the setting for the Baffin Island Kite and Ski Expedition, April 25 - May 25, a multi-sport exercise in adventure and teamwork between The North Face-sponsored athletes and local Inuit people. The objective of this ski mountaineering expedition will be for Hilaree Nelson, Meg Oster, Ingrid Backstrom and Kasha Rigby to make numerous first descents along the majestic fjord land of the remote and seldom visited east coast of Baffin Island.

Solo Sub-artic Canoe Expedition PLANNED

Alaskan adventurer Brian K. Holder is about to embark on a thousand mile, five-week, unsupported, solo expedition on the Mackenzie River in Canada's Northwest Territories.

This is Holder's second solo expedition. The first was on Alaska's largest lake – Iliamna. That venture included camping in close proximity to large Grizzlies and days with "zillions" of black flies. Holder's upcoming trip may have a similar environment but the scale is considerably larger. "Seventy maps are required to cover this area," he said. The voyage will begin in June and conclude in late August.

EXPEDITION UPDATE

Vaughan Hopes to Climb Namesake Mountain – He's suffering from congestive heart disease and confined to a wheelchair, yet Alaskan explorer Norman Vaughan, 99, is still determined to summit the 10,300-ft. peak in Antarctica named after himself (See EN, May 2002). According to the Mar. 20 New York Times, a team including veteran mountaineer Brian Horner, will likely help Vaughan summit in a specially rigged sled dubbed the Norm-Hauler.

EXPEDITION NOTES

EGAD! – Mar. 19-20 was no ordinary weekend for the 101-year old Explorers Club in New York. It was time once again for the organization's cherished Explorers Club Annual Dinner (ECAD). The black tie fundraiser is the oldest, continuously held annual dinner in New York. The weekend featured board meetings, chapter meetings, and a new member reception, during which time newcomers touring the organization's New York headquarters learned about a rather delicate piece of a whale's anatomy.

The sight of the whale's, er, manhood, undoubtedly stuck in the minds of many in the group, until supplanted by the Waldorf-Astoria's own version of Fear Factor – the annual dinner's exotic hors d'oeuvres, featuring tarantulas, cockroaches, scorpions, crickets, rattlesnake, mealworms and beaver. After the two-hour cocktail period, there was nary a doggie bag in site. The tables were picked clean by fearless explorers and their intrepid guests. Other amusing and poignant moments included: