August 2006 – Volume Thirteen, Number Eight

EXPEDITION NEWS, now in its 12^th year, is the monthly review of significant expeditions, research projects and newsworthy adventures. It is distributed online 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 August 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

UN Supports Two-year Global Warming Expedition

The United Nations is supporting a two-year scientific mission to the Arctic at a time when the world’s polar regions are playing on a global scale the role of a canary in a coal mine – providing early warnings on human-induced climate change, the thinning of the ozone layer and the impact of persistent chemical pollution. “They are helping relay the message that what happens at the poles should be of utmost concern to us all,” UN Environment Programme (UNEP) executive director Achim Steiner said of the Tara Expeditions and the Arctic Drift project known as Tara Arctic 2007-2008.

As part of the International Polar Year that begins in March 2007, the polar schooner Tara left Lorient, France last month for the Arctic where it will be locked in the ice and drift across the region, providing an unprecedented platform for scientific observations and research on how the Arctic environment is changing.

Two years ago, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), an unprecedented four-year scientific study by an international team of 300 scientists, provided clear evidence that the Arctic climate is warming rapidly and, of even greater concern, that much larger changes are projected for the future.

ACIA predicted that Arctic vegetation zones and animal species will be affected. Retreating sea ice is expected to reduce the habitat for polar bears, walrus, ice-inhabiting seals, and marine birds, threatening some species with extinction. Such changes will also affect many indigenous communities who depend on such animals, not only for food, but also as the basis for cultural and social identity, UNEP noted. And, beyond the region, as the Arctic glaciers melt and the permafrost thaws, it will be developing countries, with limited means to adapt to environmental change, that suffer most. (Tara’s progress can be followed on the UNEP web site: Unep.org)

EXPEDITION UPDATE

Lewis and Clark Met with a Yawn – "Clark on the Yellowstone," a four-day event at Montana’s Pompeys Pillar celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition, ended late last month with Peyton "Bud" Clark re-enacting his great-great-great-grandfather's signing of the monument (See EN, September 2002). Capt. William Clark etched his name on the rock on July 25, 1806. The graffito is the only remaining evidence of the explorers’ journey. Spectators attending the re-enactment responded with a standing ovation, which is more than can be said for the rest of the country.

According to the Wall Street Journal (July 19), “… as the three-year celebration enters its homestretch, participating communities are still waiting for the Lewis and Clark gravy train to leave the station.”

Washington state, which expected 10 million to attend a number of events, reports fewer than one million showed up. St. Charles, Mo., where the explorers began their journey, welcomed about 50,000 visitors for a 10-day festival, about one-tenth of what was expected. What’s more, the fact that Native Americans have protested the bicentennial didn’t create any warm fuzzy feelings for L & C among vacationers.

The explorers traveled more than 8,000 miles by land and river from Missouri to Oregon between 1804 and 1806, opening the Louisiana Purchase to Army exploration and settlement.

Beckey Climbs in China Fred Beckey and his team have returned safely from China after attempting unclimbed Ja-Ra Peak in Sichuan Province (See EN, March 2006). Beckey journeyed to China with a team from Through a Child’s Eyes Productions, which is making a film about the great American climber’s life; the film is being funded in part through a matching grant from Yvon Chouinard, Beckey’s old partner, with matching donations made to the American Alpine Club.

The team was able to climb to the lower north summit of the mountain despite deep snow, tricky climbing conditions, and a streak of bad weather. Only 500 feet shy of the true summit, conditions deteriorated rapidly and forced them to descend. Beckey led the team from advanced base camp at over 13,200 feet and provided invaluable insight into route finding and logistics; the octogenarian climber hopes to return to the region when the mountains are in better shape. (For more information: ThroughaChildsEyesProductions.com)

Longest Wilderness Traverse Returns Home

On July 4, a team of long distance trekkers completed the first and longest-ever unsupported trekking traverse of America's most remote, roadless, uninhabited wilderness, a distance of 1,000 km (621-mi.) across Alaska's western Arctic region from the Chukchi Sea to the Alaskan Pipeline (See EN, June 2006).??

The group became the first to visit the most remote location in the U.S by fair means - carrying all of their gear, food, and supplies for the entirety of the trek in their backpacks and traveling entirely on foot.??

“We crested the final hill, and there it was: the remotest place in America, situated in the mouth of a shallow draw, with a gravel band above, and a cluster of pretty mountains behind it, and a 100-foot cliff bank below it. It was a beautiful scene," said expedition member Roman Dial, professor of Biology and Mathematics at Alaska Pacific University. The expedition defines “remote” by its distance from the nearest roads or habitations. Title sponsor was Backpacking Light Magazine (BackpackingLight.com), which covers ultralight backpacking technique, gear, and style.

Polar Bear Greets Team at Top of World

On May 1, 2006, polar explorers Lonnie Dupre, 45, and Eric Larsen, 35, embarked on their unprecedented four-month One World Expedition (OWE) to the North Pole and back (See EN, December 2005). The expedition team pulled and paddled specially modified 225 lbs. canoe-sleds across nearly 1,000 miles of shifting sea ice and open ocean to complete the first-ever summer expedition to the North Pole on July 1. Upon arrival they experienced a close encounter with a polar bear. “We find it difficult to not draw a deep significance from this encounter,” they wrote in a newsletter recounting the incident.

After achieving a portion of their goal by reaching the North Pole, the two were forced to call off the remainder of their journey due to deteriorating ice conditions. In a July 5 announcement, Dupre, who injured his back early in the expedition, decided dangerous ice conditions would force the project to abandon its planned conclusion in Greenland. OWE partnered with Greenpeace to help save the polar bear, stop global warming and promote clean energy. (For more information: OneWorldExpedition.com)

EXPEDITION NOTES Eiger Losing Face – A huge slice of rock fell last month from the Eiger in the Swiss Alps in a spectacular collapse that came after days of warnings from scientists. The rock - loosened by melting glacial ice – crashed down blanketing the Bernese Oberland resort of Grindelwald in a cloud of dust for hours. Rescue chief Kurt Amacher of the Swiss Alpine Club said about 400,000 cubic meters of stone fell, about 20 percent of the endangered rock mass. The rock broke off in sections and thundered down hundreds of meters below onto the Lower Grindelwald glacier. Grindelwald itself was never in danger from the fall, no one was injured and no buildings were hit. The amount of fallen rock is estimated to be equal to one-half the volume of the Empire State Building. The mountain is world renown thanks to its co-starring role in the Clint Eastwood movie, The Eiger Sanction.

Explorers Club Turns to Encapsulating Explorabilia – Back in the Stone Ages, when dinosaurs were roaming the earth, the editorial staff at EN used to laminate their baseball card collection between two sheets of hot plastic. It turned out to be a really bad idea, even well before eBay came along to help unlock shoebox treasures. The cards were ruined.

Today’s professional archivists, keepers of cherished items whose value or structure prohibits the use of invasive conservation techniques, have a better idea: encapsulation. Encapsulation involves the sealing of individual sheets of paper between sheets of clear polyester. It is the standard treatment for maps, manuscript material, prints, and fragile or brittle single sheets.

Thus, imagine the glee at the Explorers Club when they installed a $25,000 Minter Ultrasonic Welder for Polyester Encapsulation, custom built by William Minter Bookbinding, Woodbury, Pa. Archival polyester film (like Mylar) is used to create a protective but reversible support for fragile maps and flat documents. The advantages of “minting” are that the polyester film places very little pressure on the artifact's surface and the artifact is protected from light and dust. Also, the structure is fairly rigid, no extraneous materials such as adhesives contact the artifact and the housing units are quick and inexpensive to make. Use of the new device will be under the direction of Clare Flemming, M.S., C.A., the Club’s Curator of Research Collections.

PLB Leads to PDQ Land Rescue – The Personal Location Beacon (PLB), once a fixture of at-sea rescues, is now racking up impressive “saves” on land. A PLB has played a significant role in the location and rescue of an outdoors enthusiast – a novice woman climber near the Brian Head ski resort in southern Utah. ??The rescued party was a 47-year-old New Jersey woman, who fell and sustained serious head injuries while hiking and climbing with her family on June 3. Her brother, an experienced climber and a local physician from St. George, Utah, was carrying an ACR Electronic TerraFix 406 GPS Personal Locator Beacon, which, when activated, put into motion a Search and Rescue (SAR) operation that eventually led to her being evacuated by helicopter.

While the satellite call for help was acquired and processed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), two forest rangers were located who called 911 on their cell phone. The local police received notification and GPS coordinates, then dispatched a SAR team.

PLB rescues on land only became available since an FCC waiver ruling went into effect July 2003 approving the sale and use of PLBs for land use in the U.S. The beacons must be registered with NOAA.

EC Film Festival Seeks Entries – The fifth annual Explorers Club Documentary Film Festival, presented by Land Rover, will be held on Jan. 19-20, 2007. The Film Festival will honor filmmakers who share the Club’s vision for, and commitment to, exploration in the 21st century. Open to the general public, the event invites filmmakers to submit works on the subject of Adventure, Conservation & Environment, People & Culture, Scientific Exploration, and Wildlife. Deadline: Sept. 16, 2006. (For more information: filmfestival@explorers.org)

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“You're going to voyage through a land of wonders. Stunned amazement will probably be your habitual state of mind.” – Captain Nemo in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.

CLIMBING FOR DOLLARS

AAC Mountain Fellowship Awards Granted – The AAC has awarded Mountain Fellowship grants to eight young climbers around the U.S. The Mountain Fellowship Fund encourages American climbers, age 25 years and under, to seek out climbs that might otherwise be out of reach. This spring’s grant cycle awarded $5,400 to worthy applicants:

• Alison Criscitiello of Winchester, Mass., and Jessica Drees, of Seattle, Wash., received a grant from the Boyd Everett Fund to try the three highest peaks in Ecuador: Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, and Cayambe.
  
  
• Asa Firestone of Boulder, Colo., will attempt a first ascent in the Pucahirca Group of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca.
  
  
• Elena Mihaly and Jeremy Roop of Colorado Springs will attempt a new route on Bustle Tower in the Cirque of the Unclimbables in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Their grant was made possible by the REI Challenge Fund.
  
  
• Mark Thomas of Berkeley, Calif., will attempt a new route on Peak 11300 and explore pure ice lines on the northwest shoulder of the Rooster Comb in the Alaska Range.
  
  
• Tim Tormey of Fort Collins, Colo., will attempt to link both the North and South Howser Towers in a one-day push, in addition to several other objectives in the Canadian Bugaboos.
  
  
• Dave Turner of Sacramento, Calif., will attempt several major objectives in South American ranges, including the southeast face of Jirishanca, south face of Huandoy Sur, Fitz Roy, and the east face of the Central Tower of Paine. (For more information: AmericanAlpineClub.org)