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March 2025 – Volume Thirty-One, Number Three
Celebrating our 31th year!
EXPEDITION NEWS, founded in 1994, 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.
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Explorers Medal recipient Biruté Mary Galdikas, Ph.D.,
is the world’s foremost authority on orangutans.
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Explorers Club Names ECAD 2025 Awardees
It’s called ECAD – the Explorers Club Annual Dinner – and since dinners began in 1914, at a time when the Club was still obsessed with the Arctic, the black-tie gala has honored the world's greatest explorers and their achievements in scientific field research and exploration.
The 1929 Explorers Journal described the dinner long before women were admitted to the Club thusly: “… for every man is meeting chums whom he rarely sees otherwise, and real talk and unrestrained laughter are echoed from all four walls.” (Source: Jeff Wilser, The Explorers Club [Ten Speed Press, 2023]).
Legendary dinner hijinks include a man falling off a horse on stage; a speaker bitten by a dinner guest; some attendees reporting allergic reactions from eating the urticating hairs of cooked Chilean rose tarantula; and a famed meal of wooly mammoth at the 1951 dinner that years later Yale-lead DNA analysis revealed was sea turtle meat. (Which is like a Halloween party where you put your hand in spaghetti, but they tell you it’s brains.)
This year, the 121st ECAD is at the Glasshouse in NYC on April 26, 2025, themed Paradise Found. At press time it was essentially sold out except for tickets starting at $3,000 per person.
The awardees this year are:
Explorers Medal – Biruté Mary Galdikas, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized scientist, conservationist, and educator, and the world’s foremost authority on orangutans. She is the President and Founder of Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), Full Professor at Simon Fraser University, and Professor Extraordinaire at Indonesia’s Universitas Nasional. For over half a century, Biruté has dedicated her life to promoting the protection of orangutans and their rainforest home.
The Sweeney Medal – Alex Wallace has been deeply involved in both club governance and exploration since his election to membership in 2001. A participant on four Explorers Club Flag Expeditions, Alex has also served the Club in several leadership positions.
Citation of Merit – In 2024, Chief Scientists Javier Sellanes, Ph.D., and Erin E. Easton, Ph.D., with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, discovered over 150 new species among underwater mountains, or seamounts, which play an integral role in oceanic processes and connectivity. Led by both Sellanes and Easton, an international team examined understudied southeast Pacific seamounts, where only a few summits have been studied previously.
New Explorer Award – Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, Ph.D., a Peruvian chemical biologist of Andean-Amazonian heritage, bridges cutting-edge science and indigenous knowledge to protect Amazonian biodiversity, inspired by her grandmother’s wisdom as a healer. Rosa serves as the International Ashaninka Ambassador and was included in the BBC’s “100 Women 2024” list.
Finn Ronne Memorial Award – Dale T. Andersen, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute, has spent nearly five decades exploring Earth's most extreme environments. A pioneer in scientific diving in Antarctica’s perennially ice-covered lakes, Andersen’s research focuses on microbial ecosystems in extreme settings, with studies in both Antarctica and the Arctic.
Communication Award – E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin are Academy Award-winning filmmakers and the directors/producers of Free Solo. Together, they run Little Monster Films, New York, a full-service production company focused on documentary and scripted projects, currently overseeing a development slate of more than a dozen projects for various networks and streamers.
President’s Medal for Excellence in Exploration – Frederik Paulsen, Ph.D., is a renowned businessman, academic, and philanthropist. A passionate explorer, Dr. Paulsen is one of the few to have travelled to all eight of the Earth’s poles. He has also completed two circumnavigations of Antarctica with groups of scientists conducting studies of ice, air, sea, flora and fauna, among other projects.
Learn more about the awardees here:
https://www.explorers.org/2025-ecad-awardees/
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Tourists can now "hit the bottle" near Tucson. | |
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Biosphere 2 Welcomes Tourists
The outrageously ambitious Biosphere project, located about 25 miles from Tucson, Arizona, dates to 1984 and received significant criticism and public scrutiny surrounding a real-life experiment where eight people lived in its sealed, self-contained ecosystem for two years.
Unfortunately, they faced issues such as declining oxygen levels, food shortages, and internal conflicts, leading to accusations of mismanagement, lack of transparency, and questionable scientific validity, ultimately causing the project to be widely seen as a failure despite its intended goal of studying closed-system life support systems.
That was then, this is now.
Today, tourists are welcome to “hit the bottle” and visit Biosphere 2, the world’s largest controlled environment dedicated to understanding the implication, mitigation and adaptation solutions for resilience of the planet due to the global climate crisis.
B2 is a meso-scale Earth science facility encompassing 3.14 acres that houses five synthetic ecosystems encased in a glass and metal spaceframe. Operational for 30 years and counting, these meso-scale ecosystems include the world’s largest controlled systems of tropical rain forest, desert, savanna, mangrove, and ocean, according to its website.
The futuristic facility uses a dedicated app to offer a 90-minute self-guided walking tour, requiring a smartphone and headphones. Highlights of the one-mile tour are the original Human Habitat and living quarters as well as the Wilderness Biomes (B2 biomes are maintained as a tropical environment with high temperature and humidity levels). Adult tickets are $29.
For more information:
https://biosphere2.org/
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MoonPie Renames Florida
Always a fan of a well-played press stunt, we had to smile with the news that if the Gulf of Mexico could be renamed, then this sticky, sugary sandwich had every right to provide a new moniker for the land mass previously known as Florida, which will now be referred to as MoonPie Town.
So much for “Florida Man.” The stunt on behalf of the marshmallow treats generated bushels of publicity as it took a subtle swipe at the current administration.
The classic MoonPie is two graham cookies filled with marshmallow creme. The sandwich is then drenched in chocolate or another type of flavoring. It was first invented in 1917 by the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Bakery after a coal miner asked their traveling salesman for a snack as "big as the moon” (and therein lies its hook to appear before your eyes in this latest issue of Expedition News).
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Josh Lively, Ph.D., Curator of Paleontology, Prehistoric Museum, Utah State University | |
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Dig This: Become a Volunteer Paleontologist in Utah
Have you ever wanted to go on a dinosaur dig? The Prehistoric Museum at Utah State University Eastern in Price, is within less than two hours – in every direction – of some of the most important fossiliferous rocks in the U.S. These are rocks that span the entire Age of Dinosaurs (Triassic - Cretaceous), as well as rocks from the Eocene.
The dig sites are located across Utah and cover a wide range of paleontology, including the highest concentration of armored dinosaurs in the world, recently filmed by BBC for the Walking with Dinosaurs program to be aired in 2025.
Must be over age 18. No experience is necessary although a strong back helps. These are volunteer-based trips, but the Museum covers your meals. Volunteers must bring their own camping gear and pay for transportation.
Learn about their important work and how you can participate:
https://eastern.usu.edu/prehistoric-museum/, Josh Lively, josh.lively@usu.edu,
https://www.joshualively.com/
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit."
– Frank Borman (1928-2023), former NASA Astronaut, and commander of Apollo 8.
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Leilani Henry Preserves Legacy of Her Father –
First Person of African Descent to Reach Antarctica
The United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939-1941), also known as Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd, Jr.’s Third Antarctic Expedition, is often left out of timelines and history books. While the expedition was cut short by World War II, it made compelling discoveries of huge swaths of the continent. Byrd was one of the most important figures of Twentieth century exploration.
George W. Gibbs, Jr., (1916-2000) participated as a crew member on the USS Bear, one of the expedition ships. Now, his daughter Leilani Raashida Henry, a Conifer, Colorado, leadership consultant, works to preserve his legacy as the first person of African descent to step on Antarctica. The expedition had 125 men and 80 dogs. Fifty-nine of the men wintered over for about one year. The lessons and insights of these explorers have contributed to a global understanding of the Earth and space.
R. K. Headland, Senior Associate, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, UK, confirmed Gibb’s record: “If one keeps the details down to continental Antarctica then, as far as I have been able to find out, you are right, the earliest man of African descent to land on the continent was George Gibbs during the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939-41).
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Gibbs was the first person off the USS Bear to
set foot on Antarctica on January 14, 1941, according to BlackPast.org.
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Headland adds, “He served in the catering department aboard the USS Bear and, presumably, made two voyages to Little America III (West Base) in 1939-40 and 1940-41. His first landing would have been in early (probably January) 1940.
“There is a good precedent for his having been a cook, from Africa, on a United States Antarctic expedition.”
Headland says many U.S. sealers had African cooks, most recruited in New England ports. “While sealers landed on many of the Peri-Antarctic islands I know of none who reached the continent…. Likewise, there were Africans on some of the whaling stations in South Georgia, but I know of none who went farther south.”
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Leilani Henry holds an empty container of pemican consumed on the Third Byrd Expedition. | |
Leilani Henry is a facilitator, coach, artist, and public speaker. Her keynote presentations range from Rotary, global science conferences, the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda, and numerous educational institutions. She is author of The Call of Antarctica: Exploring and Protecting Earth's Coldest Continent (Twenty-First Century Books, 2021).
As a result of her research and travels, she became increasingly fascinated by polar science and expeditions and for the last few years has been working with the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration – the first European/U.S. collaboration studying the region, looking at the impact of climate change.
Her focus has been to train scientists, mathematicians, geologists, and other personnel of many nationalities, cultures, disciplines and priorities on how best to collaborate, according to executive coach David Hall, based in London.
In 2009, Gibbs Point, the most northern area of the continent of Antarctica, was named for George Gibbs by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (U.S. Board on Geographic Names). The George W. Gibbs Elementary School in Rochester, Minnesota, where he moved with his wife Joyce Powell in 1963, is also named in his honor.
It was a poignant moment last fall when Henry was speaking to an SRO audience at The Explorers Club in New York. She was asked to start the meeting by ringing the bell from the USS Bear displayed on the Club’s second floor. The peal is the same sound her father heard while serving with Adm. Byrd and stepping into the history books.
Henry can be reached at LRH@beingandliving.com. Learn more about her book and see images of George Gibbs on Antarctica at:
www.thecallofantarctica.com
MEDIA MATTERS
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Is it Stick a Fork in it Time for Outside Magazine
Outside Interactive Inc. – the parent company of Outside magazine – has laid off 20 members of its editorial and business teams, according to Adventure Journal (Feb. 11). At the same time, it acquired Inntopia, a software provider for the adventure travel and hospitality industry and announced several new hires, many from Inntopia.
Regarding the layoffs, Outside Interactive said, “With the acquisition of Inntopia, we decided to restructure some of our editorial team to allow our outdoor vertical experts to own their categories across the entire platform.”
The statement continues: “Last week’s layoffs impacted 20 individuals across the Editorial, Product, Marketing, Sales, and Finance teams, eight of which were local to Colorado.”
The Durango (Colo.) Telegraph (Feb. 27) writes, “This is creating doubt about the ongoing viability of the publication.”
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End of the line for Outside | |
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The reaction from the outdoor community was fierce. Employees are reeling. Among those who lost their jobs are longtime top editor Chris Keyes, a 30-year veteran, head of sustainability Kristin Hostetter, and brand director Mary Turner. According to insiders, just one print editor and three online editors remain.
“Outside magazine is dead. The company will argue otherwise, but you don’t lay off nearly your entire editorial staff and continue as a viable publication,” wrote Stephen Casimoro, editor of Adventure Journal.
Long-time outdoor industry public relations pro Chris Goddard of CGPR posts, “For those of us in the outdoor community, Outside has been an iconic force that has shaped how we experience and think about adventure, conservation, technology, milestone moments and athletes, climbers and heroes who have inspired us.”
For Outside’s part, it said it is working to reimagine the magazine, which debuted in 1977, and plans to introduce a new and improved print product in 2025. A spokesperson tells Adventure Journal, “The summer issue, which comes out in late May, will present the redesigned, reimagined Outside which will broaden the lens of the magazine.”
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SI.com Covers Adventure
The legendary Sports Illustrated brand has added an online product that covers Adventure. As such, it’s an appropriate outlet to generate exposure for the significant projects of explorers and adventurers. The latest post (Feb. 24) explains pre-climbing season conditioning and introduces gear, technical requirements, and an introduction to routes on Mt. Rainier.
The section is edited by John Waechter who reached the summit of Mt. Everest in 2001, thus becoming the 58th person to climb the Seven Summits. He is co-author of Conquering the Seven Summits of Sales (HarperCollins, 2014).
After some fits and starts, the publisher plans to continue printing editions in 2025, according to Jon Wertheim’s story on CBSNews.com (Feb. 9, 2025). “We will be expanding video production, and launching podcasts, and staging events, and sponsoring stadiums,” he posts.
Learn more:
https://www.si.com/onsi/adventure/authors/john-waechter
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Spacewoman
Working its way through film festivals this spring is Spacewoman, a new feature documentary about the extraordinary achievements of Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft, paving the way for the next generation of female space explorers.
Based on the book Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars written by Collins and Jonathan H. Ward (Arcade, 2021), the film is directed by Hannah Berryman.
Born on the other side of the tracks in upstate New York, Collins smashed many glass ceilings in the U.S. Air Force and at NASA, culminating in her commanding four increasingly dramatic and dangerous space shuttle missions.
Berryman’s 90-min. film shares the emotional journey experienced by Eileen and her family, and asks the philosophical question: “What level of risk is acceptable in one of the most important and dangerous adventures in human endeavor?”
A trailer was unavailable at press time. Watch an interview with Collins taped last November during its premiere at the DocNYC Film Fest in New York:
https://tinyurl.com/spacewoman2025
EXPEDITION INK
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Realm of Ice and Sky: Triumph, Tragedy, and History's Greatest Arctic Rescue
By Buddy Levy
Arctic Explorer and American visionary, Walter Wellman pioneered both polar and transatlantic airship aviation, making history’s first attempts at each. Wellman believed strongly as early as 1893 that, “Aerial navigation will solve the mystery of the North Pole and the frozen ocean.”
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen picked up where Walter Wellman left off, attempting to fly to the North Pole by airship. Realm of Ice and Sky (St. Martin’s Press, 2025) is the tale of the men who first flew the most advanced technological airships of their time to the top of the world risking, and even giving their lives for science, country and polar immortality.
On eve of an airship flight towards the North Pole in 1928, Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile is quoted, “We are quite aware that our venture is difficult and dangerous … but it is this very difficulty which attracts us. This is precisely why we are doing it. Had it been safe and easy, other people would have preceded us.”
Nobile crashed; prior to an ill-fated rescue attempt by Amundsen, the famed polar explorer told an Italian journalist, “There is a sentiment of solidarity which must bind men, especially those who risk their lives in the cause of science.”
For more information about this book and others by the author view:
www.buddylevy.com
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Looking for Legends
By Scott & Tarantino
Whether you’re an armchair traveler, an occasional tourist, a seasoned globe-trotter, a daring adventurer, or an intrepid explorer, there’s something for you in Looking for Legends: Let Us Take You Somewhere You’ve Never Been Before and Introduce You to Our Friends (Whole Wide World Publishing; April 2, 2024).
Joined at the heart by a love for travel and adventure, Barbara Scott and Tom Tarantino provide witty commentary as they circumnavigate the globe in a book that is part travelogue, part history, and part good, old fashioned, action story. These married travelers spanned the globe for 25 years and discovered that travel is more than anticipating and planning the journey, reaching the destination, or seeing the sights. It’s about the people you meet along the way, according to the publisher’s press release.
Complete with original, hand-drawn maps and more than 150 images, the book treks through the Empty Quarter with Wilfred Thesiger. Dances the tango with Ricardo Guiraldes. Unlocks the secrets of the Rosetta Stone with Jean-François Champollion. Discovers an invisible country across the top of the world with Knud Rasmussen. Finds the 15th 8000’er with Reinhold Messner.
Learn more by viewing the interview on BookTrib:
https://tinyurl.com/LookingforLegends
BUZZ WORDS
Noctourism
The hunger to experience first-hand, along with eyes-on, the nighttime sky. Noctourism is a top travel trend for 2025, one that has been flagged by Booking.com, the digital travel firm based in Amsterdam. They underscore that voyage dictum, “It’s not the destination, it is the journey,” with looking up and outward as one trend that’s shaping the future of travel. (Source: Leonard David’s Inside Outer Space)
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Kevin’s balls
Ships’ compasses are liquid-filled with gimballed mounts for stability. Binnacles protect these compasses from the elements. To reduce magnetic interference known to occur from iron fittings and local magnetic anomalies, binnacles are fitted with soft iron compensating quadrantal spheres called Kevin’s balls (aka “navigator’s balls) (Sources: The Explorers Log, Fall 2024, and CasualNavigation.com).
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Travel With Purpose, A Field Guide to Voluntourism (Rowman & Littlefield) by Jeff Blumenfeld – Travel has come roaring back and so has voluntourism. Be ready to lend a hand wherever you go. How to travel and make a difference while you see the world? Read excerpts and “Look Inside” at: tinyurl.com/voluntourismbook | |
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Get Sponsored! – Need money for your next project? Read about proven techniques that will help you find both cash and in-kind sponsors. If the trip is bigger than you, and is designed to help others, well, that’s half the game right there. Read Jeff Blumenfeld’s "Get Sponsored: A Funding Guide for Explorers, Adventurers and Would Be World Travelers." (Skyhorse Publishing).
Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Get-Sponsored-Explorers-Adventurers-Travelers-ebook/dp/B00H12FLH2
Advertise in Expedition News – For more information: blumassoc@aol.com
EXPEDITION NEWS is published by Blumenfeld and Associates, LLC, 290 Laramie Blvd., Boulder, CO 80304 USA. Tel. 203 326 1200, editor@expeditionnews.com. Editor/publisher: Jeff Blumenfeld. Research editor: Lee Kovel. ©2025 Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN: 1526-8977. Subscriptions: US$36/yr. available by e-mail only. Credit card payments accepted through www.paypal.com. Read EXPEDITION NEWS at www.expeditionnews.com. Research past issues of Expedition News dating back to May 1995 courtesy of the Utah State University Outdoor Recreation Archive. Access is free at: https://tinyurl.com/ENArchivesUSU
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