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A group of 12 international adventurers and mountaineers will follow in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922).
Departing Feb. 18, the month-long expedition will retrace the final chapter of Shackleton's historic rescue mission - an arduous trek across the mountainous interior of South Georgia Island. This traverse has reportedly not been accomplished by a private expedition since Shackleton's time.
60 WOMEN COMPETE FOR
ALL-FEMALE NORTH POLE EXPEDITION
Sixty women swam in freezing water, slept outdoors, and descended 100 feet into deep quarries to vie for one of 16 berths on the first-ever all-woman expedition to the North Pole. Arctic explorer Pen Hadow, 34, who runs the Polar Travel Company from his home in Britain, held the competition this past summer and plans to lead the first female relay expedition to the Pole in spring 1997.
NEW INTERACTIVE EXPEDITIONS GO ONLINE
Today explorers need more than just a good concept, sufficient funding and proper training. Technology has "raised the bar", requiring sophisticated knowledge of new communications technology made possible by satellites, durable rechargeable batteries, and the Internet. Four new projects indicate the tremendous growth of interactive online expeditions.
MayaQuest '97 Launches "Lost Cities of the Rainforest"
In spring 1997 over 150,000 online explorers will search for lost Maya cities as part of what the Washington Post calls, "the most successful experiment in interactive education to date."
Netspedition Explores Amazon
Scientists from London's Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine are conducting an interactive scientific research expedition in South America's Amazon jungle.
The "Netspedition" hopes to demonstrate that scientific research in remote regions can be conducted interactively on the Internet.
Microsoft Launches Online Adventure Magazine
Microsoft launched the Mungo Park Online Adventure Magazine with its premiere interactive expedition, the first descent of the Tekeze River in Africa. The expedition, which departed last month, is headed by Mungo Park's editor-in-chief, Richard Bangs.
NOVA/PBS ONLINE Reports Discovery of Sacrificial Remains
Another online expedition is funded by NOVA and PBS and reports that after just two days of digging at 18,000 feet on Peru's Mt. Sara Sara last month, members of an archaeological team unearthed ceremonial statues and figurines of silver, gold and carved shell, along with a 500-year-old skull.
Remembering the Great Polar Pitchman -
Shackleton's "Glorious Failure" is Historic Survival Epic
The 1997 expedition commemorating Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) honors a man considered by biographer Roland Huntford as "an eloquent, brooding magnetic half-poet, half-buccaneer, possessed by romantic visions and intense ambition."
National Geographic Names Will Steger "Explorer-in-Residence"
Polar explorer Will Steger, 52, has become the National Geographic Society's first explorer-in-residence through December 1996.
Royal Geographical Society Hosts Expedition Planning Seminar
What's an expedition? To the Royal Geographic Society it's "a journey or voyage with a definite purpose." Explorers planning their own expeditions are invited to attend an annual weekend seminar organized by the RGS on Nov. 9-10 in London.
Antarctica Joins Lonely Planet Series
Since 1973, The Lonely Planet has published 210 guidebooks covering travel to every country in the world, except for one very large region of the globe. Now it's Antarctica's turn with release next month of "The Lonely Planet Guide to Antarctica." The 352-page book includes a large section discussing private expeditions and adventure in Antarctica.
An Everest Cliff Hanger
Mount Everest has achieved a strong toe-hold on American pop culture with an on-going serialized feature in the funny papers. For two months readers of the Brenda Starr comic strip have followed the staff of "The Flash" newspaper on an Everest climb, guided by expedition leader "Rock Rappel."
EXPEDITION NEWS is published by Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc., 28 Center Street, Darien, CT 06820 USA. Tel. 203-656-3300, fax 203-655-7710. Editor/publisher: Jeff Blumenfeld. c1996 Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscription rate: US $36/year. E-mail: editor@expeditionnews.com or CompuServe 76226,773. Highlights from EXPEDITION NEWS can be found on the World Wide Web at ExpeditionNews.com.