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, environmentalists, and outdoor enthusiasts. This forum on the outdoors covers projects that stimulate, motivate and educate.
Here are highlights from the May issue. If you'd like to receive the complete version of the latest issue and remain informed about leading expeditions and adventures all year long, we invite you to subscribe for USD$36/year for 12 issues; international airmail rate is USD$46/year. Contact Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc., 397 Post Road - Suite 202, Darien, CT 06820 USA.
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COLORADO TOASTS GASHERBRUM II TEAM
The 11-person 1997 USA Karakoram Cancer Research Gasherbrum II Expedition team, departing May 16, will take the traditional South West Ridge route up northern Pakistan's Gasherbrum II, which at 26,360-ft. (8,035 meters), is the13th highest peak in the world, and one of the sought-after 14 peaks over 8,000 meters.
Major expedition sponsors are Sierra Designs and Pakistan International Airlines. The GII team will raise additional funding through the sale of five trekker slots at $4,500 each.
VOYAGE 1000 RETRACES ROUTE OF LEIF ERICSSON
Nearly 1,000 years ago, the intrepid Viking sailor, Leif Ericsson, set his sights on lands far west, sailing some 2,000 miles from Greenland to the southern Canadian coast and establishing the first contact between Europeans and native North Americans.
To commemorate the historic event, a crew of 12, including trip co-leader W. Hodding Carter, will sail in an exact replica of Ericsson's ship this summer from western Greenland along the Vikings' original route.
EXPEDITION UPDATE
Teams Struggle Towards North Pole
Arctic ice is breaking up two weeks earlier this year, causing problems for North Pole expeditions. By late April, news from the British-Norwegian team was not good. Briton David Hempleman-Adams, 40, and Norwegian Rune Gjeldnes, 25, were forced to quit at 85.02 N latitude after their progress was slowed by a broken sled and open water.
Greenland Circumnavigation Begins
After two years of planning, the International Greenland Expedition finally received necessary funding from major sponsors Swiss Army Brands/Victorinox, Frisby Technologies/ComforTemp, and Greenland Air. The team, which plans to circumnavigate Greenland by sea kayak and dog sled, consists of Minnesotan Lonnie Dupre, 36, and John Hoelscher, 33, from Yeppoon, Queensland. Both will depart by kayak on May 17 from southwest Greenland's Paamiut settlement and proceed north along the west coast for four months.
Reed Boat Departs 50 Years After Kon-Tiki
Fifty years after the Kon-Tiki raft showed that ancient peoples from South America may have sailed the oceans, a new fragile boat set out across the South Pacific.
A Spanish-led expedition will sail west from Easter Island on the Mata-Rangi, a 100-ft. long reed boat.
MEDIA MATTERS
Everest One Year Later
We can all expect to be hearing about the tragic events of May 10-11, 1996 for the rest of our lives. Our children will undoubtedly read about it in history books. Not since the summit was first achieved in 1953 has the mountain been more in the public eye. When ABC News Turning Point aired its first Everest '96 report last Sept. 19, approximately 11 million Americanswere watching (14 percent of the American television audience that evening). A sequel aired again on Apr. 27 that was videotaped, in part, at the Explorers Club in New York. National Geographic coverage planned in September 1997 is expected to reach over 25 million readers worldwide.
* Everest: The Movie
The countdown to the Everest IMAX film has begun, with its premiere scheduled in 50 cities starting in February 1999, according to producer MacGillivray Freeman Films, Laguna Beach, Calif. This major technological achievement will be supported by a $1 million advertising and promotion campaign.
EXPEDITION CLASSIFIEDS
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster -
By Jon Krakauer. Krakauer, a survivor of the storm which killed Everest climbers in May 1996, describes one of mountaineering's worst tragedies and its implications. 320 pages, 12 photos, map, hardcover. Unsigned $24, signed $29, S & H $2. Call, fax, write, or e-mail for your copy today! Top of the World Books, 20 Westview Circle, Williston, VT 05495, (802) 878-8737 phone/fax, glade@ topworld.com, www.topworld.com.
Zegrahm Expeditions - Offers small group travel to unusual destinations in the company of the world's leading experts. Destinations include: Antarctica, South Georgia and The Falklands; Antarctica The Far Side, including Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Islands, and Heard Island; Seychelles, Madagascar, Comoros and Zanzibar; Australia's Kimberley; the first-ever circumnavigation of Baffin Island; Aleutian Islands, Kuril Islands, and Kamchatka Peninsula; snorkel and diving expeditions to Palau and Yap; and many more. Look for an announcement in summer 1997 regarding our TOURS TO SPACE. Address: 1414 Dexter Avenue N #327, Seattle WA 98109; Phone: 800-628-8747; Fax: 206-285-5037; E-mail: zoe@zeco.com; Web site: www.zeco.com. To be put on an interest list for our Tours to Space, call 1-888-SPACE66.
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. Copyright © 1999 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.