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, explorers, environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts. This forum on exploration covers projects that stimulate, motivate and educate.
Here are highlights from our May issue. For a free sample issue contact editor@ExpeditionNews.com or call 203-656-3300 (USA).
THE BOTTOM OF THE TOP OF THE WORLD
Much has been written in these pages about arctic expeditions to the North Pole - the geographic top of the world. But a quest to determine what lies at the bottom of the top of the world is the idea behind the North Pole 99 expedition, a planned August 1999 study of the world below the ice cap. Coleaders are Explorers Club president and former nuclear submarine captain Alfred S. McLaren, Ph.D., and Don Walsh, Ph.D., who piloted the bathyscaphe "Trieste" in 1960 to a depth of 35,800 feet in the Marianas Trench.
ALL-WOMEN AMERICAN TEAM TARGETS CHO OYU
The first all-women American team to attempt one of the world's fourteen 8,000 meter peaks without Sherpa support or supplemental oxygen hopes to depart for Cho Oyu in spring 1999. Supy Bullard, 30, of Bozeman, Mont., leader of the Women's Century Expedition, is circulating sponsorship proposals to outdoor manufacturers, seeking $70,000 in cash and in-kind support.
AMATEUR CLIMBERS ATTEMPT ANNAPURNA I
A group of amateur American climbers will attempt in October 1999 a new route on the South Face of the world's 10th highest peak - Annapurna I, in the Nepalese Himalayas. Notorious for severe storms and avalanches, Annapurna I is considered one of the most deadly mountains in the world, and is rarely attempted. "Ascents of this type are extremely rare due to difficulty, costs, and the time commitment involved," said International Annapurna I South Face Expedition leader Tom McMillan, 41, a chemical engineer from San Rafael, Calif.
EXPEDITION UPDATE
Fossett Stays On - U.S. balloonist Steve Fossett said on Apr. 25 he would make a fourth attempt to fly around the world in August, setting off from Argentina.
Modern-Day Vikings Try Again - A group of sailors will again try to retrace Leif Ericsson's voyage to the New World nearly 1,000 years ago in a replica of the Viking's ship. An attempt last summer to re-create the voyage from Greenland to Newfoundland ended with weak winds and a broken rudder on the 54-ft. Viking ship "Snorri" (See EN, September 1997).
EXPEDITION FOCUS
Funding a Safe, Sustainable Expedition Budget
by William F. Vartorella, Ph.D., C.B.C.
The stark reality is many expeditions into remote regions are dangerously
underfunded. The adage that "it isn't what you see that kills you,
it's what you don't see," is as true today as it was when Stanley sought
Livingstone.
All of this is exacerbated by the view that technological progress has
somehow replaced serious expedition preparation. Give an explorer a few
gadgets and he/she is ready to risk all, in spite of a gross lack of resources
(read: underfunding). With some 6,500 expeditions going into the field this
year, competition for funding from high-visibility donors is keen. The reality
is there is plenty of cash available for the serious, science-driven expedition
prepared to look at fund raising from a different vantage point.
Just how elegantly simple the whole process can become, with proper planning,
is demonstrated in our May 1999 issue.
EXPEDITION NOTES
The Adventurers' Grand Slam - David Hempleman-Adams has achieved the so-called "grand slam" of adventuring. Reaching the geographic North Pole on April 28 was Adams' final goal in an attempt to become the first person to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents and journey by foot to all four geographic and magnetic poles.
MEDIA MATTERS
To the Top Canada - Chris Robertson, 42, of Hamilton, Ontario reportedly became the first explorer to travel by mountain bike from the very bottom of mainland Canada to its tip.
EXPEDITION CLASSIFIEDS
Learning Outfitters and Adventure Online - Seek notable adventures
and expeditions to partner with for K-12 curriculum development (print and
online). Expeditions must offer suitable educational content. Send project
summaries via fax (612-645-0240) or e-mail info@learnout.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. Zegrahm's Space Voyages division has begun taking reservations for our space experience travel program. Address: 1414 Dexter Avenue N #327, Seattle WA 98109; Phone: 800-628-8747; Fax: 206-285-5037; E-mail: zoe@zeco.com; Website: www.zeco.com. To receive information about our Space Voyages, call 1-888-SPACE66 or access www.spacevoyages.com.
EXPEDITION NEWS is published by Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc., 28 Center Street, Darien, CT 06820 USA. Tel. 203-656-3300, fax 203-655-7710, e-mail editor@expeditionnews.com. Editor/publisher: Jeff Blumenfeld. Copyright © 1999 Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscriptions: US$36/yr.; international postal rate US$46/yr. Highlights from Expedition News are also located at www.mountainzone.com/news/expedition where you can order a subscription to the full edition with your credit card.