the explorers journal
fa l l 2 0 07 v ol . 85 no . 3
cover photo: the cover image was taken two days out from Pangnirtung
as will steger and his team were climbing a frozen waterfall on the
Weasel River. This is the southern entrance of the Auyuittuq National
Park, a 90km river valley leading to Qikiqtarjuaq. © 2007 Will Steger
Foundation, Abby Fenton
the climate change issue
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frozen lake, Taylor valley, Antarctica, Photo by kathy welch
specials
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the explorers journal
fa l l 2 0 07
president’s letter
A pivotal point in our history
During our successful 2007 Explorers Club Annual Dinner, which
highlighted major advances in polar exploration, Paul Andrew Mayewski
gave a captivating presentation on climate change in Greenland. In the
weeks that followed, I could not help but think about the topic, knowing
that so many members of our Club have been involved in climate change
research. Among our members are some of the world’s most recognized
experts in the fields of atmospheric science, oceanography, geochemistry, glaciology, underwater filmmaking, and polar exploration—fields
of science crucial to our understanding of Earth’s ecosystems and the
ongoing causes of global warming. Given the importance of the subject,
I began to discuss the idea of honoring those explorers and scientists
on the forefront of climate change research at this year’s Lowell Thomas
Awards Dinner with as many members as I could. The response I received was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.
This summer, our members carried Explorers Club Flag No 42 aboard
the Russian MIR submersible that became the first manned underwater
device to reach “The Real North Pole”—landing on the seabed some four
kilometers below the ice at 90° N. As many of you are aware from the
press, there is the political debate over this expedition, and because of
the political controversy that surrounds this subject as well as our dinner
topic, I think it is important to point out that according to our Club’s
bylaws, we take no stand on politics.
As your president, I take pride in celebrating the accomplishments of
our fellow members. This new first is an achievement for us as well as
the mission of the Club. Congratulations to Frederik Paulsen, Michael
McDowell, and Anatoly Sagalevitch.
Please accept my personal invitation to enjoy a fabulous and informative evening on Thursday, October 18th, at Cipriani Wall Street, and
help us honor the work of fellow explorers Richard Feely, Ph.D., W.
Berry Lyons, Ph.D., Paul A. Mayewski, Ph.D., Julie Palais, Ph.D., Adam
Ravetch, Sarah Robertson, Susan Solomon, Ph.D., and Will Steger.
Invitations are still available online at www.explorers.org. Seating is
limited and reservations will be taken on a first-come first-served basis.
Rob Jutson, dinner chair, his entire committee, and I look forward to
seeing you there.
Da niel A . Bennett
Lowell Thomas Awards Dinner
EXPLORINGCLIMATECHANGE
THE PRESIDENT, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, OF THE
EXPLORERS CLUB & ROLEX WATCH USA, INC. SALUTE
THE 2007 LOWELL THOMAS AWARD WINNERS.
Richard A. Feely, Ph.D.
W. Berry Lyons, Ph.D. FN’92
Paul A. Mayewski, Ph.D. FN’78
Julie M. Palais, Ph.D. FN’03
Sarah Robertson and Adam Ravetch FN’95
Susan Solomon, Ph.D.
Will C. Steger FN’85
the explorers journal
fa l l 2 0 07
editor’s note
salutes the 2007 recipients of
the explorers club
Lowell Thomas Award
Something Familiar,
Something Peculiar…
A ngel a M.H. Schuster
Acting Editor-in-Chief
c o n g r at u l at i o n s t o
Richard Feely, Ph.D.
W. Berry Lyons, Ph.D.
Paul Mayewski, Ph.D.
Julie Palais, Ph.D.
Adam Ravetch & Sarah Robertson
Susan Solomon, Ph.D.
Will Steger
Thank you for your efforts to keep our
world in Balance
image courtesy of © 2007 Will Steger Foundation
So you have noticed a few changes, have you—the smaller trim, a higher
page count, the perfect bind, and a host of new columns and features?
Driven in large part by a growing concern for the environment, we
have redesigned The E xplorers Journal with two goals in mind. Our first
has been to visually capture the mystique that is the very essence of
The Explorers Club and literally “put it on paper.” Our second has been
to minimize our ecological footprint by using every square centimeter of
paper on press.
Guiding us in this effort has been Jesse Alexander, a New Yorker with
a passion for exotic travel and a keen eye for all that is cool in the world.
Over the course of the summer, Jesse and I found ourselves in the archives of The Explorers Club, poring over back issues of The E xplorers
Journal since its launch as a pamphlet in 1921. Charting its evolution in
size and use of type, we noted each innovation—the first use of images
inside rather than only on the cover, the first use of color, and so on—and
marveled at the edge of its editorial, particularly during the 1950s and
1960s. In recasting The E xplorers Journal, our cues have come from its
past as well as its future.
This issue we have brought together some of the best minds in climate research, who are elucidating the inner workings of our planet—
separating fact from fiction and human induced change from Earth’s
natural process. According to Explorers Club Fellow Paul Andrew
Mayewski, who penned the lead story in our climate package, “more
knowledge is needed, not to demonstrate the direction of change, but
rather to reduce uncertainty in the degree and style of future change.”
Having spent the better part of four decades on the forefront of climate
research, Mayewski spearheaded the Greenland Ice Sheet Project,
which pushed back our knowledge of Earth’s climate history by nearly
a million years.
We hope you enjoy our new format and look forward to your feedback!
for their contributions to our
under s ta nding of Global Cl im at e Cha nge
the explorers journal
fa l l 2 0 07
the explorers club
Board Of Directors
President
Daniel A. Bennett
Officers
PATRONS & SPONSORS
Honor ary Chairman
Sir Edmund Hillary,
KG, ONZ, KBE
Honor ary President
James M. Fowler
Honor ary Directors
Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D.
George F. Bass, Ph.D
Eugenie Clark, Ph.D.
Sylvia A. Earle, Ph.D.
Col. John H. Glenn Jr., USMC (Ret.)
Gilbert M. Grosvenor
Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.
Richard E. Leakey, D.Sc.
Roland R. Puton
Johan Reinhard, Ph.D.
George B. Schaller, Ph.D.
Don Walsh, Ph.D.
CLASS OF 2 0 0 8
V i c e P r e s i d e n t, C h a p t e r s
Pat r o n s O f E x p l o r at i o n
Garrett R. Bowden
Jonathan M. Conrad
Kristin Larson, Esq.
Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D.
Robert H. Whitby
Robert H. Whitby
Robert H. Rose
Michael W. Thoresen
CLASS OF 2 0 0 9
Daniel A. Bennett
Kenneth M. Kamler, M.D.
Lorie Karnath
Theodore M. Siouris
Alicia Stevens
Anne L. Doubilet
William Harte
Kathryn Kiplinger
Daniel A. Kobal, Ph.D.
R. Scott Winters, Ph.D.
ART DEPARTMENT
Acting Editor-in-Chief
Art Director
Angela M.H. Schuster
Jesse Alexander
Managing Editor
Deus ex Machina
Jeff Stolzer
Steve Burnett
Contributing Editors
Jeff Blumenfeld
Jim Clash
Clare Flemming, M.S.
Michael J. Manyak, M.D., FACS
Milbry C. Polk
Carl G. Schuster
Nick Smith
V i c e P r e s i d e n t F o r O p e r at i o n s
C o r p o r at e Pa r t n e r O f E x p l o r at i o n
Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc.
Garrett R. Bowden
Corporate Benefactors Of Exploration
Vice President, Research & Education
Lenovo
Redwood Creek Wines
Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D.
Treasurer
Mark Kassner
Corporate Supporter Of Exploration
National Geographic Society
Kevin O’Brien
S e c r e ta r y
Daniel A. Kobal, Ph.D.
A s s i s ta n t S e c r e ta r y
Anne Doubilet
the explorers journal © (ISSN 0014-5025) is published
quarterly by The Explorers Club, 46 East 70th Street, New
York, NY 10021, telephone: 212-628-8383, fax: 212-2884449, website: www.explorers.org, e-mail: editor@explorers.
org. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of The Explorers Club or The Explorers
Journal. Subscriptions should be addressed to: Subscription
Services, The E xplorers Journal, 46 East 70th Street, New
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A s s i s ta n t T r e a s u r e r
CLASS OF 2 0 10
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Explorers Club Flag and Seal are registered trademarks of
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All rights reserved. © The Explorers Club, 2007.
e xpl or ation ne ws
edited by Jeff Blumenfeld
and for the circumnavigation
attempts currently underway by
Lewis and Eruc. The panel of experts recognize Lewis as being
first in line to complete a humanpowered
circumnavigation
when he completes his expedition October 6 in Greenwich,
England. Lewis’s quest has
been a long-sought grail of circumnavigation aspirants since
Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition
completed the first circumnavigation of the world in 1522.
Panel Decides
Rules for true circumnavigation
Definitive rules for circumnavigations of the world completed
under human power have been
published by AdventureStats
of Explorers Web, Inc., an independent panel of international
historians, geographers, and
explorers. Their conclusions will
ratify existing guidelines held by
the Guinness Book of World
Records. The rulings will also
clarify the recent dispute between
teams from three nations—Britain,
Canada, and Turkey—regarding
the first circumnavigation of the
planet by human power.
Last April a major row erupted in the international press
between Briton Jason Lewis
(above), Canadian Colin Angus,
and Turkish son and long-time
U.S. resident Erden Eruc over
the definition of a legitimate human-powered circumnavigation
8
(HPC). Angus, who claims to
have completed an HPC in May
2006, traveled exclusively in the
Northern Hemisphere, which,
according to Lewis and Eruc,
does not entitle him to claim a
circumnavigation of the entire
world. Guinness also refuted
the claim by Angus as their
criteria for human-powered
circumnavigation feats require
the traveler to cross both the
equator and at least one pair of
antipodal points (locations on
the surface of the planet that are
diametrically opposite to each
other). In turn, Angus accused
Guinness of setting the rules
on what constitutes a humanpowered circumnavigation to
suit a Briton—Lewis.
The new rules come down
heavily in favor of the existing
guidelines set by Guinness,
T he ru l e s set by
THE EXPLORERS CLUB TRAVELERS
A World of Adventures
Travel with Explorers Club members
and friends on luxurious adventures far
off the beaten path in the company of
distinguished & engaging leaders.
FEATURED JOURNEY:
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Experience the Himalayas’ diverse ethnic
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e x pl o r e r s w e b r e q u i r e
t h e c i r c u m n av ig a t o r t o :
• Start and finish at the same point,
traveling in one general direction
• Reach two antipodes
• Cross the equator
• Cross all longitudes
• Cover a minimum of 40,000 km or
21,600 nautical miles (a great circle)
British yachtsman Adrian
Flanagan, who is sailing the
first-ever single-handed “vertical” circumnavigation of the
globe—considered the last great
sailing prize in long-distance,
single-handed sailing—says, “I
agree with all points in the defining criteria, but would expand on
one. In crossing the equator, it
needs to be crossed twice in opposite directions. The one really
important point, which the panel
does make, is for the necessity
of at least one pair of antipodal
points on the track. Many sailors
ignore this—all the Vendée Globe
racers and the Volvo competitors
SELECTED JOURNEYS
The Farside of Antarctica
December 1, 2007–January 7, 2008 (38 days)
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Fax: 603-756-2922
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Ultimate Serengeti Safari
February 12–24, 2008 (13 days)
Chile’s Patagonian Fjords &
the Falkland Islands
February 18–March 2, 2008 (14 days)
From Cape Horn to
the Cape of Good Hope
February 28–March 22, 2008 (24 days)
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EXPLORATION NEWS
6/25/07
4:04 PM
are thus probably not completing a ‘true’ circumnavigation.” A
complete set of rules and regulations for human-powered circumnavigation are posted at http://
www.adventurestats.com/rules.
shtml#around. For information
on Jason Lewis’s expedition see:
www.expedition360.com.
Page 1
COMINGTO BOOKSTORESTHIS FALL
is the latest collection from The
Explorers Club book series, published
by The Lyons Press. Gathered here
are the firsthand accounts of more
than forty current members of the
Club, ranging from the remarkable to
the captivating to the bizarre, which
SOUTH POLE THEN
AND NOW
Looking into deep space
Happy Birthday Sputnik
Space Race turns 50
October 4 marks the fiftieth
anniversary the Soviet launch
of Sputnik I, and “the singular
event that launched the space
age and the US–USSR Space
Race,” says NASA web historian Steve Garber. According to
Garber, the world’s first artificial
satellite was about the size of
a basketball, weighed only 183
pounds, and took about 98
minutes to orbit the Earth on its
elliptical path. “As a technical
achievement, Sputnik caught
the world’s attention and the
American public off guard,”
he says. “More important, the
launch ushered in new political,
military, technological, and scientific developments.” For more,
write to [email protected].
10
It has been 50 years since a team
of 18 men under the leadership
of scientist Paul Siple and naval
officer Lt. John Tuck spent the
first winter/austral summer in
history at the South Pole as part
of the 1956–57 International
Geophysical Year. The “winterovers,” as they were known,
witnessed sunset and sunrise at
the South Pole, events that are
separated in Antarctica by six
months of darkness and almost
unimaginable cold. During that
time, temperatures dropped
to -74.5° Celsius (-102.1°
Fahrenheit) on September 18,
1957, the coldest temperature
recorded on Earth at the time.
These men laid the foundation for the scientific legacy
that continues with the recent
inauguration of the $19.2-million
South Pole Telescope as part
of the International Polar Year
2007–2008. The telescope—23
meters high, ten meters across,
and weighing 280 tons—was
test-built in Kilgore, TX, then
taken apart, shipped by boat
are sure to become a memorable
part of exploration lore for genera-
to New Zealand, and flown
to the South Pole. Since last
November, the SPT team under
the guidance of project manager
Steve Padin, Senior Scientist in
Astronomy and Astrophysics at
the University of Chicago, have
worked to reassemble and deploy the telescope, which is now
up and running. The cold, dry
atmosphere above the South
Pole will allow the SPT to more
easily detect the CMB (cosmic
microwave background) radiation, the afterglow of the big
bang, with minimal interference
from water vapor. For more on
the South Pole Telescope:
http://spt.uchicago.edu/spt.
tions to come.
Included in this exciting collection
are stories such as “A Bad Day at the
Office” by Robert Ballard, “Flying
Giant of the Andes” by Jim Fowler,
“The Running of the Boundaries” by
Wade Davis, “Race to the Moon” by
James Lovell, “Out on a Limb” by
Margaret Lowman, and many more.
This collection redefines what the
original members called exploration,
reflecting a modern adventurer—
including several women—whose
aim has shifted to protecting national
treasures, preserving the planet, and
making discoveries that will benefit
the whole of humankind while
expanding the world’s knowledge.
AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 2007
ISBN: 978-1-59228-991-2
AVAILABLE WHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD
Peary Centennial
Expedition Planned
The north beckons Dupre
On February 17, 2009, polar
The Lyons Press is an imprint of
The Globe Pequot Press
EXPLORATION NEWS
explorer Lonnie Dupre, 46, and
a team of Inuit companions
and explorers will begin an
epic dogsled journey through
the High Arctic, traveling in the
footsteps of Robert E. Peary,
who with Matthew A. Henson
and a team of Inuit, became the
first men to reach the North Pole
on April 6, 1909. Although the
claim was disputed by skeptics,
it was upheld in 1989 by the
Navigation Foundation (www.
navigationfoundation.org).
According to Dupre, a resident of Grand Marais, MN, the
five-month project will begin in
January 2009 with a month and
a half of training dogs, preparing equipment, and living with
the polar Inuit of the Qaanaaq
district of northwest Greenland.
Then, on February 17, the day
the sun comes back at the end
of four months of polar night,
a team of six explorers, three
sleds, and 36 dogs will depart
on the 2,400-kilometer journey.
While the team is not venturing
to the North Pole, they plan to
document all of Peary’s historic
huts, camps, depots, and cairns
in Canada and Greenland.
Dupre will also develop a “Not
Cool” campaign to explain how
climate change is affecting Inuit
culture and how pollution is
threatening wildlife. For more
information contact: Lonnie
Dupre at [email protected], or
visit www.lonniedupre.com.
How North is North?
A once and future land
In July, the Euro-American North
Greenland Expedition 2007
flew to the northernmost coast
of Greenland, then headed
out on the sea ice to establish
12
whether there is a more northerly point of permanent land
than Kaffeklubben Island, the
currently established northern
point. Oodaaq Island was
discovered some 1360 meters
north of Kaffeklubben in 1978,
but it has since vanished into
the ocean.
Team member Jeff Shea of
Point Richmond, CA, told us,
“We stood on an ‘island’ north
of Kaffeklubben. I put it in quotes
because it appeared to be sitting
on top of the sea ice, but we’re
not sure if it was connected to
land. This is representative of
these impermanent features off
the north coast of Greenland
near Kaffeklubben. This feature
was shown in a 2005 satellite
image appearing in much the
same shape as it is in now.
“It looks like an island, but
time will tell if it’s determined
to be the northernmost,” Shea
says. “For now, we dubbed it
Stray Dog West.”
peak fees for Everest’s relatively
unpopular fall season.
With the end of the decadeold Maoist insurgency last year,
tourism has rebounded in Nepal
(up 36 percent in the first seven
months of 2007 compared to
2006) but it is still far below
historical levels. Ang Tshering
asks that climbers and guides
e-mail their comments on reducing peak fees to office@nepal
mountaineering.org and to
the Ministry of Tourism at
[email protected].
Nepal seeks peak
fee cut
Eighteen environmental scientists spent seven weeks traveling down the 2,375-kilometer
Danube to “give the river a health
checkup,” according to Philip
Weller, executive secretary of
the International Commission
for the Protection of the
Danube River, which organized
the study. Known as the Joint
Danube Survey 2, the trip began
on August 14 in Regensburg,
Germany, and ended in late
September in in Romania and
the Ukraine. Weller said the
goal was to gather information
to improve Danube-related
policies of the countries along
the river, home to more than 80
million people. For more on this
project, see www.icpdr.org/jds.
Everest more economical?
Ang Tshering Sherpa, president
of the Nepal Mountaineering
Association, is campaigning to
reduce peak fees in his country
in order to attract more climbers. The Nepalese government
has formed a Royalty Revision
Committee, and Ang Tshering’s
hope is that fees will be reduced
across the board, according to
the American Alpine Club News.
In general, Nepal’s peak fees are
higher than those of comparable
mountains in Pakistan, India,
and even China. According to
Reuters, Nepal is already considering a 50 percent cut in its
The Not So
Blue Danube
Pollution threatens a European wonder
Points
Unknown
into the wilds of Patagonia
text by Paul Jeffr ey
Eager to protect the dramatic landscapes of western Patagonia, Cristian Donoso is leading an
expedition by kayak to this region, one of the most
inhospitable places on earth. Spending five months
navigating open seas and fjords and pulling their
kayaks across glaciers, Donoso and his team will
face daunting physical and mental challenges as
they gather information that will inform Chile and
the world about this little-known area.
With its labyrinth of rocky islands, serpentine channels and icy fjords, western Patagonia, in southern
Chile, is one of the least-explored areas on Earth,
with annual rainfall reaching up to eight meters and
winds frequently rising to hurricane force. Nestled
among glaciers that hug the slopes of steep Andean
peaks and drenched by storms that blow out of the
southern Pacific, the harsh region deters all but the
hardiest explorers.
That has not stopped Cristian Donoso, a young
Chilean lawyer who over the past 14 years has
ventured some 40 times into the region’s most
inaccessible corners. Just like the indigenous
photographs by Cr isti a n Donoso
peoples who paddled here in fragile canoes for
thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans,
he often travels in a sea kayak, which allows him
to manoeuvre around the narrowest fjords and
discover their hidden beauty.
“In order to strengthen the protection of this
territory, we have got to know what’s there,” says
Donoso, who reports that today most Chileans
have little knowledge of it. He warns that such
ignorance makes it easier for those seeking
commercial gain to exploit the region’s natural
resources—seafood, water, virgin forests—with
little respect for its biodiversity.
With his team of three men and one woman,
the 31-year-old explorer has embarked on an
ambitious five-month Transpatagonia Expedition
that started this September. They will traverse
2,039 kilometers of the central part of western
Patagonia on open sea, lakes, and rivers, as well
as travelling overland for about 150 kilometers,
dragging kayaks with provisions—weighing some
100 kilograms each—behind them as sledges.
The group will ascend unclimbed peaks and visit
the explorers journal
uncharted territories.
To enhance understanding of the region’s
geological past, soil and rock samples will
be collected and analyzed by scientists.
The explorers will also collect geological
evidence, including stalagmites in caves
on Madre de Dios Island, showing how the
climate has changed over time.
Scholars of the region’s human history
eagerly await the expedition’s reports on
the remains of fishing and hunting camps
that belonged to the Kaweskars, who lived
in the region for more than 4,000 years.
A famous incident, the 1741 sinking
of the English frigate Wager on the north
coast of the Guayaneco Archipelago, will
come alive again when expedition divers
search for the wreck’s exact location. They
will then trace the route described in the
journal of John Byron, who survived the
shipwreck thanks to assistance from two
indigenous groups, who spirited him and
three other survivors through the treacherous waters in their canoes.
Donoso, a 2006 Rolex Enterprise Awards Laureate,
is planning to produce a documentary video for
broadcast on Chilean television in 2008. To follow
his expedition, September through January, see his
website at: http://patagoniaincognita.blogspot.com.
biography
Paul Jeffrey is an Oregon-based writer and photographer who has covered international emergencies
such as the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and the tsunami in South Asia.
14
the explorers journal
A Moun ta in
of Their Own
after leading dozens of clients up
the world’s highest peak, two of
Everest’s best climb for themselves
text by Br ett Pr ett y m a n
From his first glimpse of the tiny man with the effervescent smile, Geoff Tabin knew Apa Sherpa was
different. It was 1988, and Tabin was serving as the
doctor on an expedition on Mount Everest that had
hired Apa as part of the climbing support team.
“He was very shy, very cheerful, and unbelievably strong,” Tabin said. “He had
this incredible balance about
him. While other Sherpas
carrying the same
loads were plodding along he
was skipping
16
and dancing up the mountain. And that smile…he
just never quit smiling.”
While Apa didn’t make it to the top of
Chomolungma in 1988—Tabin did—the Sherpa
man from Thame managed to string together an
unbelievable list of summits in the ensuing years.
Today, 19 years later, the 5-foot-4 and 120-pound
Apa is still displaying what has become the trademark grin of the man who has skipped to the summit of Everest more than any other human, most
recently on May 16, 2007. This past spring, the
reserved yet still distinctly feisty 47-year-old broke
his own world record with a seventeenth trip to
the highest point on the planet—four of which
were made without oxygen. Apa made his first
16 Everest summits while employed by clients
to get them to 29,035 feet above sea level. This
time there were no clients, just family, friends, and
fellow Everest record setter Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa,
who in 2003 set a speed record for the fastest
summit from basecamp in just under 11 hours.
Apa and Lhakpa surrounded themselves with
other Sherpas, many of them extended family and
friends, to round out the climbing members of the
SuperSherpas Expedition.
“All the other times I was there for a job to
the explorers journal
18
at approximately 8:45 A.M. on May 16. The team
climbed more than 7,700 vertical feet in less than
24 hours—and at the highest altitude in the world.
“This trip was not as hard as others when we
had to help others so much,” Lhakpa said. “Our
Sherpa team was so strong and we didn’t have
to turn around for anything. I am so very proud of
how we worked as a team.”
“If there is anything good that comes from our
summit…our goal would be to create a more
peaceful world,” Apa and Lhakpa radioed the
SuperSherpas basecamp shortly after reaching the summit. “Our second goal would be to
continue in Sir Edmund Hillary’s footsteps and
contribute to education and improving health care
in the Khumbu region, and for all Nepali people
in the remote regions.” To raise awareness of the
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SUPERSHERPAS LLC
get others to the top to try and support my family. This time Lhakpa and I did it not only for our
families but for all the Nepali people,” Apa said
from his current home in Salt Lake City, UT, where
Lhakpa also lives. “I am very proud of our team,
the history we made, and the awareness we have
brought to the Sherpa people.”
Free of the constraints and obligations to get
clients to the top, the SuperSherpas basically
raced from Camp 2 to the summit, passing other
climbers hunkered down in tents trying to acclimatize to the elevation. The SuperSherpas team
started its final push for the summit on May 14,
spending the night at Camp 2 (21,300 feet), and
then climbed to Camp 4—a gain of more than
4,200 feet—in nine hours. After a four-hour rest at
Camp 4, they took off at 10 P.M. and summitted
role of Sherpas and the need for a better education system in their home country, a documentary
is being made about the expedition—filmed entirely
by Sherpas, of course.
Apa and Lhakpa never made it out of grade
school in Nepal. They both became porters for
Everest expeditions at an early age to support
their families. The men eventually proved themselves worthy of becoming part of climbing teams
and started leading people to the top. Even as
the most accomplished climber on Everest, Apa
still made less than 20 percent of the money
Western guides pull in for taking clients to the top.
Because they spend more time on the mountain
helping prepare camps for the climbers, Sherpas
are also exposed to the dangers of Everest more
frequently than Western climbers.
Apa and Lhakpa decided it was time to draw
attention to the Sherpa people and the fact that
they have been involved in some way on every
expedition attempt since people started trying to
conquer Everest in the 1920s. The men are also
hoping that their success will help raise money for
more and better education for all Nepali children,
and create a better pay scale for Sherpas involved
in expeditions.
Because they live at high elevations their entire
lives, Sherpas do not need to go through the
lengthy process of acclimating their bodies to the
grueling demands of extreme heights. Amazingly,
research on the Sherpas’ ability to cope with high
elevations has not been done. Researchers from
the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Utah asked
Apa and Lhakpa to undergo a barrage of tests
before leaving Salt Lake City for Kathmandu, and
again during the climb. Results from the medical
and nutritional research are still being analyzed,
but it is clear that there is something unique about
the Sherpas that allows them to excel at elevation
where others break down.
Making it to the top is always a thrilling, but all
climbers know an expedition is only a success if
they make it back home. Apa and Lhakpa were
almost back to basecamp, about halfway through
the Khumbu Icefall, when they were asked to head
back up the mountain to help retrieve the body of
a climber who had been killed in an avalanche.
Although they had never met the Korean man who
perished, Apa and Lhakpa honored his family by
helping to bring his body back down the mountain. This required going through the icefall at the
time of highest risk, late in the day after warming
from the intense sun. Many climbers, including
Apa, believe the icefall is the most dangerous part
of the Everest climb.
The record-holders finally made it back to
basecamp, albeit on a sad note, but they still
found energy enough to celebrate with the basecamp team. They started by calling their families.
Missing his wife and three children in Utah, Apa
was in a hurry to get back to the United States,
so the team wasted little time packing up camp.
“We were the last to arrive and the first to leave,”
Lhakpa said about the mere 22-days the team
spent at basecamp, surely another record for
Everest expeditions. “Everybody was jealous that
we had managed to make the climb so quick.”
Lhakpa was also excited to get home, but he
had a present to pick up for his wife Fuli. The team
headed to Kathmandu, where they were treated
like royalty and swarmed by the media and wellwishers. When things finally settled down for
the heroes, they headed for the U.S. Embassy in
Kathmandu, hoping to get final permission to take
Lhakpa’s three children—ages 10 to 16—to North
America. It took some work, but permission was
granted and the team plus three returned to Utah
on May 30. “I feel like we have accomplished so
many goals, but it is most important that the children are here now with their mother,” said Lhakpa.
“Education is so important and now they can go to
schools here and be with us.”
Although they both hint that their time on
Everest is over, Apa and Lhakpa both say it is
too soon after their latest expedition to decide
if they will return to attempt another climb. “One
never knows. We will have to see what happens
in the future. The mountain will always be there,”
they said.
information
For more information on the SuperSherpas Expedition visit
www.supersherpas.com. For a detailed day-by-day account
of the expedition with pictures, video, and notes from Mount
Everest basecamp visit: www.sherpas.sltrib.com.
biography
Brett Prettyman has been an outdoors writer and editor for
The Salt Lake Tribune since 1990.
the explorers journal
exploring climate change
charting a new course
for
Pl anet
Earth
by m a rga r et D. Low m a n
The Dry Valleys in Antarctica, photo by David Marchant, Boston University
“A race is now on between the techno-scientific
forces that are destroying the living environment
and those that can be harnessed to save it.”
- E.O. Wilson
20
For more than a century, the collective talents
of the Explorers Club have tested the limits of
human stamina. Our members have rocketed
into space, dived deep into our oceans, and
ventured into cave systems and rainforest canopies. And, in the process of exploring our planet,
they have been instrumental in pioneering new
technologies to facilitate the discovery and
recovery of information, whether a new species
or previously unknown geophysical process.
Perhaps more important, our colleagues have
championed the need to conserve Earth’s wild
places not only for explorers of the future but
for humanity as a whole.
In his new book, The Revenge of Gaia, British
environmental writer James Lovelock, who has
long viewed our planet as a complex superorganism, claims that Earth is about to catch a
morbid fever that may last as long as 100,000
years. Climate change is not a localized phenomenon—restricted to developing countries or
expanding urban areas. It is a global issue that
affects the entire planet. Hurricanes are increasing in numbers and intensity as a consequence
of the warmer oceans that trigger increased
storm cycles. Warmer temperatures are melting
polar ice at unprecedented rates, and also drying out remaining fragments of tropical rainforest, leading to increased fire frequency. Most
scientists, myself included, agree that Earth
is rapidly approaching a tipping point, beyond
which the costs and technology for ecosystem
repair may become prohibitive.
For The Explorers Club, what began as an
idea embraced by a select few of our members
has become a mandate for our organization—to
ensure a healthy future for global exploration.
As the club’s vice president for research and
education, I will be working with our president,
Daniel A. Bennett, and our board of directors
to guarantee that research and education become primary components of all expeditions
supported by the organization.
While the future may look bleak for the environment, we believe our profound desire to chart
a new course for our planet offers exciting economic opportunities for new green technologies
and initiatives. As explorers, our goal is not only
to explore, but to educate and inspire.
the explorers journal
exploring climate change
1
No.
Venturing
Of t h e
exploring our planet’s polar regions:
to t h e E nds
Earth
chroniclers of the past and portents of the future
by Paul A ndr ew M ay ewsk i
It has been 50 years since the first International
Geophysical Year (IGY) invited the best minds in
science from around the globe to join forces in tackling issues such as understanding Earth’s oceans
and atmosphere and the delicate relationship
between them. Since then, many advances have
been made in this area, among the most important, the understanding of the role of greenhouse
gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) in determining
Earth’s climate. In more recent years, a realization
that gases such as CO2 are on the rise has led to an
interest in determining and documenting past levels
of greenhouse gases. Gathering such information,
however, entails journeying literally to the ends of
the Earth. For there, locked in thousands of meters
of ice, are records of our planet’s changing chemical and physical climate that stretch back nearly a
million years.
When I began my climate research nearly 40
years ago, few in the scientific community regarded Earth’s polar regions as important to the
vast majority of civilization. At that time, Antarctica
was viewed as not only a frozen continent but also
a continent frozen in time. This view seemed to
be amply supported by the ice-free valleys of the
Victoria Land Coast in East Antarctica, where
rocks had been exposed to millions of years of
22
wind erosion, creating timeless landscapes. The
vast interior of the polar plateau also appeared to
be changeless to the few limited expeditions that
passed but once across the surface.
Increased access to the most remote portions
of Antarctica and the Arctic—afforded by aircraft
and ship in recent years—complemented by our
ability to mount lighter, faster, and more efficient
expeditions and establish well-equipped field stations, has resulted in the acquisition of an abundance of information that is dramatically changing
our understanding of the critical role polar regions
play in Earth’s complex ecosystem.
Remarkably, these regions have now emerged
as “first responders” for monitoring current climate because they are so sensitive to warming;
the vast ice-trapped environmental libraries they
host chronicle hundreds of thousands of years of
Earth’s climate history. The ice cores we extract
from the polar regions contain highly robust records of past climate. These ancient records not
only allow us to better understand the long-term
cyclical changes in climate caused by natural phenomena such as the 26,000-year precession of
the equinoxes, which is in part responsible for the
ice ages; volcanic eruptions; and solar activity, but
to separate these factors from variations in climate
the explorers journal
Discovery of abrupt climate change by the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2) in 1992 revolutionized the understanding of climate change.
Prior to 1992 climate change was viewed as a slow
process, taking thousands of years. Following
1992 changes in temperature and atmospheric
circulation intensity were demonstrated to operate frequently and rapidly (change in less than 10
and in some cases less than two years). Data for
this figure from: Mayewski et al., 1994, Science,
1997, Journal of Geophysics; Grootes et al., 1997,
Journal of Geophysics.
wrought by human activity. Moreover, the study of
particularly deep ice cores such as those we have
recovered from Greenland and Antarctica is yielding a number of paradigm-changing concepts
about how the climate system operates.
When I directed the Greenland Ice Sheet
Project 2 (GISP2) in 1993, we recovered the first
ice core to bedrock, extending to 3,056 meters,
below the surface in Greenland. The resulting climate record was annually dated back to 110,000
years ago and instead of demonstrating, as
24
assumed to that date, that climate changes slowly
over hundreds to thousands of years, showing
that temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric
circulation can change dramatically in the span of
a decade. The finding was an absolute break with
scientific consensus.
The idea that in less than a decade—and in some
cases within two years—the climate in a region
could change so rapidly opened up the possibility
for significant climate surprises. Close correlation
between the abrupt climate events evident in ice
core records and those found in cores taken from
ocean floor sediments suggested that changes
in ocean circulation accompany changes in the
atmosphere.
Such abrupt climate change events appear to
be most dramatic in the North Atlantic, no doubt a
consequence of the fortuitous shape of the North
Atlantic basin with respect to sea ice formation,
which allows the extent of sea ice to vary over
a considerable area. Examination of the GISP2
ice cores reveal that since the departure of the
major Northern Hemisphere ice sheets some
10,000 years ago, abrupt climate events are of
significantly smaller magnitude—a mere 1º to 2ºC
in temperature—than their Ice Age counterparts.
Yet such seemingly small changes in climate can
have a major impact on ecosystems and civilizations.
The demise of the Akkadian culture in Mesopotamia
4,200 years ago and the decline of the Maya civilization ca. A.D. 900 can both be attributed in large
part to shifts in atmospheric circulation, which led to
drought. The Norse colonies in Greenland in A.D.
1400 found themselves more isolated with each
passing year as a consequence of increased sea
ice, which made it impossible for European ships
to resupply the settlements. These findings send a
clear and imperative message to modern society: we
are not immune to even small changes in climate.
When the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
(AICA)—which included not only our ice core data,
but research from many other Arctic projects—was
released in 2004, it demonstrated without a doubt
that our planet was well into the initial stages of
warming and, as expected, early evidence would
come from the polar regions, notably temperaturesensitive Arctic sea ice and surrounding glaciers.
Earth’s northern polar reaches consist of a vast
ocean encircled by land—the inverse of the southern polar region. Arctic seas and lands are home
to diverse populations of wildlife, vegetation, and
people. In recent decades, the delicate Arctic climate balance has begun to change dramatically
as a consequence of greenhouse gas warming.
The extent and thickness of sea ice has diminished, permafrost is thawing, coastal erosion is
accelerating, the abundance and distribution of
plants and animals has been altered, and glaciers
are retreating at accelerating rates.
A soon-to-be-released study developed by
several of us under the auspices of the Scientific
Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR), entitled the State of the Antarctic and the Southern
Ocean Climate System, emphasizes the critical
role that region plays in the global climate system.
Climate over the Antarctic is profoundly influenced
by its massive ice sheet, which in places is more
than 4,000 meters thick. Antarctica holds some 80
percent of the world’s fresh water as ice (glaciers
outside Antarctica comprise another ten percent)
and along with its surrounding sea ice, the resulting
whiteness plays a major role in Earth’s ability to reflect incoming solar radiation. The white reflective
surface of the Antarctic ice sheet is doubled in size
during the maximum yearly extent of sea ice and
sea ice is highly sensitive to changes in ocean and
surface air temperatures, making it a highly dynamic
component of the global climate system. The extent
of the sea ice and its duration determines the vigor
of heat exchange between the ocean and overlying
atmosphere.
Surface and subsurface melting of Antarctic ice
into the Southern Ocean leads to the production
of the coldest, densest water on the planet. The
strongest winds on Earth encircle the Antarctic
and blow over the Southern Ocean. The combination of winds and dense bottom water production
are primary drivers of the world’s largest ocean
current system and therefore are of critical importance to the transport of heat and moisture
throughout the planet.
The Antarctic ice sheet is today one-and-a-half
times the size of the United States and has a
sea level equivalent, if completely melted, of 57
meters. By virtue of its size, reflectivity, and its
surrounding ocean that acts as a heat sink, the
warming impact of human source changes in
greenhouse gases (rise in CO2, CH4, and N2O,
and decrease in upper atmosphere O3 ) may be
partially buffered, but for how long? Mounting
evidence suggests that warming is beginning to
impact ever-increasing portions of the Antarctic
and Southern Ocean. Model projections suggest
that over the twenty-first century the Antarctic interior will warm by approximately 3º to 4ºC, which
exceeds temperatures of the last few million years
for this region, and sea ice extent will decrease by
some 30 percent. Estimates for sea level rise are
on the order of six to seven meters over the next
2,000 years, but there is no reason to assume that
the rate of change will be linear. Massive melting
and sea level rise could occur at any time as a
consequence of ice sheet destabilization (through
heating of surface ice, basal ice, or ocean-ice
contact points). Changes in climate (temperature,
precipitation, ocean and atmospheric circulation,
sea ice, atmospheric chemistry) over the Antarctic
and the Southern Ocean will have a dramatic impact on the global climate system.
Significant regional climate changes have
already taken place in the Antarctic during the
past 50 years. Atmospheric temperatures have
increased markedly over the Antarctic Peninsula.
Glaciers are retreating on the Antarctic Peninsula,
in Patagonia (see page 36), on the sub-Antarctic
islands, and in West Antarctica adjacent to the
peninsula. The penetration of marine air masses
has become more pronounced over portions
of West Antarctica. Well above the surface,
the Antarctic atmosphere has warmed during
winter. The upper kilometer of the circumpolar
Southern Ocean has warmed, Antarctic bottom
water across a wide sector of east Antarctica
has freshened, and the densest bottom water in
the Weddell Sea has also warmed. In contrast
to these regional climate changes, over most of
Antarctica near-surface temperature and snowfall
have not increased significantly during at least
the past 50 years (therefore no offset thus far for
rising sea level due to melting), and ice-core data
suggest that the atmospheric circulation over the
interior has thus far remained in a similar state for
at least the past 200 years.
Due to its unique meteorological and photochemical environment, the atmosphere over
Antarctica has experienced the most significant
depletion of stratospheric O3 on the planet, detected through monitoring that began with the IGY
five decades ago. The depletion is in response
to the stratospheric accumulation of man-made
chemicals produced largely in the Northern
Hemisphere. The ozone hole influences the climate
of Antarctica (smaller ozone holes also impact the
the explorers journal
southern victoria land
antartica
Mt. Erebus, the only active volcano exposed on the Antarctic
continent; the massive Ross Ice Shelf, which drains glaciers
flowing out of the Transantarctic Mountains and portions of
West Antarctica; and the city block-size icebergs spawned off
the ice shelf can be seen from the coast of Southern Victoria
Land, East Antarctica.
Arctic), allowing solar radiation to penetrate to the
surface, and along with the global rise in CO2,
CH4, and N2O, provides immense potential for climate change over the Southern Hemisphere. The
Southern Ocean is our most biologically productive ocean and a significant sink for both heat and
CO2, making it critical to the evolution of climate
past and present. Therefore it acts as a wild card
for future climate change that is human-induced.
26
The Arctic Ocean is expected to be nearly ice
free by the latter twenty-first century in response to
greenhouse gas warming. In the process, habitats
and lifestyles throughout the Arctic will continue to
change dramatically. A climate surprise portented
by our ice core research in Greenland may appear
in the cooling of northern Europe, induced through
warming, which increases Arctic ice melt. This in
turn increases the influx of fresh water into the North
Atlantic. The salinity decrease as a consequence
of the freshening in the Arctic may be sufficient to
reduce the density of North Atlantic surface water,
leading to a reduction in deepwater production and,
as a consequence, reduced heat transport to northern Europe. In addition, changes in precipitation
and atmospheric circulation are evolving over the
Northern Hemisphere as a result of warming over
the Arctic and lower latitudes.
Temperatures of the last few decades are the
highest recorded in the instrumental era—the
last 100 years—and through examination of temperature reconstructions utilizing ice core, tree
ring, historical, and other data series, it is clear
that Northern Hemisphere temperatures are the
highest of at least the last millennium. This finding,
repeated by several investigators and validated by
numerous reviews of the data, is a consequence
the explorers journal
northern victoria land
antartica
During our first over-snow exploration of a vast region of
Northern Victoria Land in 1974-75, our four-member University of Maine team spent more than 100 days traversing
the mountains and crevasse fields of this remote region of
Antarctica
of human activities that have led to rapid recent
rise in greenhouse gases. The effects of this rise
will be part of the climate change system for many
decades to come.
There is, however, even more to the story of human impact on the chemistry of the atmosphere
that is revealed through ice cores. Dramatic and
unprecedented increases over the last few decades in acid rain, toxic elements, radioactivity
28
products, and the appearance of humanly engineered chemicals are all recorded. There is hope
that the impact of clean air legislation can also be
identified in the ice cores in the form of stabilization
or a decrease in acid rain and some toxic metals
such as lead. Ice cores provide the basis for assessing natural versus human controls on climate
and chemistry of the atmosphere. Changes in
physical and chemical climate have already taken
their toll on the health of both humans and ecosystems through disease, drought, and storms.
Drawing upon these two forms of evidence—
monitoring of the present-day atmosphere and
reconstruction of the past atmosphere—it has
become clear that greenhouse gases such as
CO2 have risen dramatically in recent years. With
a rise clocked at nearly 30 percent in the last few
decades, the increase is nearly 100 times faster
than any rise that occurred over the past 650,000
years. The cause of this rise as well as rise in
other greenhouse gases (such as CH4 and N2O
); the decrease in upper atmospheric O3; the rise
in acid rain, toxic elements, and radioactive fallout; and many other significant alterations to the
natural state of the chemistry of the atmosphere
is undoubtedly—because of its timing, rate, and in
some cases unique chemical signature—human
the explorers journal
MICRO B ES ON THE ROCKS
activity. This alarming trend is a critical finding that
is now reshaping politics and becoming a factor in
both our health and our economy. Without intervention, it will increasingly determine our overall
quality of life. However, it is important to remember that we have options.
While there is no quick fix for our environmental dilemma, there clearly needs to be action. Immediate
reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases
such as CO2 and CH4 will reduce the time it takes
the planet to recover, the severity of future change,
and the probability of climate surprises. Immediate
and more stringent reductions in the emissions of
toxic metals and acid rain, for example, will yield
a cleaner and healthier environment in months to
years depending upon the degree of restriction.
While it is certainly true that legislation will lay a major foundation for a cleaner, healthier environment,
it will also depend to a large degree on the actions
of those in the private and public sectors.
Our future could be one characterized by energy
efficiency and a return to more natural states of the
atmosphere. We have the ice cores to set our standards. The decision is ours and the opportunities
for creativity in technology and lifestyle could drive
us toward an amazing future.
Germs frozen in glaciers for millions of years
might revive as global warming melts the icecaps.
Scientists investigated samples of the oldest known
Acknowledgments
ice on Earth, which lies frozen in the Dry Valleys of
the Transantarctic Mountains. After melting five
U.S. research in the Arctic and Antarctica is supported by the
ice blocks 100,000 to 8 million years old, Rutgers
Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation.
University marine microbiologist Kay D. Bidle
Our research has been made possible through the combined
and his colleagues found microbes in all the ice and
efforts of national agencies such as the National Science
grew them in the lab, the first time scientists have
Foundation; logistics support provided by the U.S. Navy
ever resurrected such ancient, frozen life.
and U.S. Air National Guard; help from contractors such as
While the young microbes grew very quickly,
Raytheon Polar Services and VECO; the Scientific Committee
doubling in number every couple of days, the
for Antarctic Research (SCAR); and the efforts of the interna-
older samples grew very slowly, doubling only
tional scientific community.
every 70 days. Genetic analysis revealed the older
DNA had deteriorated significantly, likely due to
cosmic rays destroying it over time.
biography
While more ancient germs might not last
past especially long deep freezes, their DNA still
A Fellow of The Explorers Club and director of the Climate
could. The researchers —whose findings are de-
Change Institute at the University of Maine, Paul Andrew
scribed online in the Proceedings of the National
Mayewski has led more than 45 expeditions to the Arctic,
Academy of Sciences—suggest that as global
Antarctic, Himalayas, and the Andes. Co-author of The
warming melts the ice, prehistoric microbes or
Ice Chronicles, Mayewski received the first SCAR Medal
Dramatic human impact on the chemistry of the atmosphere over the past few decades compared to the last 5000 years as
genes could flow into the seas, altering the evolu-
for Excellence in Antarctic Research in 2006. In October,
inferred from ice core records. Data for this figure from: Petit et al., 1999, Nature; Indermuhle et al., 1999, Nature; Etheridge
tion of microbes in the oceans.
Mayewski and colleagues will carry the Explorers Club Flag
et al., 1996, Journal of Geophysical Research; Blunier et al., 1995, Nature; Etheridge et al., 1998, Journal of Geophysical Re-
as they undertake an over-snow traverse to the South Pole to
search; Chappallez et al., 1999, Nature; Leuenberger and Sigenthaler, 1994, Trends; Etheridhe et al., 1994, Trends; Kang et
collect ice cores and pursue related glaciological research.
al., 2002, Atmospheric Research; Mayewski et al., 1986, Science; 1990, Nature; Hong et al., 1994, 1996, Science; Schuster et al.,
—CHARLES Q. CHOI
30
2002, Environmental Science and Technology.
exploring climate change
Hassan Basagic prepares to sample sediment melting out of
2
No.
Canada Glacier, Taylor Valley, Antarctica
It’s
Not
Easy
Being
Dry
the remote valleys
of Antarctica
I was a young faculty member in the earth
sciences department at the University of
New Hampshire when, in 1981, my good
friend and colleague, Paul A Mayewski,
asked me to accompany him on a trip to
the Antarctic. And, as they say, “the rest is
history.” After a snowmobile traverse of the
Rennick Glacier in Northern Victoria Land,
we returned to the primary U.S. scientific
station at McMurdo. From there we took a
short helicopter ride into the Dry Valleys to
check on a number of rock glacier sites that
Paul had been monitoring.
I was struck by the stark beauty and the
unusual scenery of the valleys. The western
portion of Wright Valley reminded me of the
desert of the American Southwest, save
for the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet dripping over the edge of the Transantarctic
Mountains. The Dry Valleys have a number
of ice-covered lakes as landscape features.
As a marine scientist, I was intrigued by the
Photo by Sarah Fortner
by W. Ber ry Lyons
A view of Canada Glacier and the perennially ice-covered
fact that lakes could actually exist in such a harsh
environment.
Throughout the 1980s, I returned to Antarctica
with Paul a number of times to investigate the
chemistry of many of the small ice bodies in the
Tranantarctics, but could not forget about those
fantastically strange lakes in the Dry Valleys.
In the early 1990s, Bob Wharton, a Fellow of
The Explorers Club and currently provost at Idaho
State University, asked me if I would join a diverse
group of scientists—hydrologists, glaciologists,
and geochemists such as myself, as well as
stream, lake, and soil ecologists and ecological
modelers—in drafting a grant proposal to the
National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish
a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project
in the McMurdo region. Knowing I would have
an opportunity to investigate the lakes of the Dry
Valleys, I jumped at the chance.
The NSF had established the LTER program a
decade earlier to facilitate the collection of observational data and monitoring of the manipulation of
experiments over time within a number of ecological
settings. The idea was to better understand how
34
ecosystems function and how they are affected by
disturbances, such as climate change.
In 1993, our grant was approved and the
McMurdo Dry Valley (MCM) region of Antarctica
(77º–78ºS) was designated an LTER site. Our
activities have focused on the Taylor Valley where
Robert Falcon Scott first observed its unusual environment. Taylor Valley is a mosaic of perennially
ice-covered lakes, ephemeral streams, soils, outcroppings of bedrock and glaciers. MCM-LTER is
classified as a polar desert ecosystem with a mean
annual temperature of ~-20ºC and a precipitation
rate of ~5 centimeters per year. The MCM-LTER is
now one of the 26 sites in the LTER network and is
considered a real end-member ecosystem. There
are no vascular plants, the streams only flow four
to ten weeks per year during the austral summer,
and the lakes, although having liquid water, have
three to five meters of permanent ice-cover that
blocks a high proportion of the incoming radiation
needed for phytosynthesis.
Yet despite physical constraints, Taylor Valley
has an active ecosystem dominated by singlecelled eukaryotes and prokaryotes; in fact, life
Photo by Christopher Gardner
Lake Fryxell, Taylor Valley, Antarctica.
exists anywhere there is liquid water—from the
soils to cryoconite holes in the glacier surfaces.
Because changes in this polar desert ecosystem are so closely coupled to the generation
of liquid water and the change of state of ice/
snow to water, ecosystem dynamics are driven
by climate. Very small temperature changes by
temperate climate standards are amplified in the
hydrologic cycle of Taylor Valley. Like other desert
ecosystems, the relationship of the abundance of
water to life is paramount, but unlike warm deserts, variations of the degree days above freezing
rather than rainfall become the critical factor in
the well-being of the ecosystem as a whole.
Since the relationship between climate variation, hydrology, and biology may be as tightly
bonded in this ecosystem as any other on our
planet, our fieldwork includes the monitoring of
ice/snow gain/loss on the glaciers, the flow of water in the streams, and the water volume change
in the three closed-basin lakes in Taylor Valley.
These climatically driven hydrological changes
are then related to changes in nutrient—carbon,
nitrogen, and phosphorus—transport, biological
production, biomass gain or loss, and biodiversity
in all components of the landscape, including
streams, lakes, soils, and glaciers.
Today, after nearly 15 years of MCM-LTER
investigations of the ecology of Taylor Valley, five
of the original eight principal investigators are still
together. Our group places around 30 scientists
in the field every year. These include the now old
and grizzled principal investigators as well as
technicians, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate
and undergraduate students. Because Antarctic
research is international by nature, we also maintain strong research collaborations with a number
of colleagues from New Zealand and Britain. In addition, we have had team members from Germany,
the Czech Republic, Austria, Russia, and Japan in
the field with us.
biography
W. Berry Lyons is currently director of the Byrd Polar
Research Center and a professor in the School of Earth
Sciences at Ohio State University.
the explorers journal
exploring climate change
3
No.
Realm of the
Ice-Cloaked
Moun ta in Gods
high in the Andes hope is melting away
by Consta nza Ceruti
For centuries, if not millennia, people of the Andes
have venerated their ice-capped mountains, which
harbor within their glaciers the sacred waters
upon which all life in the region is dependent. It is
a tradition evident not only in the region’s rich archaeological record, but one that continues today
in the many communities that thrive in the shadows
of the awe-inspiring peaks. Over the past decade,
our team from Catholic University of Salta has recovered bundles of offerings and sacrifices left on
Andean summits, which attest a profound devotion
to the mountain gods—the highest found to date
atop Llullaillaco, a 6,700-meter-high volcanic peak
in northern Argentina. There, 500 years ago, three
Inca children were sacrificed and buried along
with textiles and amulets on this lofty mountain. As
messengers to the realms of the gods, they would
intercede for the good health of the Inca emperor
and for a plentiful supply of water to ensure fertility
of the llama herds and abundant crops.
Archaeologist and National Geographic
Explorer-in-Residence Johan Reinhard and I could
not believe our eyes when we first came across
the face of the six-year-old girl after almost a month
of archaeological fieldwork, enduring the cold
and the extreme altitude of Llullaillaco’s summit.
36
In Quechua, the language of the Inca, Llullaillaco,
means “that which lies about water, or which hides
the water.” It is a fitting moniker as Llullaillaco is
the only mountain in the area to have a permanent
ice field on its high slopes, which one might liken
to a small hanging glacier. Yet this volcano feeds
no streams or rivers that might quench the thirst of
the Atacama Desert at its feet. Instead its waters
are contained in a hidden lagoon, 1,000 meters
down from its summit. Our sense of wonder would
only grow stronger in the months that followed
when we studied the mummified remains of a 15year-old Inca maiden, and the seven-year-old boy
back in our university laboratories; the CT scans
showing all their organs, including the brains, in a
near-perfect state of preservation.
Seven years have passed since we discovered
the Llullaillaco ice mummies, and their presence
among the living has contributed substantially to
our knowledge of ancient Andean cultural heritage
and the need to preserve it.
Looting has long been a major threat to the
archaeological sites in South America, and the
Inca mountaintop shrines are no exception. On
a previous expedition to the 6,100-meter summit
of nearby Mount Quehuar, we recovered a partly
destroyed mummy bundle that had been dynamited by treasure-hunters. But extraordinary sites
such as these face a far greater foe in the form
of global warming, a silent destroyer of Andean
heritage and an ancient tradition of mountain god
worship that continues to this day.
The retreating glaciers, brought on by everincreasing summertime temperatures, are taking
their toll on the religious life of the Andes. This
became evident during a recent pilgrimage I observed while in the Vilcanota Range of the Andes
in southern Peru.
The Taytacha Qoyllur Ritti (Festival of the Father
of the Star of Snow) is one of the most important
mountain pilgrimages in the Andean world. Every
June, some 70,000 people gather at the glacier
basin of Sinacara, the vast majority of pilgrims,
merchants, and dancers coming from the Peruvian
Sierra and the highlands of Bolivia. Some come
from places as distant as northern Argentina and
Chile, which, in the fifteenth century, were part of
the greater Inca Empire.
Sinacara lies at an elevation of some 5,100
meters at the foot of the snow-capped Qolque
Punku (the Silver Gate), not far from Ausangate,
a sacred mountain revered by the ancient Inca
and still invoked during initiation ceremonies and
divination rituals. Today, however, the festivity is
nominally dedicated to the worship of an image of
Christ depicted on a sacred rock near the glacier,
where, according to legend, Jesus is said to have
miraculously appeared to a young indigenous
peasant in the eighteenth century.
During the five-day festival, masked dancers don
costumes representing the different ethnic groups
of the Andes and dance day and night for hours.
The qhapaq chunchos, adorned with feathered
headdresses, incarnate the indomitable tribes of
the Amazonian rainforest, on the lower slopes of
the eastern Andes, while the qhapaq collas represent the wealthy Aymara herders of the Bolivian
highlands. The physical endurance of the dancers
is in itself an offering to the nearby mountain spirits or Apus, especially to Apu Ausangate.
During the climax of the festival, young “bearmen” known as ukukus, climb the glaciers that
flow down from Qolque Punku. Acting as mediators between the pilgrims and the mountain
spirits, the ukukus climb at night—braving freezing
temperatures, bridging crevasses, and confronting the ghosts of condemned souls—to retrieve ice
revered for its healing properties.
In years past, the ukukus would extract large
chunks of ice—as big as they could carry on their
backs—and return to their home communities,
where it would be broken up and distributed among
the villagers as blessings from the Apus. But sadly,
things have begun to change and global warming is
to blame. As the ukukus descended the glaciers of
Qolque Punku, many now returned empty-handed.
In an attempt to halt the retreat of the glaciers,
mountain police now forbid the extraction of ice.
Pilgrims are only permitted to collect melt-water in
small bottles to take back as relics.
One man I encountered brought a tiny effigy
doll, representing a bear-man, on whose back
he had placed a small handful of ice, hoping to
be able to smuggle his precious cargo down the
mountain, without catching the attention of the police. With a saddened heart, I could not help but
admiring his strategy of resistance, and his fierce
determination to honor the ancestral traditions, in
spite of adversity.
As in ages past, pilgrims, including young children, climbed the lower reaches of the glaciers
in daylight to light small candles on the ice. Bare
footed and kneeling on the snow, they contemplated the flame in hopes of finding answers to
their greatest concerns. Surely they would have
preferred to use larger candles, of the kind that
the Lord of the Star of Snow is said to like best.
But these too are forbidden in another desperate
attempt to stop the glacial retreat.
The Quechua fear that once the ice is gone,
the Lord of the Star of Snow will no longer hear
their prayers. In the heart of the Andes, the
impact of global warming reaches beyond the
imaginable.
B IO g r a p h y
A high-altitude archaeologist and the author of six books
and numerous other publications, Constanza Ceruti is
a scientific investigator for the National Council for the
Scientific Research in Argentina and a professor of Inca
archaeology at Catholic University of Salta. She has climbed
more than 100 mountains above 5,000 meters. A recipient
of the Gold Condor, the most important award given by the
National Army of Argentina, Ceruti was named an Emerging
Explorer of the National Geographic Society in 2005. In 2007
she received the Courage Award from the Wings Worldquest.
the explorers journal
JS: One of the goals of the expedition was to visit
Inuit living in remote villages and learn about their
experience with climate change. What did the
Inuit share with you?
exploring climate change
WS: We traveled with three Inuit hunters who are all
in their 50s or 60s, men who were born in igloos or
huts. They were nomadic and had a traditional culture when they were young, so they have seen all
the changes. We also interviewed more than 100
hunters, elders, and women in the villages to get
their input. We were able to see the surroundings
through their eyes so we got quite a bit of feedback
on the expedition. It is remarkable how fast things
are changing up there. The Inuit are basically marine
people who rely on the sea ice to hunt walrus, seal,
and fish. In some areas they do hunt caribou, but
the sea ice is really their hunting platform and also
their means of transportation. They told us how the
reduction of sea ice by almost a third over the past
year alone has affected their culture.
The Inuit are noticing much
later freeze-ups, anywhere
from six weeks to two months,
and then earlier break-ups. In
the area that we traveled in,
the sea ice would normally be
around for about nine months
out of the year, but it’s now
reduced to six months. Losing
the sea ice, especially the summer sea ice, is real
bad news for any animals like the walrus and polar
bear that live on the sea ice, or a human being that
relies on it for hunting.
4
No.
heading
north
with
Will Steger
JS: What signs of global warming did you personally witness on your recent expedition?
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “There are no second
acts in American lives,” but then the great American
writer never met Will Steger. Over the period of a
decade from 1986 to 1996, Steger completed the
first confirmed, unresupplied dogsled journey
to the North Pole; traversed Greenland; crossed
Antarctica and the Arctic Ocean by dogsled; and
was named the first Explorer-in-Residence by the
National Geographic Society. Steger’s “second act”
has focused on education. He founded the Global
Center for Environmental Education at Hamline
38
University and the World School for Adventure
Learning at the University of St. Thomas. He also
founded the Will Steger Foundation, launching the
Global Warming 101 initiative to raise broad public awareness about global warming as witnessed
through his polar expeditions.
Managing Editor Jeff Stolzer recently spoke to
Steger about the Global Warming 101 Expedition
(www.globalwarming101.com), a 1,900-kilometer
dogsled traverse of Canada’s Baffin Island, which
he completed in May of this year.
head shot by Jim Paulson, dogteam photo by John Huston
interview by Jeff Stolzer
WS: The ice in Cumberland Sound—a large sound
about 80 kilometers across and 190 kilometers
long—had totally broken up at the end of January,
which the Inuit hunters in that area said they had
never seen before. We normally would have crossed
that sound to get to the village of Pangnirtung but
we had to go around. It wasn’t a major deal but it
cost us an extra three days and then after we went
around it, another storm came in and broke up the
ice that we had just traveled on. It was also very obvious that the glaciers are in rapid retreat up there.
Another thing we noticed was that in some areas
thaws in the springtime and the summer and the
snow is melting all the way down to the ground and
then freezing solid in the winter, which is impacting
the lemming population, which thrives under the
snow, where its warm. Small rodents, lemmings
are the basic food for the wolf, the fox, to some
extent the wolverine, and almost entirely for the
snowy owl. In areas where the lemming population
is dropping, you have fox and wolf populations that
are competing directly with the polar bear, because
they’re now going after the ring seals. So when you
have one section of the food chain caving in, it
affects the entire system because the chain is so
delicate. And the Inuit kept pointing that out to us,
very clearly. When it affects one, it affects all.
But it is actually a lot more serious than that,
because we are starting to upset the heat balance
on the globe. Eighty percent of the extra heat that
is now being captured on the surface of the globe
because of human-induced global warming is being
added to the ocean. So the whole ocean is warming
and the sea level rise is probably due to this thermal
expansion of the warming ocean.
This is being played out in the
Arctic, where we are starting to
lose sea ice. In the summer we
used to have ice on the Arctic
Ocean in that northern area
that would reflect 99 percent of
the energy of the sun back into
the atmosphere. Now, with the
thawing of the ice, you’re getting exposed water and
ground, which is a darker surface. That absorbs up
to 96 percent of the sun’s energy. It’s like the difference on a hot sunny day between wearing a white
t-shirt and a black t-shirt. That’s what is happening
up north now, and that’s why we’re seeing this rapid
change that is three to five times faster than down
here.
JS: Did you find evidence of global warming everywhere on your expedition or was it a more localized phenomenon?
WS: It differs from region to region. Global warming isn’t a blanket warming of the Earth—some
areas are actually getting colder. We saw that
on Baffin Island. In some areas, there were much
stronger winds in the fall. And they never had
thawing weather before. As a result the snow was
really hard-packed or iced up. And that affected
the caribou—there was virtually no game in that
the explorers journal
t h e Fj o r d
Steger and his team nears the head of Clyde Inlet at the mouth
Photo by Elizabeth Andre
of the Clyde River on the fourth and last leg of the expedition.
40
the explorers journal
to 50 below weather. So there was a remarkable
difference. It was a relatively mild winter compared
to what it would normally be there.
Polar Bear tracks
A polar bear has left his mark on a
JS: Mountaineer Ed Viesturs and entrepreneur
Richard Branson participated in this expedition.
How did they respond to the rigors of traveling by
dogsled and the frigid conditions?
desolate track between Qikiqtarjuaq to
Clyde River, a region heavily populated
by the animals.
JS: You had some encounters with polar bears on
this expedition. Tell me about those.
WS: Yes, we had quite a few. We had 50 dogs and
they were always staked between the camp and
downwind, so they were our early warning system
for bears and we always had plenty of notice when
42
the bears came in. We had one bear that actually wandered into our camp at about two o’clock
in the morning, but we were very much aware of
it and we used a couple of explosive devices to
scare it off. The problem with bears is if they come
into camp unexpectedly and then you go out of
your tent in the evening and suddenly you’re face
to face with a bear, that’s when it’s dangerous. So
having the dogs, we stayed relatively safe.
JS: I understand that Richard Branson is working
on a film about your expedition.
JS: In 1986, you and seven companions dogsledded to the North Pole, roughly during the same
months as your recent expedition. The 1986 expedition started and ended north of Baffin Island, but
were you able to see major differences in terms of
the ice, open leads, temperatures, etc?
WS: Yes, you can compare the two expeditions because the route that we did in 1986 now has open
water, very thin ice, so right now that route has
totally changed. Baffin and the region that we were
recently in are the coldest of the Canadian Arctic
and there they would normally have three months
of solid winter—40 to 50 degrees below zero, the
ice doesn’t move, it’s very good for hunting. This
year they had about a three-week period of that 40
Photo by Sarah McNair-Landry
area. And in those areas it is very difficult to make
igloos, because the ice is so hard-packed, particularly around the Probiscer and Callowan area. At
Home Bay in eastern Baffin the snow is really quite
deep, the wind hadn’t blow much. In that area, it
seemed quite normal, the bear population was
up. But we’re seeing the bear population starting
to be affected by global warming on the fringes,
like in southern Hudson Bay—that population has
dropped by more than 20 percent. And then you
have up at the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska on
the Arctic Ocean, that population is dropping, and
Spitzbergen and Svalbard—that area is also seeing the bear population go way down. So on the
fringes, you’re getting a polar bear decline. But in
the center, that population is still really viable. But
if this warming trend continues, within 20 years
that population is also going to drop.
WS: They responded quite well. They joined us in
the Spring, when we had fantastic weather. The
temperature didn’t get much below zero and we
had 24-hour light, so it was ideal to travel. They
got a break that way. Ed Viesturs is a very tough
guy, he can handle anything and he did very well.
He’s a great guy to work with and is used to working in close groups. Richard has been on expeditions before in close quarters, he is an easy guy
to please, he’s not grumping over the food rations,
he’s always good-natured and a very upbeat guy.
His son, Sam, was there, a great young man, 21
years old. I think he’s going to be a future leader
in dealing with the challenge of global warming.
So these three guys were really fun to travel with.
Before they joined us we had been traveling as a
group of eight, so it was nice to have some new
blood and we had some great conversations. You
know, Richard showed up at our expedition after
traveling and conducting business for two months
and despite a shoulder injury he really did quite
well. On the first day he did 50 kilometers. It was
also great to be around a person who is working
on finding solutions to global warming.
WS: Yes, we’re doing a film, and our main goal is to
put a cultural face on global warming, in addition to
the science. The field has changed a lot in the last
six months—global warming is everywhere, people
are talking about it. But I still think people are really confused about the science of it. If they can
perceive it from a cultural and human perspective,
it really touches them. If we look at global warming
as an ethical and moral issue, a human rights issue, and show people who are really affected by it
right now, I think it will drive people to action. We
also wanted to get the Inuit voice out there. They
are innocent victims in global warming and they
don’t really have a say in what’s going on.
JS: You had a major educational component to this
expedition. Can you talk about what did in terms
of using the internet and developing classroom
lesson plans?
WS: Yes, globalwarming101.com was our website and we had quite a bit of traffic on that.
We did a couple things for K-12 education
with lessons plans and we were connected to
a number of schools around the United States
and in Canada. We broke ground on this during
the expedition. When I was up here 20 years
ago, before the internet, we used primitive
technology to bring the adventure live into the
classroom. Now it’s live on the internet. So the
expedition is the spark that drives people into
your program and we used the expedition as an
educational platform around which we weaved
the content. Once people are drawn in, they’re
curious and open about learning things about
the Arctic and what’s changing there.
JS: In terms of expeditions, what is up next for you?
WS: My next major expedition will be March to
May in 2008, up in Ellesmere Island. It’s a 2,250kilometer expedition and I’ll be traveling with
five teammates, all ages 21 to 25. Everybody
has a considerable amount of experience on
the ice and with dog mushing, so we’re going
to work with National Geographic and do our
own program, to first of all be an eyewitness
to global warming. We’re going to look at the
ice shelves of northern Ellesmere and survey
what’s left there—most of them have slipped into
the ocean. Also, we’re going to be working with
photographer Jim Balog, who just did the cover
story for National Geographic, to put out some
remote control, time-lapse cameras to photograph the glaciers there on an hourly basis for
several years to record their retreat. So we have
a great scientific package, but I’m also passing
the torch to the next generation. It’s going to be
their issue and I wanted to show them firsthand,
as eyewitnesses, what’s left up there. They will
be ambassadors to their own generation. I really
have a lot of faith that this younger generation is
going to take ownership of this and they will be
a political force in the near future. I really want to
do what I can to encourage that and help people
empower themselves.
the explorers journal
In the
Footsteps
of Alexander
an aerial adventure
by M a r ily n Br idgeS
As I fly across the vastness of Anatolia,
something in the distance catches my eye,
beckoning me to come closer. What at first
appeared to be an incongruity in the landscape resolves into a pattern made by ancient hands. Passing beneath my wingtips,
my quarry reveals itself to be the sublime
remains of a once-great city, silenced by the
passage of time. For a brief moment I lose
all awareness of the present.
Leaning out the open door of my single
engine plane, I sometimes feel like Artemis
the huntress in my pursuit of the past. With
mounting excitement, I wonder how much
of an ancient site might still be visible.
Sometimes, I’m amazed to find much more
than I expected. Given access to almost any
point in three-dimensional space, I control
both the airplane and the camera at will,
selecting the best altitude and direction of
view. Working solely in black and white, I
paint with light, using sun and shadow to
accentuate the sculptural forms of my subjects. I want to create a mood that allows us
to experience these sites as if in a dream,
without the distraction of transient colors.
For this journey, I have followed the route
taken by Alexander the Great when he
began his conquest of the Persian Empire
in 334 B.C.—tracing the Aegean and
Mediterranean coasts of Turkey from Troy to
Side, and then flying inland to Sagalassos
and then on to Cappadocia.
A crossroads between Asia and the West
in Classical and Hellenistic times, Anatolia
was a vibrant wellspring of architecture and
philosophy. Later, as the Roman province
of Asia, it boasted some of the wealthiest
cities of the empire. Now part of modern
Turkey, Anatolia contains more magnificent
Greek and Roman sites than any other part
of the world—its rich history and scenery a
splendid subject for aerial exploration.
I am struck with the immensity of the
transformation of these ancient cities into
magnificent ruins. Human as well as natural
causes produced this metamorphosis. A
succession of cultures occupied and altered
most of the sites through many centuries.
Cities were destroyed by earthquakes and
wars, and rebuilt by their original inhabitants
or their conquerors. Temples and theaters
were quarried and their stones recycled,
obliterating and accreting layer upon layer
of history.
At Simena, for example, a medieval
fortress with crenellated walls encloses a
Hellenistic theater and overlooks a Turkish
village built among the ruins of an ancient
Lycian city. The coastal city of Miletos was
one of the greatest commercial ports in
the world until the Maeander River silted
up its harbor, choking off its access to the
sea. For a few centuries, the city held off
its fate by dredging channels through the
silt, but the inexorable river could not be
defeated. Today the ruins of Miletos lie half
buried in a desolate plain, many kilometers
from the sea. The Roman theater there has
a Byzantine fortress strangely perched as
Freya Stark would say, “like a barnacle on
its back.”
biography
Renowned for her extraordinary black-and-white aerial photographs of ancient sites, Marilyn Bridges is the
visual author of Markings: Aerial Views of Sacred Landscapes (Aperture 1986), Planet Peru: An Aerial Jour-
HERAKLEIA UNDER LATMO
ney Through a Timeless Land (Aperture 1991), Egypt: Antiquities from Above (Little Brown & Co. 1996), and
This Land is Your Land (Aperture 1997). Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions by over 300 museums
and galleries, including the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Institution, the Field Mu-
On a promontory extending into Lake Bafa, the ancient cem-
seum of Natural History, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Bridges received an MFA from the Rochester Insti-
etery of Herakleia slumbers in silence. Hundreds of Carian
tute of Technology. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, and the 2003 Wings
tombs, some in pairs, a few in family groups, are cut deeply
Trust Award, for “Courage and Artistic Excellence”. She is a licensed pilot and a Fellow of The Explorers Club.
into the bare rock. The ruins of a Byzantine fortress guard
For more information, see www.marilynbridges.com.
the headland.
44
Aqueduct at Aspendos
The Roman aqueduct carried water across a valley for
nearly two kilometers to the acropolis of the city. To keep
Aspendos in line, Alexander exacted hostages and tribute
from the city in 334 B.C.
46
the explorers journal
Islet near Kekova
This tiny islet, near the island of Kekova, holds the remains of
ancient walls and rock-cut rooms.
48
the explorers journal
Temple of Apollo at Didyma
The site of a famous oracle, the temple was never completed.
The Persians destroyed the temple in 493 B.C. After conquering neighboring Miletos in 334 BC, Alexander had the temple
reconsecrated. Four years later, when Alexander was in Egypt,
the oracle at Didyma reported that he was the son of Zeus.
50
the explorers journal
Miletos
The great theater dates from immediately after the time of
Alexander. A Byzantine fortress clings to it, “ like a barnacle
on its back”, in the words of the English traveler Freya Stark.
Miletos was the greatest commercial emporium in Asia Minor. When Alexander arrived, he found a Persian garrison
in control, and Miletos thus became the first city to offer him
resistance. Alexander vigorously besieged the city and blockaded the Persian fleet until Miletos surrendered.
52
the explorers journal
Extreme Cuisine
food for the epicurean adventurer
Here are t wo of my camp favorites
Zinfandel Capellini
serves 4, Weight one dried serving: 6 ounce
1. Heat in a large skillet over medium heat:
Living Well
in the
A California-based writer, Linda Frederick Yaffe is the
author of Backpack Gourmet, High Trail Cookery, and the
recently released Solar Cooking for Home and Camp.
54
• 1 onion, minced
3. Reduce heat, add and cook 5 minutes longer:
• 8 ounces diced fresh brown crimini mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 ounces capellini pasta, broken in thirds
5. Stir into the mushroom mixture and cook 5 minutes:
To enjoy
gourmet dining
in the wilderness,
here are the basics:
• Buy or borrow a food dehydrator with a heater and fan.
• Cook a soup, stew, or casserole as though you were making
Biography
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2. Add and cook until transparent:
by Linda Fr eder ick Ya ffe
Imagine feasting on hot gourmet meals at 4,000
meters…without cooking in camp. It’s simple:
prepare one-pot meals at home, slide them into
a dehydrator, dry until crumbly, then bag them for
your next adventure. The ancient art of food dehydration is wonderfully basic. Heat and air circulation
remove most of the water content from food. This
lack of water keeps microorganisms from living and
growing. Since complete meals can be dried yearround in any weather, it is easy to take advantage of
each season’s bounty, using the finest ingredients
available. And because home-dried meals can
be stored up to two years, you can keep a ready
supply on hand for extended expeditions or unexpected weekend escapes. In all my years of home
drying gourmet backpacking meals, I have never
lost food to spoilage. I have, however, encountered
the wrath of my fellow travelers, who were destined
to dine on store-bought freeze-dried that was both
expensive and flavorless.
with
Linda Frederick Yaffe
4. Meanwhile, cook until barely tender then drain :
Outback
“...what does he care if he hasn’t got any money: he
doesn’t need any money, all he needs is his rucksack
with those little plastic bags of dried food and a good
pair of shoes and off he goes and enjoys the privileges of a millionaire in surroundings like this.”
—Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums, 1958
Outdoor Cooking
tonight’s dinner, cutting the ingredients into small pieces
for faster drying.
• While it’s cooking, cover mesh dehydrator trays with
oven-proof parchment paper or 100 percent polyethylene
plastic wrap to keep liquid foods from leaking through.
• Spread the cooked food in a thin layer on the covered trays
and place in preheated dehydrator.
• Dry the food until it’s crumbly—about 4 to 6 hours.
Check while drying, occasionally turning the food and
breaking up large pieces. If you detect any moisture,
continue to dehydrate
• Let the food cool completely. The next day double-bag
in small plastic bags, label, and store in a cool, dark,
dry place or refrigerate in a black plastic bag for best
long-term quality.
• In camp, pour the dried meal into a pot. Cover with water,
boil, stir, and serve. These lightweight meals need no
soaking or simmering. The following recipes go from
pack to plate in three minutes.
Excellent dehydrators are
available by mail:
E xc a l i b u r
www.excaliburdehydrator.com
1-800-875-4254
N e s c o/A m e r ic a n
H a rv est
www.nesco.com
1-800-288-4545
• 15 ounces canned small white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup T.V.P. (textured vegetable protein)
• 3 cups finely diced tomatoes plus juice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup zinfandel wine
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6. Remove skillet from heat and stir in:
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
7. Toss together the pasta and sauce, stirring to coat.
8. Spread on covered dehydrator trays and dry for 5
hours at 145 degrees.
9. To rehydrate, cover with water 1/4 - 1/2 inch above
level of food in pot, boil, stir, and serve.
Bouillabaisse
Serves 4, Weight one dried serving: 4 ounces
1. Steep together in a measuring cup then set aside:
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
2. Heat in a large skillet over medium heat:
• 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3. Add and cook for 8 minutes:
• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced
4. Stir in and cook 5 minutes longer:
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 fresh mushrooms, diced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
3. Place the onion and saffron mixtures in a soup pot.
Stir in:
• 3 cups fresh or canned diced tomatoes plus juice
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless fish fillets cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 2 cups chicken broth
4. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer
for 30 minutes.
5. Discard bay leaf. Stir in:
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley
6. Spread on covered dehydrator trays and dry for 6
hours at 145 degrees.
7. To rehydrate, cover with water 1 inch above level of
food in pot, boil, stir, and serve with crusty bread
or crackers.
BACKPACK GOURMET
Good Hot Grub You Can Make at Home,
Dehydrate, & Pack for Quick, Easy,
& Healthy Eating on the Trail
$12.95, PB, 160 pages, 20 illustrations,
5 1/2 x 8 1/4, 978-0-8117-2634-4
Learn to prepare and dehydrate over
160 soups, stews, pastas, casseroles, breakfasts,
and snacks for easy eating on the trail.
SOLAR COOKING
FOR HOME AND CAMP
$12.95, PB, 128 pages, 23 illustrations,
5 1/2 x 8 1/4, 978-0-8117-3402-8
Full of recipes developed especially
for solar cookers—entrees, side dishes, snacks,
and baked goods—with instructions for making
your own solar box or folding panel cooker.
Available from your favorite bookstore or
STACKPOLE
the explorers journal
BOOKS
www.stackpolebooks.com • 1-800-732-3669
EXPEDITION MEDICINE
your heatlh and safety in the field
Rest Insured
by Mich a el J. M a n ya k , M.D., FACS
56
There is nothing more exhilarating than the moment you
realize that you really ARE
going on that expedition, the
one you have been dreaming
about for years or have been
unexpectedly asked to join.
Your excitement, however,
soon becomes tempered by
logistics and by sobering
thoughts of health and safety.
It is a well-known adage at
The Explorers Club that an
adventure is an expedition that
has gone wrong. Nowhere is
this more apparent than in the
area of travel medical insurance. Rest assured that the
subtleties of your policy for
your particular situation may
not be apparent until you are
in the midst of a crisis.
Although we often take our
health care for granted in an
industrialized urban society,
we lose that confidence on
remote travel…and for a
good reason. Travel health
issues are far more common
than suspected. As many as
one half of people who travel
to developing areas report
problems. Many of these get
resolved, but some eight percent of an estimated 50 million
travelers become ill enough to
seek medical care abroad or
upon reaching home.
So, how do we get medical
help if something arises on
the road? An important component of any trip should be
arranging for travel medical
insurance to include evacuation. Do not assume that tour
operators or travel companies
offer more than very basic
services. Often these do not
exceed minimal temporary
medical care and emergency
transportation to a regional
medical facility, which may be
inadequate for anything other
than basic first aid. Without
proper insurance, costs can
be considerable with evacuation expenses alone frequently
ranging over $100,000.
• Medicare and most health maintenance organizations do not provide
coverage for international travel.
•
Even
comprehensive
medical
insurance policies do not cover
evacuation.
• Travel insurance has one or more
components: 1) travel assistance for
logistics—lost luggage, trip cancellation, etc., 2) medical coverage for
treatment, subject to policy limits,
and 3) evacuation. Not all may be
included in a policy.
• Check the exclusions in any policy
you have. Many adventurous activities are excluded from policy coverage and alcohol or drug-related
incidents often are not covered.
• Medical evacuation occurs by the
decision of the insurance company;
it is not triggered by natural disasters or outbreak of hostilities.
• The insurance company determines
Her e
are
som e
k ey
the destination for the evacuee,
p o i n t s t o c o n s i de r :
regardless of patient and family
• Surgical mortality is almost 20 per-
desires. With few exceptions such as
cent higher in Western Europe than
Global Rescue out of Boston, MA, you
in the U.S. This rises to nearly 30 per-
do not have a vote.
cent in Eastern Europe, to more than
•
70 percent in Latin America, and
oxcart (interpreted by the insurance
higher still in the rest of the world.
company as the most readily available
• Private medical insurance cover-
means of transfer) to the outpatient
age on domestic policies generally
clinic in the next village (designated
has similar coverage for interna-
regional medical facility), establish
tional travel. Check your existing
before departure what would happen
policy before travel.
for a serious medical event.
To avoid being transported by
the explorers journal
Ex Post Facto
ownership statement
tales from The Explorers Club archives
It’s All About
Pecking Order
by Cl a r e Flemming, M.S.
“I decided in my teens that I
would do what one woman could
do to show that women had as
much brains as men and could
do things as well if she gave them
her undivided attention.”
~~A. S. Peck
Determination can be everything in exploration. Nowhere
is this more evident than in the
research collections of The
Explorers Club. For there, among
the records of numerous firsts in
exploration, is a file, within which
is a paper trail documenting
a seminal exchange between
famed Victorian mountaineer,
Annie Smith Peck, and the powers that be at the Peary Arctic
Club of New York , more than a
century ago.
Born in 1850, Peck was
educated
in
classics
at
Rhode Island College and the
University of Michigan, prior to
landing a professorship at Smith
College. Shortly thereafter, she
found herself drawn to mountaineering. Venturing out on her
own, she summited a number
of peaks, including Mexico’s
5,700-meter Pico de Orizaba,
58
radically breaking with tradition
by climbing in pants. She soon
realized that she could make her
living as a mountaineer and lecturer, and left her post to engage
in climbing—and its associated
fundraising—full time.
In June, 1899 Peck penned a
letter to Herbert Bridgman, secretary of the Peary Arctic Club,
in hopes of joining one of Robert
Peary’s early polar expeditions:
I had the pleasure yesterday
of meeting Mr. [Russell] Porter
who told me of the expedition to
Greenland this season and gave
me your address. I thought that
if possible I should like to take
this trip if it is not too expensive.
Of course I am used to roughing
it and traveling quite independently, and I think I should
not bother any body as some
women might. Three gentlemen
attempted the ascent of Orizaba
[Mexico] with me, but only one of
them reached the summit.
Very truly yours,
Annie S. Peck
Despite the fact that Peary
had previously included his wife
Josephine on his expedition to
Greenland, and certainly relied
on numerous Inuit women for
his numerous Arctic needs,
Bridgman made it clear in his
telegraphed response that Peck
was not welcome:
“Peary Arctic Club cannot accept women in hunting party.”
And so—bother or no bother—
Miss Peck was not to be a part
of that or any of Peary’s expeditions. Instead she set her
sights on the majestic Andes
and would become, in 1908,
the first person to summit the
6,768-meter Peruvian peak,
Huascarán.
The following
year, she planted a suffragette
pennant on top of 6,400-meter
Coropuna, also in Peru.
To this day Peck retains the
honor of being the only woman
to make a first ascent on a
major world peak. Annie Peck
died in 1935 at the age of 85 in
Brooklyn, New York.
1. Publication Title: The Explorers
Journal. 2. Publication Number: 00145025. 3. Filing Date: 10/1/07. 4. Issue
Frequency: Quarterly. 5. Number of
Issues Published Annually: 4. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $29.95. 8.
Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office
of Publisher: The Explorers Club,
46 East 70th Street, New York, NY
10021-4928. 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher,
Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Daniel A. Bennett, President,
The Explorers Club, 46 East 70th
Street, New York, NY 10021-4928.
Editor: Angela M.H. Schuster, The
Explorers Club, 46 East 70th Street,
New York, NY 10021-4928. Managing Editor: Jeff Stolzer, The Explorers
Club, 46 East 70th Street, New York,
NY 10021-4928. 10. Owner: The
Explorers Club, 46 East 70th Street,
New York, NY 10021-4928. 11.
Known Bondholders, Mortgagees,
and Other Security Holders Owning
or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or
Other Securities: None. 12. Tax Status: The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and
the exempt status for federal income
tax purposes has not changed during
preceding 12 months. 13. Publication
Title: The Explorers Journal. 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below:
Fall 2007. 15. Extent and Nature of
Circulation: Average Number of Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12
Months: 4,000. Number of Copies
of Single Issue Published Nearest to
Filing Date: 3,200. a. Total Number
of Copies 3,200. b. Paid Circulation:
2,819. (1) Mailed Outside-County
Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS
Form 3541: 2,572. (2) Mailed InCounty Paid Subscriptions Stated on
PS Form 3541: 247. (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mail, Including Sales
Through Dealers and Carriers, Street
Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other
Paid Distribution Outside USPS®: 0.
(4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS: 0. c. Total Paid Distribution: 2,819 d. Free or
Nominal Rate Distribution: (1) Free or
Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (2)
Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541: 0. (3)
Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed
at Other Classes Through the USPS:
104. (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail: 277. e. Total
Free or Nominal Rate Distribution:
381. f. Total Distribution: 3,200. g.
Copies not Distributed: 277. h. Total:
3,200. i. Percent Paid: 88.09%. 16.
This Statement of Ownership will be
printed in the Fall 2007 edition of this
publication. 17. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true
and complete: Angela M.H. Schuster,
Acting Editor-in-Chief.
THE EXPLORERS CLUB LEGACY SOCIETY
reviews
edited by Milbry C. Polk
a troublesome tooth yanked out
by a fellow explorer without so
much as a word.
Rica—encounters with beasts
of the deep such as sharks,
calamities, military threats, madness, hurricanes, and despair.
Along the way, Haslett learns
many lessons the hard way and
imparts them to us, like pearls
on the necklace of a castaway.
Footsteps on the Ice:
The Antarctic Diaries
of Stuart D. Paine,
Second Byrd Expedition
By M. L. Paine
384 pp • Columbia: University of Missouri
Press, 2007 • ISBN-10: 0826217419, ISBN13: 978-0826217417 • $34.95
According to Paine family lore,
22-year-old Stuart Paine, chafing in the New York summer
heat, decided to remove his coat
while at the office. When his
boss told him to put it back on
or go to Antarctica, Paine opted
for Antarctica. Shortly thereafter he signed on as a dog-sled
driver for Admiral Byrd’s 1933
expedition to chart the southern
part of the continent. Paine kept
detailed notes of his experiences on the expedition, which
his daughter, M.L. Paine has edited in Footsteps on the Ice. The
result is charming. The reader
is able to virtually take every
step with Paine, from arduous
1,100-kilometer treks to having
60
Voyage of the Manteño:
The Education of a
Modern-Day E xpeditioner
By John Haslett
336 pages • New York: St. Martin’s Press,
2006 • ISBN-10: 0312324324, ISBN-13:
978-0312324322 • $25.95
Inspired by his hero, Thor
Heyerdahl, John Haslett decided in 1993 to make his own
balsa raft and attempt to recreate the sailing feats of the
ancient coastal Ecuadorians,
by sailing from that coast all the
way to Hawaii. Haslett ended up
with two balsa raft expeditions,
learned a tremendous amount
about ancient sea craft design
as well as human nature in what
turned into a harrowing series of
near disasters. Odysseus-like
Haslett endured shipwreck—
in Panama and in Costa
Top Secret Tourism
By Harry Helms
277 pp • Los Angeles: Feral House, 2007 •
ISBN: 978-1932595239 • $14
To explore is to go out to discover and investigate places of
which little is known. In Harry
Helms’ new book, Top Secret
Tourism, those places are U.S.
military installations. Right up
front he warns the intrepid that
conducting such exploration is
probably illegal and just might
get you into lots of trouble.
Some like Nevada’s Area 51
are shrouded in mystery and
associated with unexplained
“Curiosity and inspiration to
discover nature’s secrets spring
from the minds of those driven
to explore. I joined The Legacy
Society to help inspire future
explorers. Join us!”
— Dr. Martin Nweeia
Robert J. Atwater
Capt. Norman L. Baker
Barbara Ballard
Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D.
Samuel B. Ballen
Mark Gregory Bayuk
Daniel A. Bennett
John R. Bockstoce, D.Phil.
Bjorn G. Bolstad
Capt. Bruce M. Bongar, Ph.D.
Garrett R. Bowden
Harry Davis Brooks
Lt. Col. Jewell Richard Browder*
August “Augie” Brown
John C.D. Bruno
Lee R. Bynum*
Virginia Castagnola Hunter
Julianne M. Chase, Ph.D.
Maj. Gen. Arthur W. Clark,
USAF (Ret)
Leslie E. Colby
Jonathan M. Conrad
Catherine Nixon Cooke
Constance Difede
Mr. & Mrs. James Donovan
Col. William H. Dribben, USA
(Ret)
Sylvia A. Earle, Ph.D.
Lee M. Elman
Michael L. Finn
Robert L. Fisher, Ph.D.
John W. Flint
Kay Foster
James M. Fowler
W. Roger Fry
Alfred C. Glassell, Jr.
George W. Gowen
Randall A. Greene
Jean Charles Michel Guite
Capt. Robert “Rio” Hahn
Allan C. Hamilton
Scott W. Hamilton
O. Winston “Bud” Hampton,
Ph.D.
Brian P. Hanson
James H. Hardy, M.D.
Judith Heath
Robert A. Hemm
Gary “Doc” Hermalyn, Ph.D.
Lotsie Hermann Holton
Charles B. Huestis
Robert Edgar Hyman
J.P. Morgan Charitable Trust
Robert M. Jackson, M.D.
Kenneth M. Kamler, M.D.
Prince Joli Kansil
Lorie M.L. Karnath
Anthony G. Kehle, III
Anne B. Keiser
Kathryn Kiplinger
Thomas R. Kuhns, M.D.
Hannah B. Kurzweil
Carl C. Landegger
Michael S. Levin
Florence Lewisohn Trust*
J. Roland Lieber
Michael Luzich
James E. Lockwood, Jr.*
Jose Loeb
John H. Loret, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D.
Robert H. Malott
Leslie Mandel
Robert E. McCarthy*
George E. McCown
Capt. Alfred S. McLaren,
Ph.D., USN (Ret)
Lorus T. Milne, Ph.D.
Since 2000, Dr. Martin Nweeia has lead seven expeditions to
the High Arctic to unravel the evolution and function of the
narwhal’s fabled tusk.
James M. Mitchelhill*
Arnold H. Neis
Walter P. Noonan
Martin T. Nweeia, D.D.S.
Dr. John W. Olsen
Kathleen Parker
Alese & Morton Pechter
William E. Phillips
Prof Mabel L. Purkerson, M.D.
Roland R. Puton
Dimitri Rebikoff*
John T. Reilly, Ph.D.
Adrian Richards, Ph.D.
Bruce E. Rippeteau, Ph.D.
Merle Greene Robertson, Ph.D.
Otto E. Roethenmund
James Beeland Rogers, Jr.
Faanya & Robert Rose
Rudy L. Ruggles, Jr.
Gene M. Rurka
Avery B. Russell
David J. Saul, Ph.D.
Willets H. Sawyer, III
A. Harvey Schreter
Mr. & Mrs. Donald Segur
Theodore M. Siouris
William J. L. Sladen, M.D., D.Phil.
Susan Deborah Smilow
Sally A. Spencer
Pamela L. Stephany
Ronnie & Allan Streichler
Arthur O. Sulzberger
Vernon F. Taylor, III
Mitchell Terk, M.D.
C. Frederick Thompson, II
James “Buddy” Thompson
Marc Verstraete Van de Weyer
Robert C. Vaughn
Ann Marks Volkwein
Leonard A. Weakley, Jr.
William G. Wellington, Ph.D.
Robert H. Whitby
Julius Wile*
Holly Williams
Francis A. Wodal*
* Deceased
A s l on g a s t h e r e i s Th e Ex pl or e r s Clu b,
you r n a m e w i l l b e li s ted a s a m e m b e r of t h e L eg a c y S o c i et y.
THE LEGACY SOCIETY COMMITTEE
Theodore M. Siouris (Chairman), Robert J. Atwater,
George W. Gowen, Scott W. Hamilton, Brian P. Hanson,
Kathryn Kiplinger, William E. Phillips
For information
and to join us:
The Explorers Club,
46 East 70th Street
New York, NY 10021
212-628-8383
www.explorers.org
RE VIEWS
objects and sounds some attribute to UFOs, others to aircraft
testing. Some like New York’s
Plum Island, are toxic. Others
are depots for unknown quantities of chemical and biological
warfare weapons. Trying to be
helpful, Helms includes maps
but they are little more than an
arrow pointing off into nowhere
along a desolate highway.
Too Close to the Sun.
Born in 1887, Denys Finch
Hatton was raised on a country
estate, learned to hunt and to
dance, was educated at Eton
then Oxford, gliding through
with an effortless style that
was the hallmark of upper
class English life. When family
fortunes declined, Denys’ elder
brother inherited the estate and
its accumulating debt, while
Denys was encouraged to make
his fortune abroad. Denys chose
Kenya, arriving there in 1911.
After a series of false starts,
Denys made himself into the
most sought-after white hunter,
taking rich clients, including
princes, into the game parks.
Wheeler’s book brings to life
the brief flame of colonial Kenya,
peopled by a dashing daredevil
elite such as Finch Hatton.
the Sun: The
Audacious Life and
Times of Denys
Finch Hatton
By Sara Wheeler
320 pages • New York: Random House,
2007 • ISBN-10: 1400060699, ISBN-13:
978-1400060696 • $27.95
The enigmatic Denys Finch
Hatton looms large on the
romantic landscape of bygone
Africa. Immortalized in his time
by two lovers, Karen Blixen (aka
Isak Dinesen) in Out of Africa,
and Beryl Markham in West with
the Night, Finch Hatton remains
alluring long after his untimely
death—having crashed his plane
in 1931. Now, his life has been
chronicled by Sara Wheeler in
62
A Naturalist and Other
Beasts: Tales From a
Life in the Field
By George B. Schaller
272 pages • San Francisco: Sierra Club
Books, 2007 • ISBN-10: 1578051290,
ISBN-13: 978-1578051298 • $24.95
In his new book, A Naturalist
and Other Beasts, George
Schaller, author, field biologist,
and long-time affiliate of the
Wildlife Conservation Society in
New York, has given us a snapshot of his experiences studying
an array of animals over the past
50 years. Schaller’s pioneering
work observing pandas, mountain gorillas, tigers, lions, deer—
all subjects of past books such
as The Mountain Gorilla and
The Last Panda—changed often
erroneous public perceptions
about the animals, led to the
establishment of preserves and
paved the way for hundreds of
field researchers to follow in his
wake. More recently, Schaller
has been engaged in studies
of the Tibetan Plateau, an area
little understood environmentally and whose species are
highly endangered.
Schaller’s book is divided
into geographical sections:
Americas, Africa, South Asia,
China, Mongolia, and the
Tibetan Plateau, with chapters
in each devoted to his research
subjects, including blue herons,
wildebeests, tigers, and pika
respectively. Schaller comments during his return to the
Virungas to see the mountain
gorillas 40 years after his original research, “I do not like to
return to places where my heart
rests, fearful that things have
changed.” While nothing can
stop the tsunami surge of human population growth and the
subsequent worldwide environmental destruction. it is thanks
to individuals like Schaller that
there are places and unique
species left at all.
THE EXPLORERS CLUB c h a p t e r c h a i r s
46 east 70th street, New York, NY 10021 I 212-628-8383 I www.explorers.org
N at ion a l ch a p t er ch a irs
Alask a
Robert W. Taylor, M.D.
Tel: 907-452-4900
Fax: 907-457-1701
[email protected]
[email protected]
At l a n ta
W. Hayes Wilson, M.D.
Tel: 404-351-2551
Fax: 404-351-9238
[email protected]
Ce n t r a l F l or id a
G. Michael Harris
Tel: 727-584-2883
Fax: 727-585-6078
[email protected]
Chi c a g o / G r e at L a k e s
Mel Surdel
Contact person:
Cheryl Istvan
Tel: 312-640-0741
Fax: 312-640-0731
[email protected]
G eorg e Rog e r s Cl a r k
Joseph E. Ricketts
Tel/Fax: 937-885-2477
[email protected]
G r e at e r P ie d m on t
Nena Powell Rice
Tel: 803-777-8170
Fax: 803-254-1338
[email protected]
J u p i t e r F l or id a
Rosemarie Twinam
Tel: 772-219-1970
Fax: 772-283-3497
[email protected]
Ne w E n g l a nd
Gregory Deyermenjian
Tel: 978-927-8827, ext. 128
Fax: 978-927-9182
[email protected]
N or t h Pa cif i c A l a s k a
Mead Treadwell
Tel: 907-258-7764
Fax: 907-258-7768
[email protected]
N or t he r n C a l if or ni a
Lee Langan
Tel: 415-931-3015
Fax: 415-398-7664
[email protected]
Pa cif i c N or t h w e s t
Edwin J. Sobey, Ph.D.
Tel: 425-861-3472
Fax: 503-214-7849
[email protected]
P hil a d e l p hi a
in t er N at ion a l ch a p t er ch a irs
A rg e n t in a
Hugo Castello, Ph.D.
Fax: 54 11 4 982 5243/4494
[email protected]
A u s t r a l i a - Ne w Z e a l a nd
Peter Hess
Tel: 302-777-1715
[email protected]
Ann McFarlane, Ph.D.
Tel: 61-2-9328-4883
Fax: 61-2-9328-4888
[email protected]
Rock y M o u n ta in
Canada
S a n D ieg o
East Asia
William F. Schoeberlein
Tel: 303-526-0505
Fax: 303-526-5171
[email protected]
William T. Everett
Tel: 760-765-3377
Fax: 760-765-3113
[email protected]
S o u t he r n C a l if or ni a
David A. Dolan, FRGS
Tel. 949-307-9182
[email protected]
S o u t he r n F l or id a
Stanley L. Spielman, M.D.
Tel/Fax: 305-233-8054
[email protected]
Southwest
Brian Hanson (Chapter Liaison)
Tel: 512-266-7851
[email protected]
S o u t h w e s t F l or id a
Col. Gerry W. Bass
Tel: 239-594-5224
[email protected]
S t. L o u i s
Mabel Purkerson, M.D.
Tel: 314-362-4234
[email protected]
Texas
Ted D. Lee
Tel: 210-886-9500
Fax: 210-886-9883
[email protected]
Wa s hin g t on DC
Dr. Lee Talbot
Tel: 703-734-8576
Fax: 703-734-8576
[email protected]
Joseph G. Frey
Tel: 416-239-8840
[email protected]
www.explorersclub.ca
Dr. Michael J. Moser
[email protected]
G r e at Br i ta in
Barry L. Moss
Tel: 44 020 8992 7178
[email protected]
I ce l a nd
Haraldur Örn Ólafsson
Tel: +354 545 8551
Fax: +354 562 1289
[email protected]
Ind i a
Avinash Kohli
[email protected]
N or way
Hans-Erik Hansen
Home Tel: 47 22-458-205
Work Tel: 47 67-138-559
[email protected]
P ol a nd
Marek Kaminski
Home Tel: 48-695664000
Work Tel: 48-58-5544522
Fax: 48-58-5523315
[email protected]
[email protected]
Ru s s i a
Alexander Borodin
Tel: 7-095-973-2415
[email protected]
W e s t e r n Eu rop e
Lorie Karnath
Tel: 49-1723-95-2051
[email protected]
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING ?
great moments in exploration as told to Jim Clash
landing on the Moon with
buzz aldrin
JC: What do you remember about your lunar landing on July 20, 1969?
has landed,” it struck me as, “Gee, we’re in the
middle of something, Neil, don’t do that!”
Buzz Aldrin: Obviously, when we touched down,
we were very relieved. Neil [Armstrong] and I
acknowledged that with a wink, a nod, and a pat
on the shoulder. The immediate surface was very
powdery, as best we could see looking down from
five meters. Off in the distance was a very clear
horizon, maybe with a boulder. And, of course, the
brightness of the sunlit surface was almost like
looking out at sunlit snow. Your pupils close down,
just as in orbit when the sun is on the spacecraft.
The sky is black as can be, but there’s no way you
can see stars. They’re there, of course, but you
can’t make them out, because they’re too faint with
all the ambient light in your eyes. Knowing that we
were going to call ourselves Tranquility Base—but
we had never rehearsed that because we didn’t
want people to know—we hadn’t inserted that historic announcement into our procedures checklist.
So when Neil said, “Tranquility Base, the Eagle
Jim Clash: How did you feel when you stepped onto
the lunar surface?
64
Buzz Aldrin: Can you give me some multiple choices
I can pick from to describe my emotions? I don’t go
through life verbalizing what I feel. After the fact,
it’s really kind of difficult. I guess if you’re used to
doing a lot of describing, those things come easily. That’s why, I guess, the greatest inadequacy
I’ve experienced in my life is when someone asks,
‘What did it feel like?’ I have a very hard time trying to tell someone. I could probably manufacture
all sorts of wondrous things. But in retrospect, I
felt like we were proceeding with the checklist,
such as carrying the camera down. There are lots
of little things, more than meets the eye.
More of Jim Clash’s columns and videos can be found online
at www.forbes.com/adventurer.