December 2002 - Volume Nine, Number Twelve
December 2002 - Volume Nine, Number Twelve
EXPEDITION NEWS is the monthly review of significant expeditions,
research projects and newsworthy adventures. It is distributed online and by
mail to media representatives, corporate sponsors, educators, research
librarians, explorers, environmentalists, and outdoor enthusiasts. This forum
on exploration covers projects that stimulate, motivate and educate.
Here are Highlights from our November issue. For a free sample copy of a
previous issue, send a long self-addressed stamped (37 cents) envelope to the
below address. Reprints of our November issue are available at the single
issue price of $4. - The Editors
DOCUMENTING THE “HUMAN FLAGPOLES”
This month, Indiana photographer Michael A. Shapiro, plans to begin
photographing the survivors and families of the Canadian High Arctic
Relocation Program, and help the exiles tell, in their own words, the story
of their treatment and their survival.
The book will feature Shapiro’s
black and white images with accompanying quotations by the High Arctic
relocatees. He plans a preliminary trip to the region this month, and then is
scheduled to return at least twice in 2003.
AROUND THE WORLD IN A REED SHIP
Natural products may be great for the diet, but not many would chose
bamboo, reeds and natural fiber rope as their first choice in ship
construction. Yet the team behind the Viracocha II Expedition plans to embark
on a journey to sail a primitive reed ship - the Viracocha - around the globe
by 2009.
The Viracocha II Expedition’s first leg will occur from
February to August 2003 - in a boat made from only natural products, just as
ancient civilizations constructed them. “The expedition is a major
milestone in the study of migration, and will be the longest and first reed
boat crossing of the Pacific in modern times,” says Rod McCurdy,
operations director.
The seven-month 10,000 nautical mile journey will set sail from Chile and
disembark in Australia. Two years ago, the group successfully completed the
pilot phase, the Viracocha I Expedition from Arica, Chile to Easter Island
(See EN, January 2001).
EXPEDITION UPDATE
French Polynesian Expedition Returns - Writer/adventurer Jon Bowermaster
of Stone Ridge, N.Y., lead a five-man sea kayaking expedition through the
remote Tuamotu chain in September (See EN, August 2002). The Tuamotu, one of
five French Polynesian archipelagos, are 78 coral reef atolls spread over 900
miles in the middle of the South Pacific, equidistant from South America and
Australia.
EXPEDITION NOTES
Misfit Explorers – At first glance, the photos look authentic, circa
1915, with familiar-looking idiot mittens on a strap, glacier goggles,
monocles and pith helmets. But this is no ordinary gallery of expedition
photography. These are the “Misfit Explorers,” so named by
professional photographer Allison Leach, 39, of New York.
Inspired by the
work of Frank Hurley, official photographer of Shackleton’s
expedition, Leach’s images capturing the comic dramatis personae of
imaginary explorers, are the subject of an irreverent solo exhibition in New
York City at the Sixty Eight Degrees gallery, located at 412 Broadway.
MEDIA MATTERS
New Climbing Magazine Launched – The premiere issue of Alpinist
Magazine celebrated its debut last month. Edited by former American Alpine
Journal editor Christian Beckwith and published by Red Hat co-founder Marc
Ewing, Alpinist is an independent quarterly publication that celebrates the
climbing life around the world.
Features of the magazine include
first-person accounts of the hottest new routes, photography from the lenses
of the world’s best climbing photographers, and reportage on climbs
from the four corners of the globe. (For more information: www.alpinist.com).
Scots Tape - BBC Scotland is looking for Scots to videotape during
expeditions anywhere on the globe. “With the increasingly lightweight
and robust filming equipment we have at our disposal, we are often able to
help out with the filming gear that's needed,” says the BBC’s
David Henderson. (For more information: David Henderson, BBC Scotland, tel:
0141 338 2444, David.Henderson@bbc.co.uk).
EN HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
Tired of soap-on-a-rope again this holiday season? Don’t have much
use for a necktie when all you really wear is Polarfleece, Waffle Stompers,
and Gore-Tex? Drop a few hints around the house for gifts you’re
hankering for. If you’re lucky, you might find a few of these babies
under the tree.
Banishing the One-Cheek Sneak – If you think the campfire scene in
Blazing Saddles was funny, try spending a week with a tentmate waiting for
the weather to clear. It won’t be pretty unless both of you donned a
pair of gas guzzling Under-Ease skivvies, the antidote for bad wind (a.k.a.
Rocky Mountain Barking Spiders).
Each airtight nylon pair - billed as the
“new generation of protective underwear for flatulence” -
include built-in exit holes so gas can escape through attached charcoal
filters. No more blaming the sled dog for your blue fog. Available in boxers
and briefs. $19.95, www.under-tec.com
Smelling Sharp - Serious adventurers have carried Swiss Army Knives
everywhere, to places most of us will never go. The summit of Mount Everest,
Antarctica, the cockpit of a U-2, outer space, you name it. Swiss Army
Fragrance captures this spirit of adventure and the clean essence of
Switzerland. It especially comes in handy if you have forgotten to pack your
Under-Ease. $15 for 1.7 oz., www.fragrancenet.com
Stone Cold – For those long expeditions across Antarctica or at
Everest base camp, while away those lonely weeks staring at the 2003
StoneNudes calendar. The nude climbers on each page are wearing nothing but a
‘biner. $18.95, www.stonenudes.com
A Pounce of Prevention – A mask worn on the back of the head could
shoo-away those pesky big cats, according to the makers of the Original
Authentic Cougar Protection Mask.
Made of silk-screened styrene, it contains
an image of a pair of fierce eyes said to scare the bejesus out of any
cougars that might be lurking behind during an expedition. It’s based
upon a design used by the Honeyhunters in the mangroves of India (and when
was the last time you read of one of those folks being bitten to death?). $5,
www.cougarsafe.com
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION
Tecnica was not a sponsor of the expedition that saw American climbers
Carlos Buhler and Mark Newcomb successfully ascend Sepu Kangri in Tibet. (See
EN, November 2002). Instead, Tecnica sponsored Carlos Buhler individually.
EXPEDITION CLASSIFIEDS
Expedition Public Relations -
Alex Foley & Associates specializes in expedition PR. Alex Foley
is honorary secretary of the Explorers Club British Chapter and has executed
PR programs for many ventures including the 1996 Titanic Expedition, David
Hempleman-Adams Chase de Vere Atlantic Challenge, David Hempleman-Adams and
Josh Wishart's Polar Race, and Ice Challenger, the Bering Strait expedition
flying Explorers Club Flag 176A last March. www.IceChallenger.com
Alex Foley & Associates Ltd. (London, UK)
alexfoley@btinternet.com
Tel:
(+44) 207-352-3144; Mobile: (+44) 797-671-3478
Affordable Himalaya with Daniel Mazur - Please tell your friends.
Announcing new lowered prices due to recent events. These are full service
expeditions, including Sherpa and all costs inside Nepal: Amadablam 2003-06,
$3,950; Manaslu 2003, $6,950; Dhaulagiri 2004, $6,950; Pumori 2003-06,
$3,950. We offer our new low-budget expeditions: Mustagh-Ata 2003-06, $1,450;
Cho-Oyu 2003-06, $4,650; Everest 2003-06, $6,000. Everything for the novice,
intermediate and expert since 1987. Ask about our treks. We give slide shows
too!
Daniel Mazur
summitclimb@earthlink.net
www.summitclimb.com
Tel: (+1) 206-329-4107
EXPEDITION NEWS is published by Blumenfeld and Associates,
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203-855-9400, fax 203-855-9433, blumassoc@aol.com. Editor/publisher: Jeff Blumenfeld. Assistant
editor: Jessica Brown. ©2002 Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc. All rights
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