More Expedition News
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November 1999Volume Six, Number Eleven Highlights from November 1999 Here's a sample of the November 1999 issue of Expedition News. To subscribe to the complete version each month either by postal or email see the subscription information below.
Nina Page and Brendan Cowan have been together four years now, living, traveling and adventuring. This March they plan their biggest adventure of all a 4,000 mile, 13-15 month "Long Walk" of Chile, from the desert volcanoes of the north, through the rugged glaciers and fjords of Patagonia, to the tip of South America. They admit to no cause or purpose to the trip. It's simply an adventure for adventure's sake. In their pitch to sponsors, they avoid the world of first ascents and extreme danger. "Though the trip is full of challenges emotional, physical, and climatological (to name a few), it is not a journey of extreme danger, notable 'firsts,' or other high speed pursuits," they write. Instead, Nina and Brendan see it as an experiment in persistence and patience, "a chance to explore and travel at a pace that is rarely encountered in these days of ever-increasing velocity." Nina and Brendan first met in the summer of 1995 working on a wooden schooner sailing the coats of Maine. Nina, 24, an anthropologist by training, is a graduate of the University of Washington, an avid photographer, an accomplished writer, and is fluent in four languages. She currently works as a researcher at Zymogenetics, a Seattle biotechnology firm. Brendan, 27, holds a degree in Geology from Williams College, but has spent the years since school in a variety of positions, from being an artist and illustrator while employed by an architect, to an Emergency Medical Technician. These days he's working on The Long Walk full-time. After much research, they were unable to find accounts of anyone, of any nationality, who has explored Chile with the depth, speed, and means that they are proposing. They expect their biggest environmental challenge will be the Atacama desert, the most arid region on earth, with some locations never having received rain in historical times. To aid in the crossing, they will tow lightweight aluminum wheeled sleds which will allow them to carry enough food and water between small desert villages sometimes hundreds of miles apart. The trip is budgeted at $23,835, of which $5,000 has been received from the Bonderman Honors Travel Fellowship which was offered to Nina as an honor student graduating from the University of Washington. To sponsors, they promise to "bend over backwards" to make it a fair trade, offering articles, online chats, photographs, Web page links, post-trip lectures and slide shows. "As strong writers, clear thinkers, and experienced users of outdoor gear," they consider themselves an ideal team to test and evaluate equipment. (For more information: Brendan Cowan and Nina Page, 206-720-9866; mail@TheLongWalk.org).
EXPEDITION UPDATE
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
EXPEDITION NOTES
Ang Rita Retires The legendary mountain guide who has climbed Mt. Everest a record 10 times has announced his retirement. Ang Rita, 51, recently hospitalized in Katmandu for suspected tuberculosis, says he's "sick and tired and old enough to retire." His feat of 10 summits was equaled by Appa Sherpa, 40, last May.
MEDIA MATTERS
ON THE HORIZON
EXPEDITION NEWS is a monthly review of significant expeditions, research projects and newsworthy adventures. It is distributed online and by mail to media representatives, corporate sponsors, educators, research librarians, explorers, environmentalists, and outdoor enthusiasts. This forum on exploration covers projects that stimulate, motivate and educate.
EXPEDITION NEWS is published by Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc., 137 Rowayton Avenue, Suite 210, Rowayton, CT 06853 USA. Tel. 203-855-9400, fax 203-855-9433, blumassoc@aol.com. Editor/publisher: Jeff Blumenfeld. ©1999 Blumenfeld and Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
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