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.

THE CLIMB FOR CLEAN AIR 2000
Adventure Charities Inc., a non-profit fund raising organization based in Marietta, Ga., will organize several mountaineering expeditions in 2000 to benefit charities dealing with breathing-related illnesses. The first major event, The Climb For Clean Air 2000, benefits the American Lung Association and is an expedition to climb North America's highest peak, 20,320-ft. Mount McKinley in Alaska.

Prior to climbing the mountain this May, the team will train by ascending two of the highest and longest endurance climbs in the lower 48 states, 14,411-ft. Mount Rainier in Washington, and 14,255-ft. Longs Peak in Colorado, with an optional climb of 11,239 ft. Mount Hood in Oregon.

The 10-person climbing team, all experienced alpine climbers from across the U.S., will attempt the West Buttress of McKinley beginning May 1, 2000. Trips will be offered to base camp for media and qualified sponsors. They hope to raise $100,000 through the project, according to Mike Sweeney, 42, president of Adventure Charities.

Adventure Charities was founded by Sweeney in spring 1999 to organize charity events to benefit those who have breathing difficulties. There are currently 10 members of the climbing and support team.

"People ask us why anyone would endure such harsh conditions. By doing so we are given access to advertising and news media. We use that access to spread the word about breathing disorders and to solicit donations for our benefactors," said Sweeney.

Sponsorship at the minimum $10-$24 level grants supporters a signed letter of appreciation from the team. Full expedition sponsors at $2,500-plus receive advertising exposure and visual identification in photos taken on the mountain. Already committed are Atlanta Adventure Travel, Eureka, First Data, Mapics, MSR Contracting, and Wells Fargo.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"We know we can go to the moon and the bottom of the sea. They're engineering problems. But if we applied technology to climbing, there'd be no joy in it." – Conrad Anker, speaking Nov. 13 at the American Alpine Club annual meeting in Arlington, Va.

EXPEDITION NOTES
Altitude Adjustment - With large, looping numbers written on a flip chart, cartographer and climbing legend Brad Washburn announced to the world the results of a scientific expedition last spring to Mt. Everest. New measurements revealed the mountain is seven feet taller than originally thought, bringing its new height to 29,035-ft./8850 m. Washburn held the ceremony on Nov. 11 at a Washington, D.C. National Geographic Society exhibition of George Leigh Mallory's possessions recovered by a 1999 Everest expedition. The new altitude, which is being accepted by National Geographic, was determined May 5 by climbers Pete Athans and Bill Crouse using Trimble 4800 GPS receivers. "We felt like monkeys in space," Crouse said after the presentation, noting that their job was to push buttons to transmit data to stations below. It took months of number crunching before the final results were known. The expedition would have been impossible without recent technical advances that shrank GPS units that once weighed 50 pounds to a handheld size.

The 89-year-old Washburn, who says he is "on the cutting edge of the twilight of my life," said somewhat defensively about the altitude change, "If people don't like it, they can bellyache if they want. I'm happy it went up instead of down." Dick Bass, who at the age of 55 in 1985 was the oldest to climb Everest, told EN, "I picked up another seven feet without having to work for it." Also attending the event were Conrad Anker, Eric Simonson, Jim Whittaker, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and Susan Robertson, granddaughter of Mallory.

Anderson Tries Again - Robert Anderson of New York, hopes to greet the new millennium from the top of Everest this Jan. 1. Anderson, 41, has made several unsuccessful attempts to scale Everest since 1985. If he succeeds this time, he will become the first person to reach the summit in the winter season from the Tibetan north side of the mountain. Fifteen climbers from Poland, Japan, South Korea, and Nepal have reached the top in winter, but via southern routes in Nepal, according to Reuters reporter Elizabeth Hawley who maintains elaborate records of all Everest climbs.

EXPEDITION MARKETING
Into The Field - More than 40 expedition leaders converged on the world headquarters of The Explorers Club (EC) recently for an intense two-day Symposium on the future of funding field exploration and the latest strategies and tactics for securing long-term financial support and media exposure.

"Into the Field II: Strategies for Funding Field Exploration" was organized by explorer and EC Director Peter Hess, Esq., perhaps best known for his work on maritime law and historic shipwrecks and diving the U.S.S. Monitor. The Symposium drew participants from the U.S. and Canada representing a broad range of scientific endeavors including shark research, Egyptology, civil war shipwrecks, Mars exploration, and mountaineering.

MEDIA MATTERS
Explorers Search for Funds - Robert Scott's sled is encased in bubble-wrap above a cabinet; Sir Edmund Hillary's 1953 oxygen tanks are buried in a closet; the Map Room, with its million maps, is cramped and in disrepair. Could this be the fate of the Mallory artifacts which are heading to the venerable Royal Geographic Society next year? The 169-year-old Royal Geographic Society is busting at its seams and in dire need of funding, according to an Oct. 29 USA Today story by Marco R. della Cava.

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.