From the Field: Kayaking Antarctica

Just back from paddling at the bottom of the world, we asked the intrepid Jon Bowermaster to tell us about his trip. Stay tuned for the upcoming feature story.

The Explorer: New York-based ADVENTURE Contributing Editor Jon Bowermaster 

The Adventure: Five weeks sea kayaking the Antarctic Peninsula, the final of expedition of his OCEANS 8 project, a decade-long endeavor to explore the world’s oceans and coastlines. In January, the team went to Antarctica for an up-close look at how climate change is impacting this very rugged, fragile part of the world.

Most Exciting Moment: "We were at about 66 degrees south, past the Antarctic Circle, when we spotted a sizable iceberg with a beautiful sculpted arch when we decided to get closer for a look. By incredible coincidence, as we sat in our boats, the iceberg the arch began to collapse, ice block by ice block, dropping with a huge bang into the sea. As we watched the entire arch collapsed in front of our eyes, which none of us–-with more than 100 collected years in Antarctica-–had ever seen before."

Most Underappreciated Piece of Gear: "Thermos. Nothing like a hot drink in the middle of a cold paddle to revive fingers, toes, energy, and psyche."

Strangest Animal Encounter:"We paddled through the beautiful Lemaire Channel, known as “Kodak Channel” by many for its incredible picturesque qualities, and passed an ice floe bearing an 800-pound leopard seal. Initially we were cautious about paddling too close, knowing that it could split our kayaks in two with a single bite, but eventually we did get close enough to hear him snoring. At one point he lifted his head and stared us down, but with the knowledge that he was definitely at the top of the food chain … he went straight back to sleep."

Favorite Expedition Meal: "The advantage of traveling in sea kayaks is that you can take lots of stuff. A memorable tent-side meal was spring vegetable soup, with rice and parmesan cheese accompanied by chorizo and pate. More typical, of course, was a handful of nuts and hunk of jerky."

Best Way to Keep Warm: "Don’t change clothes. Despite the temptation after a long, cold paddle, it’s best to stay in your paddling gear while your tent is set up, camp is made, etc. That way you are left with one wet set of clothing and another that remains perfectly dry until you get into your tent and change. Though I don’t use them, several of my teammates are firm believers in hand and toe warmers, the kind you put inside gloves and shoes. Just make sure the expiration dates are still valid!"

Photographs, from top, by: Fiona Stewart; Sean Farrell

From the Field: Kayaking Antarctica

Young Explorers Prepare for Ellesmere

This week, legendary polar explorer Will Steger (our Lifetime Achievement award recipient, along with Richard Branson) brought news of his upcoming Ellesmere Island emerging leaders expedition to the New York City ADVENTURE editorial office. In tow were teammates Sam Branson, 22, the down-to-Earth son of Sir Richard, and champion Norwegian musher Sigrid Ekran, 27.

In March, while retracing the footsteps of Robert Peary, Matthew Henson, and Otto Sverdrup, Steger’s team of six young leaders (no one is over 28) will be dogsledding 1,400 miles over 60 days to document the sorry state of ice in the Arctic. As they cross fjords, mountain ranges, ice shelves, and sea ice, they will be sending in daily dispatches to Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace networks via Globalwarming101.com. "It all has to do with social engagement. We don’t have ten years to take action against global warming," said Steger, who hopes his hand-picked team (which includes Nat Geo Young Explorer grantees Ben Horton, 24, and Sarah McNair-Landry, 21) can bring the message to a new audience. "My bets are on the 17- to 24-year-olds making the necessary lifestyle changes."

Young Branson, who joined Steger and his dad on last year’s Global Warming 101 Baffin Island expedition, spoke about wanting to bring this message to his generation. "It would be a shame to win people’s minds only to find out that it was too late," he noted at the Explorer’s Club on Wednesday night. Branson, no stranger to the media circus surrounding pops, commented on how his time on the Baffin expedition, without cell phones, TVs, or other distractions, brought a clarity of mind missing from daily life.

For Ekran, who lives without running water or electricity in the company of her dog team in the Alaskan outback, the Ellesmere lifestyle will be familiar territory. "I spend 90 percent of my time with my dogs, which is probably why I am not so good at talking to people." Chatterbox skills aside, her expert mushing will be an invaluable addition to the team.

Stay tuned for more on this expedition.

Young Explorers Prepare for Ellesmere

Alive Survivors Look Back

It’s one of the 20th century’s greatest survival epics: A plane crashes high in the Andes leaving 32 people stranded with little food except the bodies of the dead. As even that supply dwindles, three survivors embark on an impossible journey to find help.

This timeless survival story spurred the book and film Alive. In April 2006, we published Contributing Editor James Vlahos’s account of the first retracing of the escape route used in 1972 by Uruguayan rugby players Roberto Canessa, Nando Parrado, and Antonio Vizintín two months after their Fairchild 571 crashed in the Andes. Online, see a 3-D escape route map, photo gallery, and, most poignant, hear audio from the survivors themselves as they reflect on their ordeal.

“I was seeing how my friends were melting and vanishing and getting weaker. The fuselage was getting very depressing and miserable," says Canessa. "I felt it was much more pure to die walking in the snow… . I had the idea that I would walk to the last bit of energy that I had." (Listen to the audio clip >>)

These remarkable people had the clarity of mind and perseverance to survive the most unbelievable circumstances. Their actions embody the "rules of survival" that Laurence Gonzales defines in his new Deep Survival column. It’s worth listening to their insights.

Alive Survivors Look Back

Deep Survival: #2 Folk Wisdom

FOLK WISDOM
By Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the book Deep Survival

One of the most respected psychologists of our time is Steven Pinker, a professor at Harvard and the author of numerous books on human behavior and evolutionary biology. Pinker says that our brains contain a “baloney-generator” that offers up explanations of our behavior. Often those explanations have nothing to do with reality. They’re simply the stories we tell ourselves that help us get around in the world. “The conscious mind,” he says, “is a spin doctor.”

Joseph LeDoux, an author and neuroscientist at New York University, demonstrated that “people normally do all sorts of things for reasons they are not consciously aware of . . .” and that “[o]ne of the main jobs of consciousness is to keep our life tied together into a coherent story.” LeDoux and Pinker confirm a long line of research going back to William James concerning how well we can know ourselves and how that knowledge—or lack of it—influences the decisions we make. The results aren’t encouraging. “If the human mind is a formal logic machine,” LeDoux adds, “it is a pretty poor one.”

Research in neuroscience confirms that we turn experience into stories—simple narratives about what we’re doing and why—and then use those stories to explain our past behavior and to shape what we do in the future. The most useful stories have emotional impact. And emotions, scientists have learned, are immensely important in helping us to act. Because we are human and have language, we not only generate our own stories, we also acquire them from others through legends, books, movies, and songs. Sometimes, if we are paying attention, we even acquire them from school. When our narratives reflect the world as it really is, we do well. When they don’t, we find ourselves in trouble.
Continue reading this post >>

Deep Survival: #2 Folk Wisdom

What’s Your Favorite Hike?

Do you have an all-time favorite trail? Whether it’s a backcountry epic or an urban escape, your pick could be included with April’s America’s Best Hikes cover story. Tell us where the hike is and why it’s your tops on your list. Please post your picks in the comment area below.

What’s Your Favorite Hike?

ADVENTURE Photographer Wins World Press Award

We were pleased to learn that photographer Brent Stirton just won a World Press Award–first prize in the Contemporary Issues category–for this intense photo of a dead silverback gorilla near Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We recently sent the conflict-zone photographer to try out a decidedly more tame adventure: a 4-day Andes trek to Machu Picchu along the Camino Salcantay. The catch: After roughing it all day through jungles and glacier, nights were spent resting up in luxe lodges. Check out his Camino Salcantay photo gallery >>

ADVENTURE Photographer Wins World Press Award

Reader Photo Contest Winners

We’ve just announced the winners of our latest Life’s an Adventure Reader Photo Contest–with prizes from Columbia Sportswear. These shots are inspiring, particularly overall winner Vernon Wiley’s photo from California’s Mount Humphreys (pictured).

Reader Photo Contest Winners