Explorer Parker Liautaud Departs for the Willis Resilience Expedition

Teenage polar explorer Parker Liautaud is packing his bags this week before setting off for the start of the Willis Resilience Expedition, a 40 day expedition to collect scientific data, pilot a new model of weather station and attempt a speed record from the Antarctic Coast to the South Pole. Parker, a sophomore at Yale University will be packing his pulk (the sledge he will use to take all of his expedition kit). Weighing in at around 80kg, Parker’s kit will keep him alive in the world’s most inhospitable continent.

A polar expedition on this scale means planning for every eventuality, so everything Parker takes with him is geared towards survival and performance. Among other things, Parker will pack polarized goggles to protect him from snow blindness and an insulated jacket which has been tested to keep him warm and dry in temperatures as low as -60ºC. Parker’s pulk will carry everything he will need during his 22 day trek to the South Pole, including all his food, tent and supplies plus essentials such as a crevasse rescue kit containing carabiners, slings, ice-screws, pulleys and ropes.

At just 19 years old Parker will trek 640km from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and attempt to set a new world record. The invaluable scientific research that he will undertake before he aims to set this record will be aimed at exploring the impact of climate change by uncovering new scientific data and enhancing our understanding of our changing world.

Backed by leading insurance, reinsurance and risk managers, Willis, the expedition is deeply entwined with Willis’ core business values; offering risk management solutions and strategies to help their clients overcome challenges and build resilience for a risky world. To allow people to follow Parker’s remarkable journey to the South Pole and learn more about the importance of the data collected during the expedition, The Willis Resilience Expedition website – www.willisresilience.com – invites people to not only learn more but to feel part of the journey as it unfolds. The expedition is supported by the Ice Broker, a 2.6 tonne, custom built truck – in essence, a science-gathering and communications center on wheels – which will provide logistical support to the scientific phase of the expedition as well as live streaming video and data to a global audience throughout. The video footage will be transmitted via Iridium Pilot systems and a remote camera rig built into the truck.


“It feels surreal that the expedition is about to begin. After two years of careful planning and preparation we are finally ready to start our journey to the South Pole. We are not only aiming to set a new world record, but more importantly we will be collecting data that will contribute to understanding our changing world. I am excited about taking on the challenge that lies ahead and I know that with the support team I have around me this expedition will be a huge success. Although I will have no contact with the incredible Antarctic truck ‘Ice Broker’ while attempting the ski record, it will be tracking my every move and allowing you to follow our journey with a live stream via www.willisresilience.com.”

Parker Liautaud, Willis Resilience Expedition Leader

As one of the world’s leading risk advisers and insurance and reinsurance brokers, Willis is supporting this inspirational journey to test the limits of human endurance and resilience in the harshest of environments and to promote greater understanding of our changing climate and the risks associated with it.

Notes to Media

About Willis: Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global risk adviser, insurance and reinsurance broker. With roots dating to 1828, Willis operates today on every continent with more than 17,000 employees in over 400 offices. Willis offers its clients superior expertise, teamwork, innovation and market-leading products and professional services in risk management and transfer. Our experts rank among the world’s leading authorities on analytics, modelling and mitigation strategies at the intersection of global commerce and extreme events. Find more information at our website, www.willis.com, our leadership journal, Resilience, or our up-to-the-minute blog on breaking news, WillisWire. Across geographies, industries and specialisms, Willis provides its local and multinational clients with resilience for a risky world.

An unsupported expedition: The Willis Resilience Expedition will have a vehicle tracking the explorers however, the team in the truck will provide no support to Parker along the way. The vehicle is tracking the team to provide round the clock footage and imagery along the way and will not carry any equipment for Parker with them.

SOURCE Willis

Mars Society Seeks Volunteers for 1-Year Mission in Canadian Arctic

FMARS (Credit: Mars Society)

The Mars Society is seeking six volunteers to participate as members of the crew of the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) during an extended simulation of human Mars exploration operations on Devon Island in northern Canada (August 2014 through July 2015).

As currently planned, the crew will consist of four individuals chosen primarily for their skills as field scientists in areas including geology, geochemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, and paleontology. Two additional crew members will be chosen primarily for their skills in engineering areas. The ability of crew members to support both roles is considered a strong plus.

For 12 months, these six crew members will conduct a sustained program of field exploration on Devon Island, 900 miles from the North Pole, while operating under many of the same constraints that will be faced by explorers on an actual human Mars mission. For example, no one will be able to go outside without wearing a spacesuit simulator. The crew will be responsible for all of its own field work, lab work, reportage, repair of equipment, and chores of daily life. They will work in telescience collaboration with a Remote Science Team, a Mission Support Group, and an Engineering Support Team located in the continental United States. In addition to the six person Mars exploration crew, one field support person will also participate in the expedition in and out of simulation role. This person should have excellent field mechanic and wilderness skills.

Both volunteer investigators who bring with them a proposed program of research of their own compatible with the objectives of the Flashline Station (see below), and those simply wishing to participate as members of the crew supporting the investigations of others, will be considered. Volunteers may submit applications as individuals, couples or both. Applications will be considered from anyone in good physical condition between 22 and 60 years of age without regard to race, creed, color, gender, or nationality. Scientific, engineering, practical mechanical, arctic, wilderness, first aid, medical, and literary skills are all considered a plus. Applicants should have either a four-year college degree or equivalent experience.

Applicants will need to pass a physical exam and must be cleared by their personal physician to participate. Applicants must be non-smokers and should state what, if any, food allergies and/or dietary restrictions they may have. Dedication to the cause of human Mars exploration is an absolute must, as conditions are likely to be very difficult and the job will be very trying.

Those selected will be required to act under crew discipline and strict mission protocols during the Arctic simulation. Prior to the mission, the selected crew members will take part in a two-week training mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah, and will also participate in other evaluation, training and preparatory sessions. Applicants should state whether or not they require salary. Applications including resume, character references, proposed research program (if any) and a brief letter explaining why you wish to participate should be sent to: ma365@marssociety.org. The total length of application should not exceed four pages, and the deadline for submitting applications is November 30, 2013.

Mission Science Agenda

The overall purpose of Mars Society simulations is to investigate field techniques that would be relevant to the scientific exploration of Mars. The approach of our investigations is to have real science goals in Mars analog environments and to conduct field work under simulated Mars mission constraints. Relevant field activities include geological surveys, search for evidence of past life, search for extant life, and environmental and meteorological observations. In addition investigating the role and optimal combination of human exploration, telepresence, robotic exploration and the use of remote sensing tools are all part of these simulations.

The MA365 mission simulation opens up additional focused science enabled by the long stay in Arctic conditions. The mission-long scientific focus of MA365 will include coupled physical and biological studies of the Arctic active layer over the transition from hard winter freeze to summer thaw, other natural science investigations of interest, as well as extended crew psychological, food science, engineering and human factors research. Examples of science activities include (but are not limited to):

1. Temperature and flow relations in the active layer of the permafrost across -20 to 0C and applications to models of fluvial feature formation over permafrost on Earth and Mars.

2. Experiments with manipulation of the snow cover thickness and monitoring of the effect on the thaw of the underlying ground.

3. Measurement of melt generation in snowpacks and application to models for the melting of dusty snow packs on Mars as the mechanism for creating gully features.

4. Measurement of in situ biological activity and changes in diversity and abundance as temperatures increase from -20 to 0C.

5. Measurement of the release of CH4 – an important greenhouse gas – from permafrost and possible applications to the source of CH4 on Mars.

6. Carbon release studies of permafrost as temperature changes with applicability to global warming.

7. Deployment of interactive sensor networks to achieve science goals and human factors studies of the human-sensor network interface.

8. Isolation and confinement of this expedition enables research on human performance under extreme conditions analogous to space mission conditions.

9. Deployment and utilization of remote instruments, including telescopes during the long Arctic winter night.

10. Climatological studies.

11. Geologic studies.

12. Studies of human exploration field operations.

13. Tests of prototype Mars exploration equipment.

Science team members selected for this expedition are expected to have a track record in a science area listed above or a related activity. They are also expected to supervise a field research project leading to peer-reviewed publication working in collaboration with the Science Advisory Group and the Remote Science Team for the expedition.

Equipment to conduct field exploration will be provided, but team members may also propose to bring field equipment and instruments as part of their activities.

If you want to get humans to Mars and have the skills and temperament to help make this mission a success, please step forward. This is your chance to make history!

Dangerous Waters - Jetski the Northwest Passage - NOT - Canadian Coast Guard had to rescue this expedition

Season 3 Teaser from RPM Productions on Vimeo.

Willis to launch Antarctica expedition to study climate change impact

Willis Group has launched a scientific program in Antarctica, beginning this fall, with the goal of reaching a better understanding of climate change and to build resilience to weather-related risk.



Beginning in November and running to January 2014, the Willis Resilience Expedition will include three research projects focused on how the climate is changing in Antarctica, a region it says provides an important signal for the rate and scale of global environmental changes.

The expedition will be led by 19-year-old Parker Liautaud, a polar explorer and student at Yale University.


As part of the project, the team will test an automatic weather station called the ColdFacts-3000BX, which has never been tested in Antarctica. The station will be tested over five weeks. “This light and relatively inexpensive model could pave the way for additional cost-efficient and extensive surface observations in the Antarctic region,” Willis says.

The expedition will also include a “coast-to-pole-to-coast” survey of Antarctic stable isotope trends, with those observations providing new information on the rate of change in temperature in Antarctica over recent years, Willis says. Samples will be sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency Isotope Hydrology laboratories for analysis.The team will also conduct a transcontinental study of the deposition rate of Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. “The relatively short half-life of Tritium means it can be used to date snow and ice up to around 150 years old. The data can then be used to better understand the global water cycle, which is intrinsically linked to changes in climate,” Willis says.

The company says this will be the first large-scale study of Tritium in Antarctica since Tritium returned to normal levels following the spike caused by thermonuclear tests in the 1960s. The samples will be sent to GNS Science, a New Zealand Crown Research Institute, for analysis.

“We need to model the insurance industry's exposure to climate related risk to fulfill the stringent requirements of financial regulation,” Rowan Douglas, chairman of the Willis Research Network, noted in a statement about the expedition.

“We hope that the Willis Resilience Expedition's science and survey programme will provide scientists with important data to inform their models which, in turn, provide inputs to our own systems to estimate the risk of extreme events. The Antarctic is the canary in the cage for the pace and thresholds for wider global processes and impacts.”

Website: http://www.willisresilience.com/

Video url: http://youtu.be/GBowUKTKBco

YOUNG WOMAN ROWS SOLO FOR 5 MONTHS FROM JAPAN TO ALASKA

Sarah Outen, a woman aged 28 from Britain, has finished her solo journey from Japan to Alaska, after rowing for 150 days. Outen set a world record by becoming the first person in the history to row from Japan to Alaska, the expedition’s project manager said.

It is not the first time when the woman includes Japan in her adventurous expeditions. In 2011, she traveled more than 17, 700 kilometers by kayak and bicycle across Europe and Asia to Japan, following her multi-year mission of going around the world by using her own body’s power.

Outen got to the island of Adak island late on Monday and was greeted by about half of the 320 residents. “It was pouring down rain. But we were happy to see her,” Smiloff, the community’s former harbormaster, said.

She traversed over 3,200 kilometers from Japan to Adak Island, according to her website. She stopped within almost a kilometer of land and had to be towed the rest of the way to the island because of winds and current pushing her toward rocks, her Website’s blog section said.

At the moment, Outen is not available for comments, as she is exhausted and needs rest, according to the expedition’s project manager.

The young woman plans to go round the globe by bicycle, kayak and rowboat, according to the international press. She is using the expedition to raise money for four charity projects.

http://www.tokyotimes.com/2013/young-woman-rows-solo-for-5-months-from-japan-to-alaska/

Lessons Learned The final dispatch from the Trans-Territorial Canoe Expedition

Website: http://www.canoe2012.com/

Congrats to Pete Marshall and his trip-mates Winchell Delano, Steve Keaveny and Matt Harren from this summer’s Trans-Territorial Canoe Expedition, whose video teaser above just earned an IMAX Award and a $25,000 prize, presented by IMAX, Newsweek & The Daily Beast, for exhibiting the keen “ability to take audiences on an adventure through explorations in filmmaking.” The 130-day, 2,600-mile expedition from the Pacific Ocean to Hudson Bay was documented in a four-part series on CanoeKayak.com [Click to view the dispatches from STAGE 1, STAGE 2, STAGE 3, and STAGE 4].

Attendees at this weekend’s Canoecopia show in Madison, Wis., can check out Marshall’s presentation, 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the BWCA Room. In the meantime, we caught up with Marshall for a couple quick questions to talk about the film project capper to the expedition, titled, “2600 above 60″ and detailing the crew’s desire to see the world “as the first people did” by paddling through “the world’s last great wilderness.”

CanoeKayak.com: So part of the criteria for the award was gauging the film clip’s “social resonance.” How best would you say the video, and the expedition, resonates with people?

Pete Marshall: For the general non-paddlers, I’m often asked how this expedition even began, how the idea for a 2600-mile trip ever dawned on me. A big part of the trip was about imagination, about wanting to see what the possibilities of a canoe, to see where a canoe can take you and connect rivers and lakes in a way that people had never done.

Here’s a tough one: What paddling tips did you take away from paddling all that distance?

One gear factor was the Kokatat drysuits we used to wade through water still filled with ice and not get a touch of hypothermia. Most trips you look forward to going down river, but some trips require going up 500 miles of flooded, mountainous river before you get to the good downstream portion. Here’s a good one to take away otherwise: More than physical endurance, you just have to be stubborn on a trip like this.

Check for updates on the film HERE.

2013 EXPEDITION OF THE YEAR

An adventure of canoeing above 60º across Canada takes the win

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=trCUrCTWmvA

Route

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This is the map of our route, each mark indicates where we camped. CHECK BACK SOON! THE MAP WILL BE UPDATED WITH ANECDOTES AND PICTURES FROM THE LOCATIONS WHERE WE CAMPED. 

View 2012 Trans-Territorial Canoe Expedition in a larger map

The route of the 2012 Trans-Territorial Canoe Expedition

           A few years ago, as summer was coming to an end, I was looking over some maps, curious to see if it was possible to paddle from the Pacific Ocean, across the Territories, and into Hudson Bay. To my knowledge, no one had made such a journey by canoe. But with some hope and imagination, my curiosity was rewarded: There was a route. Once again Canada’s vast wilderness, its rivers and lakes that have for so long excited my imagination, beckoned.
            Our expedition is the first to undertake this 4000 kilometer route. Our journey will take us from one ocean to another, through mountain valleys and into barren tundra. It involves arduous upstream travel, dangerous lake crossings, and exhilarating whitewater. We begin on the Pacific Ocean, at the historic Chilkook Pass, where during the Klondike Gold Rush prospectors began to make their way into the interior. We will journey down the Yukon River then ascend the Pelly and Ross Rivers to the height of land where we portage onto the legendary splendors of the Nahani River. As the Nahani rushes into the lowlands, we resume upstream paddle on the Mackenzie River, canoe across The Great Slave Lake, and on the eastern extreme of this enormous lake portage onto the Thelon River. Now in the treeless tundra, we paddle through the traditional hunting grounds of the Caribou Inuit until our expedition ends on the shores of Hudson Bay. 

                                 -Pete
           click here for more details on the route

Crew Bios

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Pete Marshall Since he went on his first canoe trip at age sixteen, Pete has paddled over 7500 miles through Canada. In 2005 he and his brother Andrew canoed 2700 miles over the course of 122 days from their home state of Minnesota to the Arctic Ocean. He is currently working on a film and book that recounts his and the other team member's experience on the 2012 expedition. Steve Keaveny A lifelong believer in the healing power of wilderness, Steve has been working with troubled teenagers in the wilderness of Utah for the past five years. Steve has felt the need of the human spirit to connect with wild spaces since he was a teenager and first began to canoe through the Canadian wilderness. His many trips include expeditions on the Kazan, Missinaibi, Moisie, and Back rivers. In addition to canoeing, Steve is an accomplished kayaker and has made runs on challenging rivers from Alaska to Terra del Fuego.

 Winchell Delano

Growing up with Minnesota’s lakes and rivers as his backyard, Winchell extended his passion and knowledge of canoeing by working as a guide for Les Voyaguers, Inc., a non-profit outdoor leadership program operating in Ontario and Manitoba. Since then he began organizing personal expeditions and has paddled numerous classic routes throughout Canada.

 Matt Harren

A passionate student of cinema and wilderness, Matt has spent many summers canoeing waterways throughout Canada, dreaming of how he could capture the experience on film. He has spent several summers guiding for Les Voyageurs, where he gained the skills and experience he now brings to his job working with troubled youth in the wilds of Utah. Matt envisions the expedition will provide, among many things, an opportunity for him to craft a film that will explore the importance of human’s impact on nature, and in turn its impact on us.

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Website: http://www.canoe2012.com/

Blog: http://www.canoe2012.com/blog.html

The cost of climbing Mount Everest Scaling the Mt Everest ranges from US$30,000 to 65,000 per climber, plus other costs

Dubai: Scaling the world’s tallest peaks doesn’t only require iron resolve, extensive mountaineering experience, and a bit of luck. It also requires a hefty sum of money.
The summit of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth at 8,848 metres, continues to lure mountaineers from all walks of life from various part of the globe. In the region, the dream to conquer the mount has been strongest over the past three years.
This year alone witnessed record-setting victory for Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Thani, as the first Qatari man, Raed Zidan as the first Palestinian man, Raha Moharrak as the first Saudi woman and youngest Arab, and UAE resident Maria Conceicao as the first Portuguese woman to have successfully stood on top of the world.
But the high climb also comes with high costs, literally. Asked how much she had to spend for the expedition, Moharrak said it was “very expensive.”
“One could spend between US$70,000 (Dh257,110) to 90,000 (Dh330,570), depending on the services they would like to avail. In my case I spent roughly US$75,000 (Dh275,475). But this can be paid on instalments,” Moharrak, whose father sponsored the trip, told Gulf News.
British expatriate Mark Shuttleworth, who has conquered Mt Everest and the world’s six other tallest peaks in all the continents with his daughter, Leanna, said the climbing cost per person for Mt Everest would be around US$ 65,000 from top-of-the-line guide houses for Everest expeditions. The bill covers permits, accommodation costs, Sherpas, porters, yaks, food and supplies.
“With this, you are paying for a huge amount of experience and a better quality of lifestyle through the expedition. You have a very very strong team or support network with you,” Shuttleworth told Gulf News.
While there are guide houses that offer as low as US$30,000 (Dh110,190) for their services per climb, Shuttleworth said this rate won’t give you the same quantity and quality of support network.
“You need to minimise your risks and maximise your chances to reach the summit and the way to do that is to find the top outfitters. It really comes down to asking yourself, ‘how much is your life worth?” he said.

For the father and daughter duo, their climb was fully self-financed.
Getting sponsorships for the climb is one way to foot the bill, especially if you’re doing it for charity like what Conceicao, founder of the Maria Cristina Foundation, did in May. The flight attendant-turned-charity worker’s climbing cost of US$58,000 (Dh213,034) plus the airfare and other costs were shouldered by nine corporate companies. Through the climb, she hoped to be able to raise funds to send four slum children from Dhaka to a top UAE school. “The climb certainly gave my charity exposure and visibility, which I wouldn’t have otherwise received. Credit crunch has hit our foundation really bad and I needed to do something that could potentially help me build a platform to globally receive support,”Conceicao told Gulf News.
But don’t go seeking sponsors or breaking your piggy banks just yet. Before even contemplating climbing the Everest, consider a word of advice: “Do not even view to go on Everest if you have not at least climbed an 8,000-metre peak, or Denali/Mt McKinley, which is extremely tough. You need to have the necessary skills and experience in order to be able to tackle Everest because all of these mountains are dangerous,” Shuttleworth cautioned.
Breakdown of Costs OF Climbing Mt Everest:

Guide houses typically have all-in packages for the whole climb per person, except for the airfare and the climbing gear. The breakdown roughly goes this way:

Travel expenses: Dh8,700 - Dh22,900

Getting to Everest Base Camp: Dh7,900

Climbing fees and deposits: Dh72,400 - Dh138,500

Equipment and cooks: Dh34,200

Oxygen and climbing Sherpas: Dh31,300

Gear: Dh25,700

Miscellaneous (medical kits, communications, evacuation): Dh30,300 - Dh44,000

Source: www.outsideonline.com, www.gizmodo.com

Record number of climbers summit Mount McKinley

Bill Kittredge (left), Steve Gruhn and Tom Choate at the start of their Denali climb. Choate, 78, became the oldest person ever to reach the summit of Mt. McKinley on June 28, 2013.

JOHN BRUECK, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/07/19/2980590/record-number-summit-mount-mckinley.html#storylink=cpy

A record number of climbers summited North America's highest peak this season.

The National Park Service said 787 of the 1,151 registered climbers reached the summit of Mount McKinley in Alaska this year. That's a summit percentage of 68 percent, the highest since 1977, when the summit percentage was 79 percent. In 1977, 284 of the 360 climbers who attempted to scale the peak did so.

The number of climbers to reach the summit has topped 700 in only four other years: 1994, 2001, 2005 and 2008, according to park statistics. The previous high was 775 in 2005.

"It was a well-above-average year," said Maureen McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Denali National Park and Preserve. "The major factor in a strong summit year versus a not-so-strong one is good weather, and this past May and June saw "long stretches of warm temperatures, clear skies and mild winds."

The actual number of registered climbers this year was the lowest since 1997, when there were 1,110 attempts.

Mount McKinley — widely known in Alaska as Denali — is never closed to climbing, but the primary season typically runs from the end of April through the middle of July, with mid-May to mid-June being the most popular, McLaughlin said.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first ascent of the mountain's 20,320-foot south summit. That was accomplished by Hudson Stuck, Walter Harper, Harry Karstens and Robert Tatum. Descendants of the four men reached the summit during this centennial season, McLaughlin said.

This season also saw an Alaska man set the record as the oldest person to reach the summit, at 78 years.

There was one fatality, a man who in May suffered a heart attack on the mountain.


http://www.adn.com/2013/07/19/2980590/record-number-summit-mount-mckinley.html

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/07/19/2980590/record-number-summit-mount-mckinley.html#storylink=cpy

Passionate motorcyclists will ride 48,000 miles in six continents

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Royston/Passionate-motorcyclists-will-ride-48000-miles-in-six-continents-20130717100804.htm

• 

Kevin and Julie Sanders plan to take on 48,000 miles and six continents when they attempt the longest motorcycle expedition ever attempted next year. Picture by Keith Heppell

A record-breaking couple plan to ride 48,000 miles through 40 different countries when they tackle their biggest challenge yet.

Kevin and Julie Sanders, who run an overland motorcycle expedition company in Royston named GlobeBusters, aim to complete the longest motorcycle expedition ever attempted next year.

‘Explore our Earth’ would see a group of adventure lovers ride from London to China, Perth to Sydney, Nairobi to Cape Town, Buenos Aires to Bogota and Panama to Los Angeles - taking in six continents, 40 countries and more than 48,000 miles.

Kevin, from Cambridge, currently holds the record for circumnavigating the world by motorcycle in just 19 and a half days.

Explore Our Earth will be the biggest of its kind and will be the second time Kevin has taken on such a journey, having been expedition leader for the 40,000-mile Discover Our Earth trip in 2010-2011.

He said: “Not only does the route deliver some of the most challenging and rewarding riding the world has to offer, including the Pan American Highway and the Silk Road, it also involves riding to more than 4,500m altitude, tackling unpaved roads through Patagonia and crossing the Equator by bike.

“As well as the opportunity to see sights like Zanzibar, The Terracotta Army, Ayers Rock, Lake Titicaca, Machu Picchu and Hollywood.

“Riders can choose to take on the full 40-week route, or join in for one or more of the individual sections between five and 19 weeks.”

To find out more visit: http://www.globebusters.com/ or call 0845 230 4015.

Old Man (Mississippi) River or the Canadian Arctic? In a ROWBOAT? YOU GOT TO BE CRAZY!

Old Man (Mississippi) River Project:

Official Trailer: http://vimeo.com/35977463

See: http://www.theactivetimes.com/video/related/459

Old Man River Project is a 10 chapter web-series. vimeo.com/channels/omrp

This true story is about a 110-day expedition rowing the entire Mississippi River: Brett, Cliff, Magnus, Sarah and Kyle. The team built a historic boat by hand and rowed 2400 miles through the heart of America. Along the way they faced fierce storms, inner struggles, portaging their thousand pound boat around 10 dams, and coming face to face with some of the most intense industrial development on the planet.

A story by Brett Rogers. Filmed by Doug Copping. Edited by Max Attwood. brettonthewater.com

http://www.brettonthewater.com/blog/

The Impact Equation: Lettuce vs Apples

Brett is a recent and proud member to The Explorers Club. Founded in New York City in 1904, The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore.

Brett believes storytelling can change the world.

TheLastFirst Canadian Arctic Expedition:

Teaser: http://vimeo.com/64032010
The creation of the craft: http://vimeo.com/65399277
Video capsize test: http://vimeo.com/65757435

20130715 - Still trying to row... expect more video sequences as they become available... if they survive!

Blogs:

http://thelastfirst.wordpress.com/

http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/rowing-northwest-passage-last-first.html

Website: http://mainstreamlastfirst.com/ 

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/Northwest+Passage+That+just+crazy/8608307/story.html

Row the Northwest Passage? That’s just crazy

Opinion: After overcoming some significant obstacles, we’re almost ready to go

BY KEVIN VALLELY, SPECIAL TO THE VANCOUVER SUN

“Baffin or bust!” The words are scribbled on the white shrink wrap enveloping our boat, the Arctic Joule, and they ring out to us like a war cry. It’s been such a crazy journey to get where we are now, such a tumultuous roller-coaster ride of effort and emotion, that we’re all a little stunned that we’re on our way.

It was more than 18 months ago that Paul Gleeson and I sat in a small coffee shop on Commercial Drive in Vancouver tossing around ideas for future expeditions.

We’d met a few weeks earlier at an outdoor festival in North Vancouver where we were both presenters. I had learned that Gleeson was from Limerick, Ireland — the hometown of my parents — and we got chatting about our past adventures. We enjoyed the banter and continued our conversation over coffee a few days later.

Glesson had rowed the Atlantic in 2006 in a uniquely designed ocean rowing vessel that allowed him and his partner, Tori Holmes, to journey for almost three months, totally unsupported, from the Canary Islands to Antigua. The possibilities of his voyage intrigued me for a project I had been musing over for the last decade and a half and I wanted to learn more. Gleeson himself was fascinated by Antarctica and the South Pole and was equally keen to learn about my journey across that icy wasteland.

It was only at the end of our meeting that I mentioned to him my idea of traversing the Northwest Passage solely under human power in a single season, possibly now in an ocean rowing boat.

“Just tossing the idea out there,” I remember saying with feigned enthusiasm. “Maybe you’d like to team up?”

At the time, I was in the midst of prepping for another adventure (a 1,400-kilometre ultra-running expedition across the belly of South America called Expreso de los Andes) and didn’t think much of it until I received a call from Gleeson a week later.

“I haven’t thought of anything else,” he exclaimed, “Let’s do this! Let’s row the Northwest Passage!”

Commitment was immediate and we decided a team of four would be the ideal size for the effort. We would each choose a teammate to join us, me asking friend, adventurer and documentarian Frank Wolf to join our team and Gleeson choosing friend and fellow Irishman Denis Barnett to round out our four.

Truth be told, Barnett would choose Gleeson as he’d heard about the trip before the call and would text Gleeson with a simple note: “I need this!”

With our team formed, we set about the more challenging part of expedition planning: sponsorship acquisition. We’d do this while balancing time with our real-life responsibilities of working a full-time job, taking care of a family and following a rigorous exercise program geared to the trip ahead. Life became very busy all of a sudden.

Over the following months, we’d spend countless hours targeting appropriate potential partners and crafting proposals that might entice them. Our hopes would build when our proposals were entertained and quashed when they were dismissed. Our fervour in the face of perpetual rejection seemed obsessive, if not mildly masochistic, but we marched on to the beat that we were going to do this thing come hell or high water.

By November 2012, we realized that if we had any hope of having our boat ready for the summer of 2013, we’d need to start construction immediately. “Exposing a little of our own skin,” as Gleeson put it, “demonstrates our commitment.”

We invested our own money to get the boat started.

By mid-February, we were out of funds, deeply in debt and seemingly out of luck. For the first time in our planning, the prospect of postponing the expedition to 2014 started to creep into our conversations. Our boat builder had halted construction awaiting another instalment (the boat a mere shell of a hull at this point) and a malaise fell over the team for the first time since the start.

Our rescue flare came in the form of a casual comment from Niamh Cunningham, Barnett’s girlfriend, when she suggested she could introduce us to the CEO of a renewable energy company in Ireland that she’s known since childhood.

“Mainstream Renewable Power would be a perfect fit for you lads,” she said, her words erupting brightly in our consciousness but fading just as quickly, smothered by the blanket of previous rejections. But the flame refused to extinguish and within a week we had spoken with Eddie O’Conner, the CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power, and learned of his passion to combat climate change.

Within another week, O’Connor had made the decision to fund our effort. The turnaround was so fast we were left bewildered. Eddie O’Connor was now “Fast Eddie” to us.

Through a naive obstinance, we always believed the expedition would happen and now it would.

The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity from making final tweaks to The Arctic Joule to acquiring food, equipment and clothing, to testing everything to make sure it all works. Invariably you feel like you’re forgetting something but at a certain point you need to accept you’ve done everything you can and get on with the job. We’ve reached that point.

We’re on the road now as I write this, travelling between Fort Nelson and Whitehorse on the Alaska Highway. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be blogging for The Vancouver Sun, sharing our stories from the expedition as we row across the Northwest Passage from Inuvik, N.W.T., to Pond Inlet, Nunavut.

Our voyage is a trip into the unknown as no one has done what we’re planning to do. I hope you can follow along.

To follow the adventure, go to vancouversun.com/lastfirst

Check back for updates...