Table of contents for Winter 2018 - 2019 in The Explorers Journal

In this edition of THE EXPLORERS JOURNAL we venture into both uncharted territory and once charted territory that has changed so dramatically since humans first set foot on the landscape that it is now almost unrecognizable. For more than two decades, Gary Ziegler has been bushwhacking through the cloud forests of Peru, identifying and charting what remains of the ancient Inca settlements that once dotted the rugged Andean landscape. A half millennium ago, they were very much in evidence; today, however, they have since been obscured by dense vegetation. Ziegler invites us to join him on his most recent Andean sojourn in a campaign to ensure that these ancient cities are once again on the map, no longer lost to the ravages of time. This issue, we also catch up…

A FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST, MOUNTAINEER, AND EXPLORER, GARY ZIEGLER HAS DEDICATED MUCH OF HIS CAREER TO FINDING AND STUDYING REMOTE INCA SITES IN THE VILCABAMBA RANGE OF PERU’S SOUTHERN ANDES. A FELLOW OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY AND OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB, HE IS THE CO-AUTHOR, WITH ARCHAEO-ASTRONOMER KIM MALVILLE, OF MACHU PICCHU’S SACRED SISTERS: CHOQUEQUIRAO AND LLACTAPATA: ASTRONOMY, SYMBOLISM, AND SACRED GEOGRAPHY IN THE INCA HEARTLAND. HE IS FEATURED IN DOCUMENTARY FILMS FOR THE BBC, DISCOVERY CHANNEL, SCIENCE, AND HISTORY CHANNELS. IN 2013, HE WAS AWARDED THE TITLE “DISTINGUISHED LECTURER” AT NASA’S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION: ADVENTURESPECIALISTS.ORG. “Steve, bail out!” I shout. Horrified, I watch helplessly as his bay horse slides off of the narrow, muddy track, flipping upside down, legs flailing into the deep ichu grass-lined…

ANTARCTICA: EARTH’S OWN ICE WORLD BY MICHAEL CARROLL & ROSALY LOPES 189 PP • CHAM, SWITZERLAND: SPRINGER PRAXIS BOOKS, 2018 • ISBN-10: 3319746235 • ISBN-13: 978-3319746234 • $34.99 Antarctica: Earth’s Own Ice World is a captivating account of the 2016 expedition to Antarctica’s Mount Erebus by Rosaly Lopes, a renowned planetary scientist, volcanologist, and senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and award-winning scientific artist and writer Michael Carroll. Both are fellows of the National Science Foundation. The goal of the expedition was Mount Erebus, the southern most active volcano in the world, with “lava bombs occasionally soaring over the rim.” While the authors state that the environment around the volcano is “hostile” to humans, they want to study its “unique formations, [which] may offer some of the best…

46 EAST 70TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10021 WWW.EXPLORERS.ORG | 212-628-8383 AFRICA Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka gladys@ctph.org ALASKA OPEN—Interested parties, please contact: Idee Belau Co-chair Chapter Relations Committee alive2dive@yahoo.com ATLANTA Steve Pigott Tel: 770-337-5450 jagter@msn.com AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND Todd Tai todd@mivision.com.au CANADA George Kourounis chapterchair@explorersclub.ca CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA Jimmy McSparron jimmy@trekkingnut.com CHICAGO/GREAT LAKES Robert A. Shuchman, PhD Tel: 734-649-0937 shuchman@mtu.edu EAST & SOUTH ASIA Steven R. Schwankert Tel: 86-1350-116-3629 steven@sinoscuba.com FLORIDA Aida “Idee” Belau Tel: 321-243-8448 chair@floridaexplorersclub.org GEORGE ROGERS CLARK Leonard A. Weakley, Jr. Tel: 513-702-0725 lweakley@rendigs.com GREAT BRITAIN Eleuthera du Breuil Tel: 44-2036036974 eleutheradb@hotmail.com GREATER PIEDMONT James Borton 803-522-2324 HAWAII Gary Bowersox mrgary77@aol.com HONG KONG Michael E. Barth mebarth@explorershk.org Tel: 852-9618-8850 NEW ENGLAND Gregory Deyermenjian Tel: 781-968-5174 paititi@alumni.clarku.edu NORTH PACIFIC ALASKA Mead Treadwell Tel: 907-258-7764 Fax: 907-258-7768 meadwell@alaska.net NORTHERN…

ALEX HONNOLD IS ONE OF THE BEST ROCK CLIMBERS OF ALL TIME. AND HE IS JUST 33 YEARS OLD. HIS 2017 FREE SOLO CLIMB OF YOSEMITE’S 900-METER EL CAPITAN—AND THE ENSUING 2018 MOVIE FREE SOLO—HAVE STAMPED HIS NAME SOLIDLY IN THE MOUNTAIN HISTORY BOOKS. A WHILE BACK WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENT FOR SOME PERSPECTIVE ON HIS SPORT. JC: Climbing without ropes and belays, you will probably die if you slip. How do you manage the risk? AH: To be clear, I normally climb with a rope and partner. Free-soloing makes up only a small percentage of my total climbing. But when I do solo, I manage the risk through careful preparation. I don’t solo anything unless I’m sure I can do it. JC: How do you…

A FELLOW OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB SINCE 1983, ROBERT MCCRACKEN PECK IS A SENIOR FELLOW AT THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF DREXEL UNIVERSITY. HE HAS CARRIED THE EXPLORERS CLUB FLAG ON EXPEDITIONS TO NEPAL, VENEZUELA, AND MONGOLIA. IN 2017, HE WAS RECOGNIZED FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO EXPLORATION, DISCOVERY, AND SCIENCE EDUCATION WITH A MEDAL JOINTLY PRESENTED BY THE CLUB’S ST. LOUIS AND PHILADELPHIA CHAPTERS. From John Steinbeck and Jack Kerouac to Peter Matthiessen and Paul Theroux, some of America’s best-known and most-admired writers have had long love affairs with the open road. Their stories have reflected, even shaped, the way we think about where we are and where we’re going. Who has not identified with their unstructured journeys, or wanted to find Robert Frost’s “less traveled” road to explore?…

JOIN THE “EXPLORERS IMMORTALS” AND ENGRAVE YOUR NAME OR DEDICATION IN STONE ON NEW PAVERS FOR THE LEFRAK TERRACE AT EXPLORERS CLUB HEADQUARTERS. ADORN OUR LANDMARK OUTDOOR SPACE AND HELP PAY FOR URGENT WORK FOR PHASE II RENOVATIONS BY MAKING A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION OF $2,500 PER DEDICATED PAVER TO OUR LOWELL THOMAS BUILDING FUND. THE EXPLORERS CLUB WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING WHO HAVE PURCHASED A PAVER: Robert Ashton, James H. Alexander, John G. Alexander, Darlene T. Anderson, Jeanne D. Andlinger, Barbara Annan, Robert J. Aresty, Atlanta Chapter, Robert J. Atwater, Norman L. Baker, Andreas Bender, Josh Bernstein, John Bierley, Bruce Blanchard, John R. Bockstoce, Brian M. Boom, John R. Boreske Jr., Gary W. Bowersox, Lawson W. Brigham, Diane Britz-Lotti, Julianne M. Chase, James M. Clash, Allen S. Counter,…

“IT IS AN HONOR TO BE A MEMBER OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB. THAT HONOR ALSO COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY. BESIDES THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SERVING THE CLUB IN ANY WAY THAT I CAN, I ALSO BELIEVE IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THE OPERATION OF THE CLUB FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. THAT IS WHY I AM PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB LEGACY SOCIETY AND TO MAKE THEM PART OF MY ESTATE PLAN!”—ALAN FELDSTEIN, MN’09 John G. Alexander • Alan B. Albright • Robert J. Atwater • Capt. Norman L. Baker* • Barbara Ballard • Robert D. Ballard, PhD • Samuel B. Ballen* • Mark Gregory Bayuk • Daniel A. Bennett • Josh Bernstein • Bruce Blanchard • John R. Bockstoce, DPhil • Jack Aaron Boggs • Bjorn G.…

From vast ocean depths to the frontiers of outer space, THE EXPLORERS JOURNAL offers firsthand reporting from those pushing the limits of knowledge and human endurance. Founded in 1904 to promote exploration “by all means possible,” The Explorers Club is an international organization dedicated to the advancement of field exploration and scientific inquiry. Among our members are leading pioneers in oceanography, mountaineering, archaeology, and the planetary and environmental sciences.…