Table of contents for Winter 2024-2025 in The Explorers Journal

As we usher in 2025, we will also be ushering in an era of new leadership at The Explorers Club, which will take office in April. As I finish my term as president, I want to take a moment to thank our extraordinary membership for trusting me to lead this organization for the past four years. I am deeply proud of the Club’s accomplishments over the course of my tenure, during which we have witnessed the continued growth of our Global Exploration Summit (GLEX) in Portugal; set record attendence numbers for our flagship Climate Week and Oceans Week events; and hosted gatherings in Oslo, Monaco, and my hometown of Austin, Texas. In short, our programs continue to grow as well as our presence on the international stage. Here at headquarters,…

RETURN OF FLAG Nº 136 SINCE IT WAS FIRST CARRIED INTO THE FIELD BY U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN ARTHUR L. MYRLAND ON HIS 1949 AFRICA EXPEDITION, FLAG Nº 136 HAS JOURNEYED TO PERU, JORDAN, SAUDI ARABIA, AND THE HIGH ARCTIC, WHERE IT WAS CARRIED MOST RECENTLY ON THIS EXPEDITION TO GREENLAND. A FELLOW OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB SINCE 2011, JUSTIN FORNAL HAS FOCUSED ON THE PRESERVATION OF VANISHING CULTURAL TRADITIONS WITHIN MINORITY COMMUNITIES. WHETHER CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN IRAQ, SOMALIA, OR NORTHWESTERN GREENLAND, OPEN-WATER SWIMMING WILL ALWAYS WORK ITS WAY INTO HIS EXPEDITIONS. ON A RECENT FLAG EXPEDITION TO THE HIGH ARCTIC, HE COMPLETED A 10.2-NAUTICAL-MILE SWIM OF THE NARES STRAIT, A BODY OF WATER THAT SEPARATES CANADA AND GREENLAND, TO HIGHLIGHT THE FAST-CHANGING CONDITIONS IN THE REGION WROUGHT BY CLIMATE CHANGE.…

The frigid wind swept across the conference plaza in Reykjavík, infusing the atmosphere with a sense of urgency that mirrored the dialogues within. Under the ethereal shimmer of the northern lights, delegates from the remotest corners of the globe assembled at the Arctic Circle Assembly. Here, in a land sculpted by fire and ice, the fate of the Arctic—and, by extension, our planet—was being deliberated, dissected, and, most importantly, listened to. The Arctic Circle Assembly is the world’s principal platform for discourse and cooperation on Arctic affairs, drawing heads of state, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and activists. This year’s convergence was a mosaic of perspectives, yet the most resonant voices emanated from those who call the Arctic home. In a quiet corner of the assembly hall, a young woman from the…

As temperatures continue to plummet during a polar vortex in the United States that has blanketed locales unfamiliar with ice and snow, our inner survival skills tend to kick into high gear, reminding us of what it takes to adapt gracefully to conditions that, at least for now, have continued to prevail in Earth’s northernmost latitudes. This edition, we offer a suite of stories focused on the far north. Explorers Club fellow Sebastian Copeland, whose extraordinary new volume, Arctic: A Darker Shade of White, was just released by Rizzoli, invites us on a visual journey to the High Arctic—one of the most environmentally fragile places on Earth. There, the award-winning photographer and climate analyst has documented the impact of airborne anthropogenic particulates on the ice melt in a region that…

Ever since American Robert E. Peary reached Cape Morris Jesup at the northern tip of Greenland on May 13, 1900, the locale reigned supreme as the northernmost point of land on Earth. Then, in 1969, a Canadian research team determined that, no, Kaffeklubben Island—first reached by Danish geologist and Explorer’s Club member Lauge Koch in 1921—was located even farther north, its latitude determined using the first satellite measurements. Then, in 1978, Danish scientists visiting Kaffeklubben Island spotted a small island, a gravel bar of sorts, some 15 meters in length, that appeared to be farther north still. They dubbed it Oodaaq and it appeared on official maps of Greenland and Denmark as the northernmost land on the planet. That led scientists and geographers to wonder if there were still other…

savory chaga and mushroom tea SERVES 4-6 CHAGA (INONOTUS OBLIQUUS), A WOODSY FUNGUS IN THE FAMILY HYMENOCHAETACEAE THAT GROWS PRIMARILY ON BIRCH TREES, HAS BEEN LONG PRIZED FOR ITS HEALING PROPERTIES, PARTICULARLY ITS CAPACITY TO BOOST OUR IMMUNE DEFENSES WHEN TAKEN AS A TEA. WITH ITS WOOD-LIKE DENSITY, CHAGA REQUIRES HOURS OF SIM-MERING IN WATER TO RELEASE ITS FLAVOR, COLOR, AND MOUTH-FEEL. TO EXPEDITE THE FLAVOR EXTRACTION, CHEF PAUL POWDERED THE CHAGA WITH A MICRO-PLANE GRATER, BEFORE COMBINING IT WITH FORAGED MUSHROOMS, ONIONS, SEASONINGS, AND CEDAR LEAVES, THE LATTER HIGH IN VITAMIN C. COLLECTIVELY, THE FLAVORS AND AROMAS ARE RICH AND DYNAMIC. THE KEY, HOWEVER, IS TO NEVER LET THE TEA BOIL. A FRENCH COFFEE PRESS WORKS PERFECTLY TO STRAIN THIS SAVORY STEEPED BREW INTO A TEACUP. INGREDIENTS:1 lb foraged…

THE EXPLORERS CLUB46 EAST 70TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10021WWW.EXPLORERS.ORG | 212-628-8383 AFRICA Francois Malherbe africa@explorers.org ALASKA Mead Treadwell alaska@explorers.org ATLANTA Mark Hay atlanta@explorers.org AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND Todd Tai anzec@explorers.org BHUTAN Matthew DeSantis bhutan@explorers.org CANADA Jett Britnell canada@explorers.org CHICAGO/GREAT LAKES Deana Weibel, PhD chicago@explorers.org CONTINENTAL EUROPE Ief Winckelmans continentaleurope@explorers.org EAST & SOUTH ASIA Steven R. Schwankert eastandsouthasia@explorers.org FLORIDA Tina Chiarelli, PhD, FRGS florida@explorers.org GEORGE ROGERS CLARK Cindy Pennington georgerogersclark@explorers.org GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND Rory Golden greatbritainireland@explorers.org GREATER PIEDMONT James Borton greaterpiedmont@explorers.org HAWAII Gary Bowersox hawaii@explorers.org HONG KONG Adam Francis hongkong@explorers.org LATIN AMERICA Cristián Pérez-Navarro latam@explorers.org MIDDLE EAST Aron Arngrímsson middleeast@explorers.org NEW ENGLAND Lizzie Rosenberger Thome newengland@explorers.org NORTH PACIFIC ALASKA Joshua C. Lewis & Victoria M. Becwar-Lewis northpacificalaska@explorers.org NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Jimmy Friedman northerncalifornia@explorers.org NORWAY Synnøve Marie Kvam Strømsvåg norway@explorers.org PACIFIC…

“BY MAKING A GIFT THROUGH THE LEGACY SOCIETY, I CREATED A PERSONAL LEGACY THAT WILL HAVE A STRONG AND LASTING IMPACT FOR THE EXPLORERS CLUB AND ITS MISSION OF DISCOVERY AND CONSERVATION. BUILDING A STRONG FUTURE FOR OUR ORGANIZATION IS IMPORTANT TO ME AND THAT IS WHY I HAVE INCLUDED A GIFT TO THE CLUB IN MY ESTATE PLANNING. I ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO SUPPORT THE CLUB IN THIS WAY.”—Char Glacy MN’09 Mark R. Allio • 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. Bolstad*…

RETURN OF FLAG Nº 228 AS ONE OF OUR NEWER BANNERS, FLAG Nº 228 MADE ITS FIRST FORAY INTO THE FIELD WITH SPELEOLOGIST C. WILLIAM “BILL” STEELE DURING HIS 2023 PESH EXPEDITION INTO SISTEMA HUAUTLA IN THE MEXICAN STATE OF OAXACA. SINCE THEN, IT HAS ACCOMPANIED UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGIST WILLIAM W. BOWERMAN ON AN EXPEDITION TO MONITOR THE EFFECTS OF POLLUTION AND DISEASE ON BALD EAGLE POPULATIONS. A FELLOW OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB SINCE 2014, JOHN ALL, PHD, JD, IS A GEOSCIENTIST SPECIALIZING IN CLIMATE-CHANGE RESEARCH IN REMOTE LOCATIONS. HE HAS LED EXPEDITIONS ON FIVE CONTINENTS TO EXTREME LOCATIONS—FROM DEEP CAVES TO TROPICAL RAINFORESTS, REMOTE DESERTS TO THE GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGES OF SOUTH AMERICA AND ASIA, INCLUDING TO THE SUMMIT OF EVEREST. ALL IS THE AUTHOR OF ICEFALL:…

ED VIESTURS IS CONSIDERED AMERICA’S GREATEST MOUNTAINEER. HE’S TOPPED OUT ON MT. EVEREST SEVEN TIMES, CLIMBED THE WORLD’S 14 8,000-METER PEAKS WITHOUT SUP-PLEMENTAL OXYGEN, AND COSTARRED IN THE BLOCKBUSTER EVEREST IMAX FILM. BUT DON’T GET HIM STARTED ON GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS OR OVERCROWDING ON EARTH’S HIGHEST PEAK. JC: There was controversy over a Guinness record that Reinhold Messner had long held—first to climb the world’s 14 8,000-meter peaks without oxygen. Guinness tried to strip him of the title and give it to you. EV: I said no because I wasn’t first. Messner was. It was only because some statistician in Europe decided that Messner didn’t actually touch the tip-top of one or two of the peaks, in particular Annapurna. Messner did his absolute best to touch the closest summit he…