More Expedition News
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September 1999Volume Six, Number Nine Highlights from September 1999 Here's a sample of the September 1999 issue of Expedition News. To subscribe to the complete version each month either by postal or email see the subscription information below.
When Blum's 10-woman expedition was first conceived, all of the world's 8,000 meter peaks had been climbed by men, none by a woman. On Oct. 15, 1978, two women and two Sherpas stood on the summit the first time Annapurna I was climbed by an American or by a woman. Tragedy struck two days after the ascent when two members of the second summit team fell to their deaths. Both Bullard and Blum hope to inspire the next generation of women climbers. "Women need to be seen in their own right, not compared to men," said Blum, 54. Based in Berkeley, Calif., she is leading a 20-day trek in the shadow of the Annapurna this December at a cost of $1,790 $2,090 per person. A consultant, lecturer, and mountaineer, Blum is celebrating the publication of the 20th anniversary edition of her account of the American Women's Himalayan Expedition. Supy Bullard hopes to return to the Himalaya if she can raise sufficient sponsorship funding. Until then, she's conducting slide shows, guides in the summer near her hometown of Bozeman, Mont., and is a ski patroller at nearby Bridger Bowl.
EXPEDITION UPDATE
Members of Gore's staff described the getaway by Gore and Albert Gore III, 16, as so secret that even many senior White House staff and presidential campaign aides were not informed of it. Gore and his son, who were accompanied by a contingent of Secret Service agents, have been running and lifting weights together at home for months. All along, the vice president's line was that he was training for another marathon. But according to Lou Whittaker, a venerable icon of American mountaineering and co-founder of Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., Paradise, Wash., the locals were well-aware of Gore's presence in the area. "We had 35 Secret Service agents in town all with the same haircuts," he told an audience of outdoor industry manufacturers and retailers in Salt Lake. Gore climbed under an assumed name, allowing Whittaker to tell the truth when replying to inquiring media that there was no "Al Gore" registered.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
EXPEDITION MARKETING
MEDIA MATTERS
The Riddle of Everest Vanity Fair examines the Mallory mystery in an extensive 16-page September feature. "The Riddle of Everest," by Bryan Burrough, reveals Newsweek paid only $5,000 (not $40,000 as previously reported) for the controversial photo of Mallory lying face-down in the snow. The story says Mallory had "chronic absentmindedness" which would eventually plague him on Everest. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night When calamities occur on the high seas or Everest, readers can't wait for the grisly details. And publishers are happy to oblige, reads the Aug. 9 Newsweek story by Malcolm Jones titled, "Disaster Chronicles." Jones writes, "From the slopes of Everest to the troughs of 60-foot waves, journalists and adventurers have been busily grinding out accounts of frostbite and shipwreck, and readers can't get enough. Most of what's coming out now leans heavily on the disaster part of the adventure-disaster equation."
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.
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