An Explorers Club “Stories from the Edge” Speakers Series presentation by CU’s Cassandra Brooks, Ph.D. 6:30 p.m., Thursday, August 27, 2026Academy University Hill833 10th Street, Boulder(free on-street parking available) RSVP by Aug. 24: Rockymountain@explorers.org How did a girl from small town New Hampshire end up leading science policy and conservation in Antarctica? Cassandra Brooks, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary engaged scholar working across marine science, environmental policy, and science communication largely focused on Antarctic conservation. Learn about the beauty and importance of, the threats, the challenges and opportunities, including the history, of the highest, driest, coldest, windiest continent on earth, and… Explore more…

Leonard David is a space journalist reporting on space activities for over 50 years. He has recently completed a new book for National Geographic: Moon Rush – The New Space Race to be released in May 2019. Mr. David is author of Mars – Our Future on the Red Planet published by National Geographic in October 2016. The book is the companion volume to Mars – a National Geographic Channel television series from executive producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Leonard is co-author with Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin of Mission to Mars – My Vision for Space Exploration released in May 2013 and published by the National Geographic… Explore more…

Come to this free event featuring Dr. Laurie Marker, research scientist and conservation biologist recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on the cheetah. As Founder and Executive Director of Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), Dr. Marker has pioneered research, established conservation models and created cooperative alliances on behalf of the cheetah that had not previously existed. The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is the global leader in research and conservation of cheetahs. Founded in Namibia in 1990, CCF is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. Cheetahs used to thrive in numbers of over 100,000 over a range that… Explore more…

David Concannon, FN ’96, has more than 25 years of experience organizing and leading expeditions to remote parts of the world, including a climbing expedition in Africa in 1989 (before Western-guided climbs were common), three expeditions to explore the wreck of the Titanic using manned submersibles, an expedition that discovered the world’s deepest wooden shipwreck in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, and an expedition to explore the HMHS Britannic, sister ship of the Titanic. In 2010, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos asked David to lead the Apollo F-1 Engine Search & Recovery Project. Over the course of three years and two expeditions,… Explore more…

Ricardo is a professional musician and mountaineer. On February 12, 2005, he discovered the coat, wallet and documents of Andes Survivor Eduardo Strauch as well other previously undiscovered airplane parts, while climbing near the impact point of the famous plane crash popularized in the book and movie “Alive!” In December 2005, with a grant from National Geographic, Ricardo led the first and only to date complete re-tracing of the historic escape route done by Andes Survivors Roberto Canessa and Nando Parrado in 1972. Ricardo has been featured in many documentaries, including History Channel’s “I Am Alive: Surviving the Andes Plane Crash” and is considered an… Explore more…

Come join us at our annual chapter holiday party at the South Boulder home of Karyn Sawyer, 390 Inca Parkway, Boulder (c) 303-717-8863. Time: 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Members: BYOB; guests $10. Explore more…

Amelia Earhart’s disappearance is perhaps the last great unsolved mystery of the 20th century, and it has captivated aviation enthusiasts, researchers and the general public for more than 80 years.  During that time many tantalizing clues have been discovered, analyzed, and interpreted leading to differing conclusions as to the fate of Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan. Andrew McKenna of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR – tighar.org) will present the case for Amelia and Fred’s forced landing, survival, and eventual death on Nikumaroro (formerly Gardner) Island in the Phoenix Group. Andrew has participated in five expeditions to Nikumaroro… Explore more…

Sue will discuss the general principles of wilderness and rescue medicine with topics including: how do you tell the difference between what is a life-threatening emergency and what is not; the risk/benefit ratio – critical thinking in unconventional settings; how to stay alive in the backcountry; and what to carry. She will share lessons learned from Nepal, Antarctica, Africa and Colorado. Q and A to follow. In addition, she will discuss her new book (October 2, 2018 release), “GO FIND: My Journey to Find the Lost—And Myself,” a memoir that takes place in the high-country of Colorado, specifically in Crested Butte. Susan Purvis… Explore more…

Our lives are deeply connected to those of trees. The oxygen in our lungs, the wood in our houses, the water in our taps, the natural diversity and beauty of our planet, all depend on forests. In the Front Range, this relationship is particularly strong: the vitality of the human economy and the ecology of the region is dependent on the health of forests, yet these forests are changing rapidly as urbanization, fire, drought, and other changes sweep across the region. David George Haskell is a Pulitzer Finalist and recipient of numerous writing and teaching awards. He will discuss his… Explore more…

Rocky Mountain High – Members and guests of the Rocky Mountain Chapter met at the Ward, Colorado, mountain home of Andrew (TEC member) and Jacquie McKenna for its summer picnic in August 2018. Silver Spruce Ranch, which currently has approximately 800 acres under conservation easement, is one of the largest privately owned ranch properties in Boulder County west of the foothills. Members hiked, fly-fished and provided updates on their latest projects. Explore more…

Presentation by investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney (scottcarney.com), author of What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength, a New York Times bestseller. He’ll speak about how the environment shapes human biology. Denver location TBD. Photo credit: Jeremy Liebman Explore more…

Michael Kodas is the Deputy Director of the Center for Environmental Journalism in the University of Colorado’s College of Media, Communication and Information. He is the author of  two books of investigative, narrative non-fiction, including Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame, which was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the summer of 2017. His work focuses on environmental issues including overfishing, deforestation, climate change, development and wildfire. His writing and photojournalism have appeared in the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Denver Post, National Public Radio, The PBS Newshour,… Explore more…

Over the course of a decade, Luis Benitez has quietly emerged amongst a growing field of climbers as one of the more experienced, respected and busiest professional guides and leadership development consultants in the world. Throughout his career, Luis has summited the top of the famed “Seven Summits” a cumulative 32 times, including being a six-time summiteer of Mt. Everest. Between managing expeditions on some of the most remote peaks in the world, while consulting with a deep and varied group of clientele, Benitez works to tie the lessons available from the outdoors and carry them back to the everyday challenges… Explore more…

High Altitude, Underwater Archaeology and Sacred Landscapes in the Peruvian Andes In 2011, Preston Sowell made the serendipitous discovery of ruins and artifacts submerged 15 ft beneath the waters of a large, remote lake located at 16,000 ft in the Peruvian Andes. Subsequent expeditions and research have revealed that the site held ceremonial significance to the pre-Incan and Incan peoples and its cultural resources may hold the key to protecting the rich ecosystem surrounding it. To the Incan culture and its predecessors, the landscape itself was sacred and archaeologists have come to realize that ceremonial structures were integrated with the… Explore more…

Join us for a fascinating tour and meet and greet with Rudy, the 24-year-old endangered black rhino. Our tour will be led by Denver zookeeper David Johnson, wildlife biologist, book author, conservationist and self-professed animal nerd. Your only cost is the admission to the zoo. Learn more about his conservation fund at: http://www.katieadamsonconservationfund.org Explore more…

Polar adventurer, expedition guide, dog musher and educator, Eric Larsen has spent the past 15 years of his life traveling in some of the most remote and wild places left on earth. In 2006, Eric and Lonnie Dupre completed the first ever summer expedition to the North Pole. During this journey, the duo pulled and paddled specially modified canoes across 550 miles of shifting sea ice and open ocean. Eric successfully led his first expedition to the South Pole in 2008, covering nearly 600 miles in 41 days. Eric is now one of only a few Americans in to have… Explore more…

The Truth About Sharks Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza is passionate about sharing her love of the ocean, the joy of exploration and the critical importance of science.  Her research focuses on the sensory biology and ecological physiology of sharks, skates and rays. Mikki has been a tireless advocate for sharks, highlighting their global declines and framing new directions for their conservation. Mikki has been invited to speak, educate and conduct research at labs and institutions in South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Her outreach efforts have been documented in film, magazine and radio by the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel’s Shark… Explore more…

Extreme Science: From the Arctic to the Antarctic to the Himalaya Ulyana talks about her adventure science expeditions spanning the globe: from working on the back deck of an icebreaker in Antarctica as part of a team from Rice University, to tracking melting of debris-covered glaciers in Nepal for her PhD, to measuring snow pollution impacts on Baffin Island (Canadian Arctic) with partial sponsorship from National Geographic. Ulyana runs “Science in the Wild,” an adventure travel company aimed at getting ordinary people out on citizen science expeditions – pushing their limits as well as pushing the realm of what’s possible in field… Explore more…