It is our privilege to host a dinner presentation by Tom Hames of the Tenth Mountain Division Foundation. His talk is titled “Skiing Off to War, an Overview of the 10th Mountain Division and Camp Hale.” Tom is the Chairman Emeritus of the Tenth Mountain Foundation and the son of a WWII 10th Mountain soldier. As a noted trial attorney in the Rocky Mountain West, he is an accomplished speaker with an interesting perspective. Members no charge; guests $10. The Cheesecake Factory, 1201 16th St., Denver. Continue reading>>

Rocky Mountain chapter members broke out their polar expedition gear on Nov. 1, 2019, to visit the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility in Denver, the world’s largest such facility which stores, curates and studies ice cores recovered from the planet’s polar ice sheets. Over 21,000 meters (about 13 miles) of core samples are stored from Antarctica, Greenland and the high mountain glaciers of the world. The laboratory provides the opportunity for scientists to examine ice cores without having to travel to remote field sites.The Denver Federal Center repository was dedicated in August 1993 and is one of only three… Continue reading>>

Join us for a private tour of the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF). Formerly the National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL), the facility stores, curates, and studies meteoric ice cores recovered from the glaciated regions of the world. NSF-ICF provides scientists with the capability to conduct examinations and measurements on ice cores, and it preserves the integrity of these ice cores in a long-term repository for future investigations. Members no charge; guests $10. Continue reading>>

Chamberlin Observatory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was renovated in 2008 by the University of Denver with the support of a Historic Colorado grant, the Observatory Park community, and the Denver Astronomical Society. The $15 fee for both members and guests includes a small donation to the chapter. Continue reading>>

The chapter travels to Montrose for a tour of the Shavano Valley Petroglyph Park and a fascinating talk by Kelvin Kent, a member of Chris Bonington’s British teams for Annapurna (1970) and Everest (1972). In 1971, he was deputy leader of the British Trans-Americas Expedition which took two Range Rovers from Anchorage to Terra Del Fuego in southern Chile.  Continue reading>>

The Rocky Mt. chapter hosted adventure athlete and filmmaker, Michael Brown, on April 8 for an overview on how new video and filmmaking technology is helping explorers tell their stories. Brown’s films have spanned all seven continents and covered subjects from the conservation of wild places to social justice. His work as a director and cinematographer has won many festival and industry awards including three Emmys. He has captured ice caves for NOVA, tornadoes for Discovery, science at the South Pole for National Geographic, mountain climbing for IMAX and avalanches for the BBC.  Brown (left) is shown holding a late 1990s era 15 lbs. video camera and housing that was replaced by… Continue reading>>

Learn about the twin Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity and what became of the first overland expedition on Mars. From 2005 to 2017, Seibert, MN’19, was part of the flight operations team for the twin rovers. A robotic systems engineer, he will discuss what it’s like to drive a Mars Rover, scientific discoveries from the mission, and overcoming challenges to extend the 90-day mission to more than 14 years. During his 12 years exploring Mars, Michael performed many operations roles ultimately becoming the mission’s Lead Flight Director and a rover driver. Members no charge; guests $10. Gondolier Italian Eatery, Boulder, CO. Continue reading>>

Trans-oceanic and land expeditions have defined much of history for the past 500 years, and – as they have been recounted and analyzed – have defined much of what The Explorers Club has focused on.   Peter Van Arsdale, Ph.D., FN’79, will report on three of the most well-known: James Cook/New Guinea (1770), Edward Wilson and Robert Falcon Scott/Antarctica (1911/1912), and William Bligh/South Pacific (1787/1789). He has indirect, personal ties to all three. To set the stage, he’ll also briefly describe his own voyage of discovery and “first contact” in New Guinea (1974). Peter is Director, African Initiatives, Adjunct Professor, Josef Korbel School… Continue reading>>

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… Continue reading>>

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… Continue reading>>

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,… Continue reading>>

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… Continue reading>>

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. Continue reading>>

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… Continue reading>>

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… Continue reading>>

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… Continue reading>>

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. Continue reading>>

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 Continue reading>>

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,… Continue reading>>