In the April of 2019, Summit President Scott Kress will be leading two polar expeditions in Northern Canada.
Hello again, it has been quite some time since I last posted about my expeditions and adventures. This does not mean I have not been active, it just means I am not great about blogging about it.
In 2018 I climbed Carstensz Pyramid. Puncak Jaya or Carstensz Pyramid is the highest summit of Mount Jayawijaya or Mount Carstensz in the Sudirman Range of the western central highlands of Papua Province, Indonesia. This mountain is often considered one of the 7 Summits (the highest peak on each of the 7 continents) depending upon how you divide the continents and which geographer you speak to. I had previously climbed Mount Kosciuszko in Australia to complete the 7 Summits, but wanting to be thorough I climbed Carstensz as well. This was a dramatic climb that was made much more difficult than usual by the unusually high snowfall that we experienced.
Also in 2018 I was once again one of the team leaders and guides for the True Patriot Love Himalaya Expedition. As a team of guides, ill and injured soldiers and veterans and civilians we trekked to Everest base camp and climbed Lobuche East. This was my 5th expedition with TPL and besides being an amazing expedition, it is a great way to give back to those that have sacrificed so much for our country.
In April of 2019 I will be embarking on two expeditions. The first to Baffin Island and the second to the Magnetic North Pole.
Bafin Island: This will be my next True Patriot Love expedition and what make this one unique is that it will be the first all female expedition for TPL. On April 2 we will travel from Ottawa, via Iqaluit to Qikiqtarjuaq on the east coast of Baffin Island. From here we will enter the Auyuittuq National Park to traverse the famous Akshayuk Pass. As we trek across this dramatic and hostile land we will cross the Arctic Circle and end in the village of Pangnirtung. We will be going at the end of the winter, but it will still be very cold and we will travel down the frozen river that has carved this amazing valley. We will walk past Mounts Thor, Overlord and Asgard and some of the most spectacular scenery in Canada if not the world. This will be a trip of a lifetime and will not only be an amazing physical accomplishment, but it will also be a great personal learning experience for all involved. The expedition members will be raising funds to support TPL programs and you can donate here and follow along on this blog.
Magnetic North Pole: I will be leading this trip with my Everest summit partner and long time friend Angus Murray. This trip is part of Outward Bound Canada’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Both Angus and I got our start in the outdoor education world as instructors at Outward Bound. Outward Bound has given us and countless other so much over the years and we will continue this tradition with is amazing Arctic expedition. Five days after my return from the TPL Baffin Island expedition I will fly back to Baffin Island to Resolute Bay to start the Outward Bound trip. From Resolute Bay we will fly by charter Twin Otter plane to our start location on the Arctic ice. We will travel for just over 100km to reach our destination at the Magnetic North Pole. Once again you can follow along on this blog.