Adventure Travel
With 45 days of food crammed into their 17 foot expedition kayaks, Will Copestake and his friend Seumus began an 840 km expedition through the icy fjords of Chilean Patagonia – a perfect harmony of the brutal and the beautiful as Will writes at his website willcopestakemedia.com. Will previously appeared in episode 53 talking about his Scotland kayaking and Munro bagging adventure which you can find at thepursuitzone.com/tpz053. Will Copestake, welcome back to the show.
In the summer of 2016, a team of five from Oxford University traveled into the Arctic Circle to ski east to west across the island of Spitsbergen – part of a Norwegian archipelago. They retraced a 1923 expedition that had contributed a great deal of scientific knowledge about the region. Their goal is to conduct new research to tell the story of how the landscape has changed over nearly a century. For 32 days and 180 miles they hauled their sleds across the landscape looking to repeat the photos from 1923 and filming a documentary. Pursuing mountaineering objectives was another part of the Spitsbergen Retraced Expedition led by James Lam and you can learn more at svalbard2016.com James Lam, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
In the summer of 2015, Jeremy Cronon set out on a 32,000 mile road trip through the USA. He wanted to better understand the American wilderness and its conservation ethic by visiting places we have chosen to protect. With his faithful companion Sam, a 2008 Atomic blue Honda Element outfitted like a camper van, Jeremy explored 47 National Parks. Over the 250 day adventure he also visited state parks, cities, and connected with friends and family along the way. You can learn more about his travels at his website chasingcairns.com. Jeremy Cronon, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
In 2011, Henrik Frederiksen quit his job as a marine civil engineer to pursue his dream of cycling around the world. But when he reached Ecuador, after 2.5 years, he was looking for a change. So with his Bulgarian friend Peycho, the two decided to build a bamboo raft and float down the Amazon river. The raft took one month to build then they spent 4 months floating 2,000 miles through three countries dealing with an unpredictable river and the fear of pirates. After the journey ended, Henrik spent two months on the Caribbean coast of Colombia reflecting and writing a book about the journey titled We Drifted into the Amazon – A homemade bamboo raft down the mighty Amazon River Unsupported. You can learn more about his adventure at showmeamazonas.com. Henrik Frederiksen, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
Olly Hicks and George Bullard kayaked from Greenland to Scotland. Their 22 ft tandem sea kayak was customized to allow them to lay flat in the cockpits and rest during the long crossings. From Greenland they paddled to Iceland then made their way along its northern coast before starting the 4 day and 4 night paddle to the Faroe Islands in a notorious stretch of water known as the devil’s dancefloor. During their final crossing to Scotland, exhausted and with a closing weather window, they stopped short at North Rona the most remote island of the British Isles. After a short weather delay they landed on the coast of Durness Scotland after 6 weeks and 1200 miles of paddling. You can learn more about The Greenland to Scotland Challenge as well as Olly’s other adventures at his website ollyhicks.com. Olly Hicks, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
Cycling from Belgium to Nepal to attempt a climb of Mount Everest, Jelle Veyt first stopped to climb Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe. After summiting, he continued on cycling through Kazakhstan, China, Tibet and Nepal until reaching Kathmandu. After the roads ended he continue on foot to Everest base camp to join his expedition team for the 2014 climbing season, but an ice avalanche killed 16 Nepalese guides and ended the season. Jelle went back in 2015, but got caught in an avalanche caused by a massive earthquake. Finally in 2016, Jelle summited Everest on his third attempt. His adventure raised funds for Shangrila Home which gives the street children of Nepal a home and education. You can learn more about Jelle’s adventures at his website jelleveyt.be. Jelle Veyt, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
34,000 km, 26 countries, 1 gear. In 2015 Markus Stitz began his round the world cycling adventure on a single speed bike. For the sake of simplicity, he abandoned not only the gears, but the traditional racks and panniers in favor of a bikepacking setup built on top of a Surly Ogre frameset. Iceland, New Zealand, Australia, and Iran provided the backdrop to some of the best experiences on the year-long journey. Markus is also the developer of a long distance off-road cycling route around Edinburgh known as the Capital Trail. You can learn more about Markus at his website markusstitz.com. Markus Stitz, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
Federico Cabrera is cycling thousands of miles through developing countries with a portable photography studio. His goal is to meet families in need that don’t have a family portrait and to make one for them. The project is called Their Only Portrait and his plan is to visit a new country every year starting with his home country of Argentina. He has already cycled over 3,000 miles along the Cordillera de los Andes and has several thousand more to go. You can learn more about his project at theironlyportrait.com. Federico Cabrera welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
Sumatra is the 6th largest island in the world with just over twice the land area of Great Britain. During the summer of 2016, undergraduate Biology students Oli Broadhead and Iris Berger set out to walk across Sumatra to compare the biodiversity of untouched forests vs. deforested ecosystems. They found their way into an unexplored forest that surrounds the 3080 meter Mount Kurik on which they attempted a first ascent. After leaving the forest they had recorded over 60 species then spent the next 3 weeks walking through rural Sumatra to the coast. Oli previously appeared in episode 114 at thepursuitzone.com/tpz114 and you can learn more about Oli’s adventures at his website olibroadhead.com. Oli Broadhead, welcome back to the show.
After 68 days and 3200 km by canoe, Ian Finch and team completed their Pull of the North expedition – a source to Bering Sea descent of the Yukon River. Ian is an adventurer and researcher who travels to remote locations to learn about the ancient traditions and ways of life of First Nations people. An important component of this adventure is for the team to immerse themselves in the story and landscapes of the Athapaskan First Nation people who, more than 10,000 years ago, walked from Asia across the Bering land bridge to settle the Yukon River region. You can learn more about this expedition at pullofthenorth.com and more about Ian at ianefinch.com. Ian Finch, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
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