Meet The 2012 National Geographic Emerging Explorers

Last week National Geographic announced the 2012 class of Emerging Explorers, honoring 15 men and women who have already made outstanding contributions to their field while still in the early stages of their careers. The distinction is bestowed upon adventurers, scientists, photographers and storytellers on an annual basis and includes a $10,000 award to help fund further research and exploration.

Among this years recipients are Sarah Parcak, an archaeologist who is employing satellites to help her find hidden sites in Egypt and conservationist Osvel Hinojosa Huerta, who is studying the impact of the diminishing Colorado River on the American West. They’re joined by Engineer Ibrahim Togola, who researches clean, renewable energy sources for West Africa and Barrington Irving, whose long list of accomplishments includes being the youngest person to fly solo around the world. To discover more about these four explorers, and the rest of the class, click here.

Reading through this list is not only interesting but also inspirational. This is a group of people who are dedicated and passionate about exploring the world around us, and each of them are doing some really impressive work in their particular field. Each of them was nominated for this unique honor by a network of experts who recognized their talent, dedication and potential, and most had no idea they were even being considered before the selections were announced.

Congratulations to the entire 2012 class of Emerging Explorers.

[Photo credit: Shekar Dattatri/Conservation India]

Nat Geo Announces 2012 Gear Of The Year

Travelers and outdoor enthusiasts looking for the best new gear for their summer adventurers will want to check out National Geographic’s Adventure Blog. Earlier this week the site announced its selections for Gear of the Year, with the best new tents, boots, gadgets and apparel earning a place on the list.

Some of the more interesting items to get the nod include a new sleeping bag from Sierra Designs that features waterproof down, a pair of sunglasses from Pivothead with an integrated video camera and a multi-function tool from Gerber that can also serve as a tripod for your camera. Campers will love the new Tulip Lantern from Snow Peak as well as the new Kilo tent from Easton, while shutterbugs will be eager to get their hands on the new Canon 5D Mark III.

Two items that we told you about here at Gadling made Nat Geo’s list as well. They were the Camelbak All Clear water purification system and the Osprey Atmos 50 backpack. We were impressed with both products in our reviews and it seems our colleagues at National Geographic were as well.

To take a look at all the other great gear on the list click here, and have your credit card at the ready.

Adventure Athletes Share Their Dream Destinations

When your job already takes you to some of the most remote and beautiful places on the planet, where exactly do you go when booking your own personal trip? That’s the question that the National Geographic Adventure Blog recently put to some of the top adventure athletes in the world and their picks for their dream destinations were often surprising.

For example, rock climber Alex Honnold says he would enjoy hiking the 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada, while professional snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler wants to seek personal growth and wisdom while visiting an ashram in India. Kayaker Ben Stookesberry has dreams of exploring the solitude of the wilderness in Yosemite and mountaineer Ed Viesturs hopes to take his wife and kids to the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, a place that he knows all too well.

Many of the men and women who were surveyed for this article live lives of adventure on a regular basis and yet some of them still couldn’t seem to avoid it in their off time as well. For instance, you would think that polar explorer Sarah McNair-Landry would list a warm, tropical beach destination as her dream trip, but instead she says that she would prefer to sail and ski around the world instead. Likewise for ice climber Will Gadd, who dreams of piloting his paraglider down the entire length of the Great Rift Valley in Africa.

Of course, you had to expect that some of these adventurers would come up with something a little out of this world. Long distance hiker Andrew Skurka and climber Ueli Steck took that quite literally, as both indicated that they would love to go into space. Skurka, who has hiked just about every major trail on Earth, says he wants to trek across the moon, while Steck is quite content with simply going into orbit and taking in the view.

There are more dream destinations revealed in the article, which you can read in its entirety by clicking here. Who knows, you may even find a few new items to add to your bucket list as well.

Dramatic Everest Rescue Caught On Video

A dramatic rescue took place on Mt. Everest this past weekend where photographer and filmmaker Corey Richards had to be evacuated from the mountain by helicopter. Much of the incident was captured on film, which offers insight into high altitude mountaineering rescue operations that can be employed to save a climber’s life.

Richards was climbing the world’s tallest mountain as part of the co-sponsored National Geographic/North Face team that is preparing to tackle Everest’s seldom visited West Ridge. As part of his normal acclimatization process, he had made his way up to Camp 2, located at about 21,000 feet, and while there, he began to experience chest pains and was having trouble breathing. Fearing an impending case of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), better known as altitude sickness, Corey’s teammates sprung into action to help ensure his safety. After putting him on supplementary oxygen, ten other climbers loaded him into a plastic sled and started to lower him down the mountain.

The original plan was to take him to Camp 1 where he could be picked up by a helicopter, but the weather worsened as they descended, and they were forced to assist him all the way back to Base Camp at 17,500 feet. Along the way, the 28-year-old Richards had to periodically get off the sled and walk across large crevasses on out-stretched ladders.

Upon reaching Base Camp, Richards was taken to the village of Lukla, located at a lower altitude in the Khumbu Valley. Once there, high altitude doctors were able to examine him and they determined that it was best to send him back to Kathmandu for recovery. He is reportedly there now, feeling much better and weighing his options for potentially returning to the team.

Update: The video has been changed to no longer allow us to embed it here on Gadling. To check it out for yourself click here.

National Geographic Magazine For iPad Brings Innovative Everest Coverage

There is no doubt that the iPad is changing our perceptions of traditional media in profound ways. Apple’s innovative tablet has put news, information and entertainment quite literally at our fingertips. As a result, organizations that have been in the publishing and broadcasting business for a long time are now adapting to take advantage of this still relatively new technology. One of those organizations is National Geographic, which has just added a new feature to the digital version of its magazine that could very well be a glimpse into the future of interactive journalism.

Nat Geo was one of the first magazines to appear in digital form on the iPad and since its inception the electronic version has always offered unique features that set it apart from its print counterpart. Some of those features include embedded audio and video, interactive maps and enhanced photo galleries. But the latest digital issue of the magazine, which was released on Monday, introduced a new element know as “Field Test,” which will provide real time updates from various expeditions as they unfold. The first of those expeditions is an Everest climb that is underway now.

Seeing the Field Test in action is quite a revelation on the direction that digital magazines could be headed in the future. In addition to a series of traditional articles about the climbers and their attempt to summit Everest along the seldom-visited West Ridge, this interactive section includes daily expedition dispatches, a photo album that is automatically updated with new images as they are released and an indicator of current weather conditions in Base Camp. There is even a map of the route that shows the team’s location as they proceed up the mountain.

The entire package is very impressive and is definitely a unique way to keep a “magazine” current even after its release. The Field Test is a bit slow to update at times, but when it does complete its sync it provides fresh content that readers will enjoy coming back to on a regular basis, particularly if the expedition happens to be one of special interest to them. Apparently this technology isn’t just being used for the Everest expedition and it will become a monthly staple of the iPad version of National Geographic. Find out more by clicking here. [iTunes Link]

[Photo courtesy National Geographic]