2021-2022
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Speaker
Subject (click date buttons for details) 
Skiing the Planet
Douglas Stoup
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Douglas Stoup is the world's leading polar explorer, and has skied to both North and South Poles more than anyone on the planet. Douglas has lead international scientific expeditions to both poles, including Poletrack, in which he pioneered locator beacons that track climate change for scientists. 
As the founder and president of both Ice Axe Expeditions and the Ice Axe Foundation, he is an educator dedicated to sharing the profound beauty and fragility of our planet. He continues to push the limits of human endurance leading disabled adventurers in the polar environments while raising money for charities.

In February 2017, Douglas was awarded the Global Green People Award for his remarkable work. He's an expedition leader, environmentalist, humanitarian, father, and husband.

Tonight Douglas will regale us with stories from his skiing expeditions and adventures -- from the North Pole to the South Pole and places in between, such as Morocco, Greenland, Svalbard, and Kashmir.

http://dougstoup.com/

​Ice Axe Expeditions
www.iceaxe.tv
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​Ice Axe Foundation
​www.iceaxe.org

Douglas Stoup

Skiing the Planet: Expeditions from North Pole to South Pole and Places in Between
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November 16
(Note date change!)
Brian Skerry
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Brian Skerry is a photojournalist and film producer specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine covering stories on every continent and in nearly every ocean habitat. He is currently at work on his 29th story for NGM.
Brian is the author of 12 books. His latest book, Secrets of the Whales was released in April 2021 as part of a multiplatform project he created that includes a cover story in the May 2021 issue of National Geographic magazine and a 4-part, Emmy-winning, documentary film series on Disney +.
 
Brian is the Explorer-In-Residence and a Trustee at the New England Aquarium, a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers and a Fellow National of The Explorers Club. He also serves as a Nikon Ambassador.

Brian Skerry

Brian Skerry is an award-winning photojournalist and film producer specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. He will talk about his career as a photojournalist with National Geographic, focusing on ocean exploration, wildlife and conservation.
Tales of a Longrider: Mongolia to Hungary on Horseback
Tim Cope
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Tim Cope is an Australian adventurer, author, and film-maker who is passionate about inspiring young people to explore the world that exists beyond their doorstep. He has undertaken numerous journeys, mostly in Russia, Finland and Mongolia.
In the mid-2000s, Tim set off on his first equestrian journey, following in the steps of Genghis Khan and riding 10,000 kilometers from Mongolia to Hungary. His book, On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads, describes that adventure.
Tonight he will share stories about that trip.

Tim was named 2006 Adventurer of the Year by the Australian Geographic Society. He also received the Australian Geographic's Spirit of Adventure and Young Adventurer of the Year awards, and was listed by Outside magazine as one of the top 25 young explorers in the world today.

Tim Cope

Tales of a Longrider: 
​Mongolia to Hungary on Horseback
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The TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition
​Dario Schwoerer
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​Over the past 20 years, Dario Schwoerer and his family have travelled over 100,000 nautical miles in their expedition sailboat to inspire youth to save our planet in the fight against climate change.
The name "TOPtoTOP" (longitude and altitude) refers to their goal of traversing the seven seas as well as the reaching the highest peaks on each of the seven continents in order to connect all of the world’s climates relying only on human power and nature's force.

TOPtoTOP has circumnavigated the planet conducting field-based research for universities, scientists and research organizations; visiting the world’s most remote regions and their native inhabitants; and sharing examples of innovative solutions to protect, preserve and conserve our planet.

Tonight Dario will share stories of their journey.

Link to the expedition pages.

​2021 Annual Report
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Dario Schwoerer

The TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition
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 February 8
Melody Badgett and Bruce Chafee
Myanmar (Burma): Dichotomies, Intersection Points and a Small Oasis

​Burma is a complex place, one of absolute beauty and abject destruction at the same time. A country with 135 ethnic tribes, a history of pirates and princes, a heart that beats Buddhist, and, the longest running war in the world--70+ years of civil strife.
A week spent working in Yangon (Rangoon) and Lashio in 2017, convening scholars and Buddhists with Generals and Tribal Leaders, at a tenuous time when the Rohingya crisis was newly escalating and Aung San Suu Kyi's fragile democracy was in power (for the moment) proved to be nothing short of exceptional. As Burmese-born author and former UN Peacekeeper Thant Myint U states: "and so we are left with the same question --what to do about Burma? The answer lies in part in seeing Burma differently."

​Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn: Ski-Touring the Haute Route

Switzerland boasts over 150 Alpine Club “huts” in those famous Alps, many of them near the peaks. This provides endless choices for trekking hut-to-hut. In winter, this means skiing across glaciers, climbing up and over cols (saddles on ridges), and occasionally schussing the powder on the way down. The most-famous of the high routes between huts goes from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland; and it is referred to as simply “the” Haute Route. Join Bruce on his first ski mountaineering trip as he and his mates and guide spend 5 days with skis, skins, crampons, ski-couteaux, piolets, sun-glasses, ropes, rösti, and red wine—on the best trip of his life!

Members Night

Melody Badgett will take us to Myanmar (Burma): Dichotomies, Intersection Points and a Small Oasis

Bruce Chafee will guide us along the Haute Route from the Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn, his first ski mountaineering trip!  
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The Search for the Southernmost Tree in the World
​Brian Buma 
Brian Buma's explorations and research in southern Cape Horn were featured in National Geographic Magazine (June 2021 issue). This research included finding and documenting the world's southernmost forest and southernmost trees, about which he'll talk tonight.
A professor at the University of Colorado Denver, Brian is interested in the process of change in natural systems. His work spans from Alaska to Chile, generally focusing on high elevation and high latitude forested systems, species migration, and carbon/water cycling. As a National Geographic Explorer, he is also interested in science communication, historical ecology, and telling interesting stories to the public about the natural world.
  
   Brian Buma

​The Search for the Southernmost Tree in the World
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Into the Heart of Cuba
Daryl Hawk
Daryl Hawk is an international documentary photographer, explorer, author, TV host and producer, and lecturer. For the past thirty-five years, he has traveled alone to some of the most remote places in the world telling stories with his camera.
His talk will focus on the "heart of Cuba"—places visited only rarely by Americans. Daryl traveled to Cuba with the goal of shooting documentaries for magazines and television, and will share his day-to-day adventures, experiences, discoveries, and valuable lessons he learned on these journeys.

Daryl is a member of the Explorers Club, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Professional Photographers Association.

​   Daryl Hawk

Into the Heart of Cuba
The Artic Circle Race
Tom Armstrong
This most extraordinary race is a three day cross country ski marathon through the magnificent backcountry of Greenland's west coast. Departing from the small town of Sisimiut, 65 km north of the Arctic Circle, racers ski 160 km. over three days, nights are spent camping on the snowfields. Given the terrain and harsh conditions, the Arctic Circle Race has long been considered “the toughest ski race in the world”.

Tom Armstrong
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The Artic Circle Race: 3-Day Ski Marathon in Western Greenland​