Tuesday night we all prepared our gear for the following day to the Matterhorn Glacier. We were given mountaineering boots, tents, mats, sleeping bags, cooking gear, harnesses, food, a Werner knife and new Petzl headlamps ! All of this equiptment we packed in our backpacks and took with us the following day to Zermatt and the Matterhorn Glacier.
Wednesday, we ate breakfast around 5 am and we were on our way by 6am. The team from the Mayo Clinic gave half of us arm bands to wear, which took measurements of our energy expended throughout our time at higher elevations.
The other half wore wrist bands with a finger clip that measured oxygen levels and pulse rate while sleeping at 3,750 m (approx. 12,000 ft). We left Château-d ‘ Oex in the rain and after 2 ½ hours by car, 20 minute train ride to Zermatt and three cabel cars up the mountain, it was blizzarding. We set up the tents inside the building and then walked them outside into the storm to set them up. The wind was very strong and our tents were almost being wipped out of our hands as we tried to secure them to the ground with poles and ice piks. It was thrilling…especially for Jye (from Australia) and Robs (from South Africa), who have never seen snow before ! Basil and Leon, from Singapore, have never seen such high and impressive mountains before so this excursion was very new to them and all of the rest of the young explorers.
We slept three to a tent and the Mike Horn team, French guides and French reporters slept in a large neon green, bubble-like tent that took all of us to set up. To weather out the storm, we hunkered down in our tents and tried to boil water for soup with only one lighter that didn’t work at first. However, after warming and drying it in our armpits, we were succesful and happily drank our soup.
At 8 pm the storm passed and we all stepped out of our tents in time to see the sun slowly set behind the majestic Matterhorn. It was a sight we will all remember vividly ! Some of the young explorers were slightly sick from the altitude, however they were able to see the view. After the sun set we all ran to our tents because it became dark very fast. Some of the tent groups were succesful in making noodles for dinner and some ate snacks before we all settled down for a good sleep….or so we thought….The tents were very narrow, wet and cold.
This day was a great experience and challenge for all of us and we all learned a lot from it ! We can’t wait for our next adventure !
Today, all of us went on morning exercise at 7 AM before eating! It was very cool to run with the others into the forests of Switzerland. We past some muddy and wet bridges which were extremely slippery and it was very funny. We also ran on narrow roads & trails and we had to be carful all the time. Next, we did some agility training, running between poles, we performed some pull-ups and some push-ups in groups. We then ran flat out to “Hôtel de ville”. A few people had difficulties to follow the groups’ rhythm then we had to support them and that gave them strength to finish the trail. From there we just walked around Mike’s Hotel to cool down and stretch from the run, hungry for a much needed breakfast (NutellaJ)
Everyone really enjoyed and it was a true team work too!!!!
Early start for tomorrow, we’re all REALLY excited!!!
Hugo Clément
A team from Mercedes-Benz came to visit us today. We were divided into two groups , one went on test-driving Blue-Efficiency cars and the other one stayed for a seminar about these same cars. They told us how the car’s shape, tyres and weight can have an influence on it’s efficiency and economy on gasoline. We talked about Mercedes new Blue-Effeciency technology and the hybrid technology, that is a mix of an electronic car with petrol fuel, and why these two new types of vehicles have low CO2 emmissions. Then in the test drive we could see through a devise called eco-log that measured the fuel needed during the ride, the time taken, the speed, etc. This way we could really see how economical the car is and the types of situations where it will waste more fuel. So then they tea ched us how to reduce our fuel consumation by breaking less and just letting the car slowdown by itself (when possible, of course). Then we tested their advices and we proved that it saves gasoline by doing these small ‘’tricks‘’. In the end we were able to test drive a F-Cell car that uses Hydrogen as its fuel and is electric as well. There’s only nine of these in the world, but one of them was here with us ! It looks and it rides like a normal car, really smooth and it is really quiet. And still we had a workshop to construct a small F-Cell car, that produced hydrogen out of water and then have fuel to move.
Today’s experiences were pretty amazing and we learned a lot.
As one sees the view of this beautiful place from the airplane, every soul would know that they have almost reached their dream destination. Coming to Switzerland and being part of the Young Explorers Program was something not many would have imagined.
Meeting my fellow participants at the airport was exciting, of course after a little drama at the airport with the immigration and baggage. Soon all of that was forgotten when I had to meet students from all over the world. Heading for our short drive to Hotel De Ville. All of us were busy talking and quickly exchanging our names and countries. And then there was a little bit of ooh-ing and aa-ing looking at the scenic view Geneva had. We stopped for a small break where Alexis got me this new drink called SPARKLING WATER,
which added to my excitement, it was just water with bubbles I figured!
Reaching the hotel and exploring to see how wonderful our rooms were was next on our agenda, new roommates, beds and everything so perfect. We had Martin give us a brief on what we have ahead of us for the next ten days and how exciting it would be followed by an inspiring talk from MIKE HORN, THE man. He was telling us how much he values what he is doing and how we must learn to do the same, but I am sure everyone in the room felt the same for we are privileged to be explorers. The big day came to an end with
distributing T-Shirts and caps and truck loads of excitement.
The morning agenda started with cycling. Which was another huge event in my day. I walk up to see these amazing looking bikes, I was so thrilled. Just to realize I was unable to ride the bike, as they were so different from what it is in India. I tell myself to give it a shot and I try which is when Jye tells me that the bikes have gears and I had no idea how to use them. Trying to ride a distance, I see my fellow explorers have gone a long way and I come back to the hotel to avoid losing my way.
It has been very eventful till the moment, it is good to be in a quiet place like Geneva unlike the ever-bustling India, it is also really different and there is so much to learn. With the day ahead packed with more activities, I look forward to join the other explorers in completing my activities, rathersuccessfully, making every moment more memorable. We all know we are here for a reason, and we all look forward to do our best and giving to all to the Mike Horn Team.
'Yesterday's history, tomorrow is a mystery…but today's a gift. that's why its called "present." đ
MIke and the crew speak about sailing around the Nortern tip of Sumatra. They are exited to arrive at Padang and discover the surfing territory of the Mentawi Islands. Click here to see latest images…..
Wet weather in Switzerland did not ruin today's excitment as the Young Explorers arrived in Château-d'Oex for the start of the fifth Selection Camp.
Tired after their long journey but happy to be here, the Young Explorers quickly familiarised themselves with their fellow camarades and their new surroundings in this small Swiss village.
Tonight the Young Explorers were welcomed by the Mike Horn Team and were debriefed by Mike Horn and his brother Martin.
In preparation for their first day of challenges the Young Explorers went early to bed, ready and excited about the next 10 days that lay ahead of them.
"Progress has been slow along Sumatra's south western coast. The boat speed dropped to 7knots due to a strong 40knot headwind. We have about 100nm to go until we arrive at Padang and are beating into a SW swell and big waves. It is not deep water along the coast and we have to be on the lookout for coral and small islands. All this is made very difficult with constant horizontal rain. We hope conditions will improve soon."
On the 25th of April Mike lifts Pangaea's anchor and sails out of the port of Langkawi where she has spent the last two months undergoing repairs and maintenance work.
'We've been here long time', says Mike. 'We have acheived a great deal while we have been here but its great to pull up the sails and take to the ocean again. Since we have been here we have done a great deal of work on Pangaea, making her more 'user friendly' and fixing things that had been bothering me for quite a while now.'
'It was a wonderful experience staying in Malaysia and never before have I seen people so motivated to help us to acheive our goals. I saw many people from the governement and have had magnificent support since the first day I arrived.'
'We are leaving today but it will not be for long. Along with the support from the Malaysian government I will set up a camp for Malaysian youths, integrating them into the Pangaea Young Explorer Programme. The government will give us amazing opportunities and will let us use their land to teach our Pangaea ambassadors about conservation and protection of the environment.'
'Since we left Langkawi we haven't had the best sailing conditions. We have 25knots of head on winds and big swells. We'll sail for three days before arriving at our destination of Padang in Indonesia. We are traveling at 9 kots and have 481 nautical mikes to go.'
Mike will keep us informed of his progress as he sails to Indonesia and starts the next exciting leg of the Pangaea Expedition.
Mike and his crew prepare Pangaea to leave Malaysia while the next group of Young Explorers are getting ready to attend the Selection Camp in Switzerland.
Young Explorer Elena Kiseleva investigates environmental problems concerning the reopening of a paper mill at Lake Baikal, Russia.
We have a famous expression that Russia isn't just Moscow. It means that mostly for-eigners judge our country by the capital. But if you leave a busy life of heavy traffic and noisy center and go to Kamchatka, Sakhalin or other far places, you'll feel you're on the different planet.
I felt something like that when I found myself in Irkutsk, one of the largest cities in Sibe-ria. Just about 65 kilometres separate it from the «Pearl of Siberia», Lake Baikal, the oldest and the deepest lake in the world. Its maximum depth is 1642 metres! At the same time it's the most voluminious freshwater lake in the world and contains a total of roughly 20 persent of the world's surface fresh water. Lake Baikal hosts 1085 species of plants and 1550 varieties of animals. Most of them are unique like the Baikal seal nerpa or the omul, a smallish salmonid. Now Lake Baikal is among the clearest of all lakes in the world. But it can change soon…
Day 1
My trip to Irkutsk wasn't for the purpose of tourism. I was sent there by Mike Horn and his team in order to see what happens with a much-talked-of Baykalsk pulp and paper mill, meet some ecological organizations and locals. This factory was constructed in 1966, directly on the shore line of Baikal, bleaching paper with chlorine and discharging waste into the lake. After decades of protest, the plant was closed in November 2008. However, recently the government decided to reopen it for creation of new working places for locals. So, the production was resumed in January 2010. The first day in Irkutsk me and Dmitry, a photographer of Mike Horn's team, visited a rally against the factory which was organised by some ecological organisations. Over 1500 locals came to the main square to support this protest. During the speeches of fa-mous people of Irkutsk, ex-workers of the factory and guests of the city every person could sign a letter to UNESCO with a request for help. By the way, Baikal Lake got a status of World Heritage property in 1996.
Day 2
Early morning we were sitting at the bus on the way to Baykalsk, a town where Baykalsk pulp and paper mill is situated. The main social problem there is that people don't know where to work. Reopening of the plant in fact it's not this situation solving. Some ex-workers tell that they will never come back there in any case, the other ones own they would like to find more suitable work place but it's nowhere to go. At the same time these places have the wonderful opportunities for development of eco tourism that could in-crease work places tenfold and show people from all over the world how beautiful here is. Local people have a lot of enthusiasm here. The problem is money. We got out of the bus and decided to walk as far as the plant. I didn't saw the mill even but I already felt the smell like rotten eggs. Just ten minutes later I saw a several huge chiminees and smoke that went up. It was forbidden to go inside the plant that's why we walked round and came right to Baikal. It's difficult to say when it's more amazing here, in summer or in winter. But I definitely can say that in the end of March Baikal Lake is awesome! There is a solid ice and a lot of snow everywhere so you can walk, run, try to make an ice hole and so on. The blocks of ice that I managed to see were really pelluced. It means that water here is still very clean.
We saw some fishermen far away from us and wanted to speak with them. We were walk-ing about an hour in deep snow and when we came to the tent of fishmen at last, nobody was inside. There was a big ice hole in the middle and a lot of small fish near it. We met a fishman just when we came back to the road as he was standing right there and watch-ing us. «There are some settling ponds near with the waste from the mill», he said. «They aren't frozen over in winter and you can see ducks and fish there. But even dogs and cats refuse to eat their meat. The owners of the plant says that these settling ponds aren't con-nected with Baikal but nobody is sure in it».
Day 3
That day was full of meetings. The locals residents Vasiliy Zabello, a poet, and Taisa Baryshenko, a local activist, shown us the settling ponds. They both worked on the paper mill some time because they had to feed their families but now they left it. Vasiliy says: «I was born here, I like these mountains, forests, Baikal… We fondly call this lake «a sea». So it's very sad to see what's going on here with the plant. Why it's impossible to think of the other alternative? When Baykalsk pulp and paper mill was closed, some companies wanted to invest money to eco tourism here but they abandoned their's plans when the plant was reopened. Who wants to come to the place where it's smells rotten eggs and water is poisoned?». «We sighed with relief when the Baykalsk pulp and paper mill was closed. The air became clean and many tourists started to come. Here we have wonderful beaches with red sand, it's difficult to find the same somewhere else. But now we have to fight for the ecology again. What will we leave to our generations? Just pol-luted environment and illnesses? You know too much people ill here because of the bad ecology», Taisa tells.
In order to have some positive emotions we decided to visit a several local sights. One of them was Russian bathhouse created from (!) ice. Nikolay, a creator of this unusual place, has never studied that art before so I was shocked. It's unbelievable but he used about 164 tonnes of Baikal's ice for it. Another interesting place we managed to see was «Soboli-naya mountain», a famous local ski resort. It's wonderful zone for relax but it has one problem. The smell from the plant goes to this place from time to time… While we were waiting for the bus to Irkutsk, we decided to have some rest and tried the local food. One of the main dishes here is omul. Fried omul, broiled omul, tempure omul… This fish is everywhere! I have to say that you must visit Baikal at least for tasting this delicious fish! The other tasty food was pancakes with strawberry. Just here people raise so big and sweet berries and tourists miss it a lot when they back home from Bai-kal.
In the evening we found ourselves in Irkutsk as we arranged to meet with the local eco-logical organizations such as the Baikal Environmental Wave and the Great Baikal Trail. Both organizations have volunteers from the whole world and always welcome people who are interested in environment because there is a lot of work here. «Baikal and the places near it are unique. For example, Tunkinskaya valley near the bor-der with Mongolia», tells Marina Rikhvanova, who works in the Baikal Environmental Wave. «There are Buryat sacred places, hot springs, remains of old rice fields, old Chi-nese tea way, Buddhist templs and out-of-the-ways villages where shamans still live». «Well, the north of Baikal is pretty good too», Elena Agarkova adds. Elena moved to New York when she was 14 and grew up there. Once she decided to go to Baikal and fell in love with this place. Recently Elena won a fellowship of Institute of Current World Affairs and thanks to it studies management of natural resourses and the relationship be-tween Siberia's natural riches and its people. «There is a famous Barguzinskiy reserve which was created for protection of the barguzinskiy sable. Near you can find a Barguzin mountain range; if go through this range, after some days you can approach right to Bai-kal».
For this meeting a lot of volunteers of the Great Baikal Trail came. They were young people, mostly from the local universities who wanted to act and make a difference. Me and Dmitry presented the Pangaea project and knew something interesting about their activity as well.
Day 4
The Great Baikal Trail works to develop, maintain, promote, and protect Russia’s first network of hiking trails. «For example, we had a project in the village Bolshaya Goloust-naya», Natasha Luzhkova, a project coordinator says. «There is a picturesque Saint Mountain where shamans had their rituals a lot of years ago. The locals asked us to help them and build a trail up to this mountain. We brought into play Russian and German schoolchildren, it was a great experience. Our projects don't include just development of trails, we do a lot of social work, support young leaders. Last year our volunteer Dima thought of the Eco English camp where foreign volunteers taught the local guys English and helped in different ecologicals programmes. Now we have an idea to create the camp where the locals could teach Russian. We support every plan!»
Natasha told us about another interesting project where some local volunteers took part in. Every summer Tahoe-Baikal Institute hosts North American, Russian, Mongolian, and other international undergraduate, graduate, and young professional participants for 10-week environmental exchange. Participants spend five weeks at Lake Baikal and five weeks at Lake Tahoe, the US, meeting with top scientists and environmental policy-makers, developing and presenting research projects, and conducting ecological restora-tion work.
As me and Dmitry were so excited about what they guys do we wanted to spend with them one day. The regular camp was located in Tanhoi, a small township. But that day volunteers was visiting another township Vydrino and we met them here. Usually the winter camps are pretty small as more people prefer to come in summer. So, we got to know Monika Hiller (Switzerland), Nora Huth (Germany), Rolf Sieber (Switzerland), Robert Thomas (Canada), Inna Phomina, Nastya Anpilova and Anya Belova from Russia. With them we managed to see the local attractions like library and museum, arthouse and houses of locals. When we came to the arthouse, little and laughing kids surrounded us: there were classes where they danced, played musical instruments, sang, created some-thing from paper, silver bark, plasticine… I was really surprised when I saw two 3-year-old boys playing chess!
We made a presentation of the Pangaea programme there for the young and their parents. «It's so cool what you are guys doing!», said me a young boy after the presentation. «Un-fortunately, I'm just 12 years old and I don't speak English well», he added lamentably. «You still have time to improve it», I smiled. «We'll do all our best!», promised guys who surrounded me for taking my contacts…
We visited the houses of music teacher and painter as well. Although I knew how a tradi-tional Russian house in the village looks like it was very interesting to go inside. Tatyana, a teacher, graduated from a prestige university but decided to stay here in order to de-velop music and help little talents. She also composes music and believe me I seldom heard something more beautiful. But Nikolay's story surprised me even more. He is a lo-cal painter, very respected person in the village. He was paralyzed for some years but love of art returned him to the life.
In the evening we already were in Tanhoi. I found a minute and spoke with guys from the Great Baikal Trail. «I came to the Great Baikal Trale five years ago with friend», Anya Belova relates. «We didn't know geography very well, applied for the volunteer project and it turned out that we chose the farthest place from the list. But it was a great holidays because we spent it building the steps in the cave! Then I took part in the projects like interpreter and now I'm a project coordinator so I develop my own ideas and work with groups of volunteers».
«We help to the Baikal reserve a lot», Inna Fomina adds. «It's a hard time for this unique place now but very enthusiastic people work there. They build the ethnic settlements, de-velop a local museum. We translate in different languages the lists of birds and animals of the reserve for them. We are going to help with creation of museum of the stuff of poachers because a lot of work against them are done here. You can find the great oppor-tunities for biological research here as well, everyone is welcome!»
But it's time to ask our foreign friends why they decided to come here. «I wanted to get away from Vancouver you know and find any volunteer project abroad», Robert Thomas says. «When I knew about the Great Baikal Trale I was so impressed. The description was that we would live in the small village and according to the list of equipment we had to take some headlamps with us. I thought: «Okay, I have to be ready for a real camp life». But when I came here I found that the conditions are much better than I expected. I like to feel that I do some real important things here». He mentioned also the problem of the mill: «In Canada ordinary people have more power I think. That's why I can't imagine the same situation there. I think you guys must pay attention of the international commu-nity, maybe it can help».
«I heard that Russian nature is amazing and local people are very true and warm so I wanted to check it that's why I'm here», Nora Huth says. «Concerning the plant, in Ger-many we had a lot of discussions about the nuclear power stations. But I think the situa-tion is much worse here and have to be solved immediately».
Day 5
We are in Baykalsk again. When we were leaving the camp, we met a local fishman Fe-dor. «When the plant was open, sometimes we had the fishing nets full of cellulose. For about two years a lot of healthy and large fish appeared. Just because the government closed Baykalsk pulp and paper». He also mentioned that the activity of the plant influ-ence people's health. We checked it when found ourselves in the house of Irina, a woman who worked there. After her husband became deaf because of the hazardous work condi-tions in the plant, he left it and found a new job far from his home. They have two cute daughters: one of them has asthma, another one is allergic. The doctors say that this air is bad for them. But what should they do? Nowhere to go.
Before moving to Irkutsk me and Dmitry came to see Nikolay Osipenko, a local resident who created a great garden. In winter he has a special greenhouse where orchids, citruses and other plants are blowing. He shown us not only beautiful plants but also a collection of precious stones which he collected, for example, sky-blue lazurit. Not far from these places are pools of this stone, the same you can find just in Chile and Afganistan. «Our nature is very rich here», Nikolay concludes. «It's possible to take out all chemicals from the plant and use actual power of the mill for the other purposes. There were a lot of ideas of locals, for example creation a factory for recycling. But the main possible project is a development of tourism because such a biodiversity can be found nowhere but in this place».
On the board of the plane to Moscow I had so many thoughts in my head. Lake Baikal and the places around have many natural resources and spiritual wealth that we should be proud of. Maybe ordinary people can't change anything but it will be much worse if we wouldn't try! Even if you live too far from all these problems, it's not right to think that it's not concern you. We have one world, one nature. And it's our time to make a differ-ence.
Elena Kiseleva Irkutsk-Baykalsk-Vydrino-Tanhoi-Moscow
P.S. Sign a letter to UNESCO and keep Baikal alive! Many people have already done it. Join them! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/keep-baikal-alive
On the 14th of April, Mike was invited to visit Malaysia's Chief District Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman at Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah.
Talks were had about the integration of Pangaea's Environmental Training Camps to the Sabah district. The Minister said he would like more Malaysian youths to participate in exploration projects and will assist Mike in everyway possible to form environmental ambassadors.
Sabah province is rich with resources, natural beauty and unique cultures and as Mike Horn says, is the perfect place for young explorers to Explore – Learn – Act and use their experiences to pass on a positive environmental message, not only to Malaysia, but also to the rest of the world.