Day 3 – Blog written by Inge and Raghav

Today, after waking to the soothing sound of the South African vuvuzela, we put on our jogging kit, grabbed our costumes and towels, and headed over to the local pool, an olympic sized outdoor pool. It was a huge relief to find that the water wasn’t too cold, although our unfortunate water-camera-man, Simon, might disagree. After a really fun swimming session, consisting of races, challenges, survival and fun, we jogged back home for our breakfast (and not a moment too soon ‘cause we were all pretty hungry by then!)

After breakfast we were introduced to two representative eco-driving instructors from Mercedes-Benz who, in addition to giving us loads of awesome gifts, gave us a very interesting presentation on eco-friendly driving, fuel effeciency, blue-tech, their new S400 hybrid, and the F-Cell prototype.

After our presentations our groups (or those with driver’s licences at least) got a chance to drive with the driving instructors and compare our fuel effeciency from before our eco-effeciency lecture and of course, a bit of healthy competition. Martin had the highest decrease in fuel consumption and C02 emmisions, with Lucas and Magdalena having second and third most respectively and Constantin had the best average, which really means he had the best fuel effeciency.

Although driving with the instructors was a really great experience, the highlight of the day for most of us was definitely driving the F-Cell, worth roughly one million euros and of which there are only 200 available in the world. We were pretty nervous to drive the cars, « fuelled by » a combination of driving on the « wrong side of the road », driving a hugely expensive car and of course driving on the narrowest roads EVER, however, after feeling how smooth and quiet and all in all amazing it was to drive, our nerves were settled and we could take in all that the car had to offer. The F-Cell truly combines luxury, performance and an eco-friendly philosophy. I definitely know what I’m saving up for next !

Someone rightly said that ,’ Those who think they do not have enough time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness’. Today was the day when we realized the importance of fitness. It started off in the evening with Martin leading us to do wall climbing. It turned out to be quite an interesting sport for most of us especially the ones like me who were doing it for the first time. What is the most amazing part of this sport is that it works out all our body muscles, at the same time as improving body co-ordination and control.

After an hour of wall climbing and dinner, we had a wonderful interactive session with experts from Mayo clinic who had flown in all the way from the US. We were shown presentations about a number of relevant topics. Firstly, we discussed about the fitness tests that are going to be conducted tomorrow and what all factors we will be evaluated for. Secondly, we were explained what fitness is all about and its vitality in our daily lives. Thirdly, we discussed, about the effects of dehydration and controlling the level of water and sodium in the body. After that, came the discussion about obesity and its spread in various countries and its relation to climate change and industrialization. We learnt quite a lot about how it affects our lives and how we can counter that. At last, we performed an amazing activity, generating electricity by pedaling and using it to power various electronic devices.

At 10.30 we called it day, and went to bed in anticipation of another amazing day in Chàteau-D’Oex.

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Day 2 – Blog writen by Li Jie and Daniel

After resting from our various flights and train rides from yesterday we embarked on an early morning jog through the Swiss mountains. Everyone thought the view was amazing. For most of us the landscape is completely different from what we are used to. It only made us realise how real this experience is. Some of us struggled at first, but in the end we got the best of the exercise.

After breakfast we had an awesome discussion about the history, climate and ‘need to knows’ of Mongolia with Dr. Roswitha Stolz. Everyone agrees that Mongolia is definitely a place to explore and the enthusiasm to be there is great and still increasing.

In the evening, we learnt about soil, its degradation and how to measure it characteristics through simple experiments. We learnt a lot about climate change and more specifically desertification. This was all in preparation for the Mongolia Expedition.

We ended our fun filled day with a course in basic photography with Ben and Dmitri providing great tips. During the course we happily snapped away hundreds of photos of each other as well as the amazing scenery. More than a few batteries were drained in the end.

All in all we had a fun filled day. We got to know each other better and all of us are waiting in anticipation for tomorrow.

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D-day – It's an exciting day for our new group of Young Explorers! Today they meet up in Switzerland after traveling from all corners of the world.

They appear tired after their long trips but are already familiarising themselves with their new environment and friends. Even after a few hours the YEP's are already getting on very well. It certainly seems that  a lot of laughter and fun will be on the cards this week!!

As soon as the last YEP's arrive, dinner will be served and we will start with the formal introductions from the Mike Horn Team.

Below are the new YEPs' that will be battling for their place to join Mike Horn in Mongolia in August;

Daniel Louw, 16yrs, South Africa / Inge Pietersen, 20yrs, South Africa / Raghav Kataria, 16yrs, India / Jen Ho Ker, 16yrs, Malaysia / Li Jie Goh, 20 yrs, Singapore / Nicolette Meyer, 17yrs, Singapore / Lucas Lovell, 18yrs, Australia / Sophia Paul, 17yrs, Austria / Constantin Vogt, 19yrs, Germany / Magdalena Gründl, 18yrs, Germany / Rebecca Berker, 16yrs, Germany / Agnieszka Mierska, 19yrs, Poland / Joanna Krzyzanowska, 19yrs, Poland / Akira Biondo, 19yrs, Switzerland / Tirza Niklaus, 18yrs, Switzerland / Martin Añon, 20yrs, Argentina

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After a two day bus drive the Young Explorers and the Pangaea Team arrive in Islamabad.
"What an experience! The drive was out of this world! We saw sand storms, rock falls and incredible scenery. Its great to be back on a soft bed and under a hot shower." says a tired but happy YE!

MIKE HORN AND YOUNG EXPLORERS SUMMIT AND NAME UNKNOWN HIMALAYAN PEAK !

14th of June 2010: Mike Horn's Team leads Pangaea's Young Explorers to a victorious summit of an unknown peak at just over 6'000 meters of altitude in the Himalaya's. He reports; "It was a tough climb. The Young Explorers showed incredible stamina and determination to reach the summit. They dealt remarkably with the weather, deep snow and high altitude. The Pangaea Team, Mayo Clinic research specialists and Nazir Sabirs team worked together with expertise and professionalism. The idea of leaving the Pangaea name on the atlas and marking this spot for eternity symbolises the goals of the young explorers – to enlighten the younger generation about the beauty of the planet and find ways to protect it for the future generations for years and years to come."

June 14 th 2010 – Summit Day

"Today was one of those days that you do not want to forget for a long time. With allot of hard work will power and dedication the young explorers stood proudly on the summit of an unclimbed peak, it is now up to them to name the peak, and that part of the Baltoro history has been written."

"Seeing them from a distance climbing to the top and being the first expedition this year to reach an unnamed summit in the Karakoram mountain range, made me extremely proud of what they have achieved.
It was not only a physical mountain they were climbing but an internal mountain, growing inside them self's each step of the way.  This achievement will make them better people and will change their life's forever. A unique opportunity provided to them that they grabbed on with both hands and treasured all the way to the top."

"In today's life we as adults, try and protect our kids instead of setting them free, giving them wings to fly so that they can discover their own capabilities and who they really are."

"With this I would like to thank all my sponsors for giving us all in Pakistan this unique opportunity."

Mike Horn

Lake clean-up at the 2nd YEP meeting in Stuttgart

It was about sharks, about the pollution of our oceans by plastic, it was about the Pangaea Food Gardening Project, about acting, exchanging ideas, meeting each other, discussing and having fun.

On 29th May the second Young Explorers Meeting was held in Stuttgart. We all arrived with high expectations as YEP meetings are well known for unforgettable encounters and spontaneous actions, which didn’t come off badly, this time.

At 09:00 we met at the train station in Stuttgart. Lörrach, Basel, Darmstadt, Freiburg and Heidelberg, we all had quite a long journey behind us. But already at the station was clear: It was worth it. Together we made our way to Cafe Künstlerbund at the Schlossplatz in Stuttgart. After Manuel and Florence gave us a short presentation on their India Expedition, Simon gave us an introduction on the Pangaea Shark Project.
Then we went out for the distribution of YEP flyers and the selling of Postcards for the Pangaea Food Gardening Project. The interest of the people seemed to be particularly great that day.

Suddenly Marian came up with an extraordinary idea: "Let’s clean up the lake at the Schlossplatz in Stuttgart”, he said. A cleanup in the middle of Stuttgart? Sounds crazy?

But we didn’t hesitate for a long time: Shoes off, trousers rolled up and there we went. Within half an hour, we collected six bags of plastic trash. The action was a complete success. People began to ask about what we do. We were able to arouse their interest and tell them about the problem of plastic in our oceans. Of course every one of the passers were given a YEP flyer.

Young Explorer Basil Tan who just returned to Singapore after completing the Selection Camp in Switzerland is reaching out to the media and passing on the Pangaea message to the world.

Click here to read his article in the Singaporean Strait Times….

MIke Horn is ready to greet the new group of Young Explorers as they arrive in the small swiss village of Château-d'Oex today. The 16 young explorers will be coming from all corners of the world and are looking forward to meeting face to face their camarades that they have being speaking with over the last months on the social networing interfacre of the Pangaea Expedition. The Mike Horn team have been preparing for this moment for a long time and are eager to get the ball rolling and to see how these youths react in their new environment.

We will bring to you regular updates of the team as they go through their scheduled activities. It'll be an excitng week for everybody involved and we are sure the youths will have an amazing time.

The next generation of Young Explorers has now been announced! The Pangaea jury pain-stakingly sieved through the hundreds of applications that were sent to the offices in Switzerland. Youths for all corners of the world, covering each of the six continents, have now been chosen to attend the selection camp for the next expedition to join Mike Horn in the Himalayas which will take place in June.

In the beginning of May,16 youths will join the Mike Horn Team in Switzerland for 10 days. Their names have now been announced;

Robyn Lighton, 17 yrs, South Africa / Kai Pryce-Fitchen, 16yrs, South Africa / Shruti Neelakantan,19yrs, India / Leonard Chua Jun Yi, 17yrs, Singapore / Basil Tan She Jeeng , 20yrs, Singapore / Jye Kluske, 19yrs, Australia / Alexander Groos, 20yrs, Germany / Daniel Hübner, 20yrs, Germany / Iga SobaÅ„ska, 18yrs, Poland / Tiziana Gees, 19yrs, Switzerland / Lauren Morrell, 15yrs, USA / Erica Wineland-Thomson, 20yrs, USA / Elisa Rodrigues Alves, 16yrs, Brazil / Hugo Clément, 17yrs, France / François Poisbeau, 20yrs, France / Ashwini Menon, 19yrs, Malaysia.

We congratulate these candidates on their successful applications and are very much looking forward to meeting them soon in Château-d'Oex, Switzerland where they will undergo and interesting ten days of fun, activitiy and discovery.

On the 1st of March our two German YEP's Kertisn Dorner and Manuel Löffler were invited by Mercedez-Benz head office in Stuttgart to discover the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell.

Kerstin and Manuel had an exciting day and participated in the test driving of this remarkable car. Travelling from Stuttgart to Kirchheim our YEP's reported this car as one which takes ingenuity and advancement to the limits.

Manuel reports "Mercedez-Benz have created a truely amazing 'state-of-the-art' car – a must to have for all future young drivers who care about todays envirnonment."

To find out more click here

Kerstin's Blog

See the MB Clip here