The hairs of real animal fur are hollow, which allows them to trap air and provide insulation against the cold. Some wear the “furside” on the outside. ©Eric Rock
British explorer and Royal Navy officer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912. A hundred years later, on January 17, 2012, in honor of this historic adventure, the National Geographic Society exhibited some rare photos of the expedition, taken by Herbert Ponting. A former rancher out of California who was originally from England, Ponting’s flair for photojournalism led to his being signed on as expedition photographer aboard Scott’s ship, the Terra Nova. It marked the first time a professional photographer had been included on an Antarctic expedition.
Photos taken of intrepid adventurers during the Golden Age of Exploration always astound me. With little more than wool pants and shirts and leather boots with protruding nails for added traction, these steely men achieved amazing feats—without knowing of the fleece, Capilene and Gore-Tex we have today.
Scott led a party of five that January day, reaching the South Pole only to find that he had been preceded by Roald Amundsen’s Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott and his four comrades all perished from a combination of exhaustion, starvation and extreme cold.
It astounds me that with little more than wool pants, wool shirts and leather boots, explorers of the Golden Age—such as these men on Robert Falcon Scott’s “Terra Nova” expedition—were able to achieve amazing feats.
It seems to me that in Scott’s day, adventure meant going to an unknown place and living long enough to come back to talk about it. With no real terrestrial frontiers now left and the gear advances we have, how will we redefine adventure?
Going low-tech . . .
In 1999, in his own bid for the top, Mount Everest climber Conrad Anker discovered George Mallory’s body on the mountain. Mallory hadn’t been seen since 1924, when he and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine were spotted on Everest about 800 feet from the summit. On that day, clouds rolled in and the rest of Mallory’s expedition lost sight of him, never to find him again. The question is: did Mallory and Irvine wander off course, or did they reach the summit and perish on the way down?
In late 2004, British documentary filmmaker Anthony Geffen approached Anker and asked if he’d be interested in re-creating Mallory’s Everest climb for a movie. Anker was.
Early explorers knew nothing of the fleece, Capilene and Gore-Tex we have today. ©Mike Bruscia
Of course, Everest today is a different place than it was in Mallory’s day. Over the years, teams of climbers have fastened ropes and ladders in various locations, making the climb somewhat easier. To try to make his quest as authentic as possible, Anker got fitted for 1920s-era clothing to be used during some parts of the ascent, the specifics of which were gleaned from old photographs and expedition books.
Anker learned that Mallory and his team used many layers of clothing—up to seven on their chests and about four on their legs. Today, climbers typically use one layer and a down suit—basically, a sleeping bag that you can walk around in. While the layers of Mallory’s time trapped warmth, they also were restrictive. The mobility offered today with woven or stretch clothing was unknown to them. And lightweight boots would also have to wait for the future; Mallory’s team used heavy, leather hiking shoes with nails pounded into the soles for better traction on the ice.
Despite these hardships, Anker decided that Mallory could have made it to the top with his low-tech equipment. But he would have had to be tough.
With technological advances in gear, almost anyone today can climb Mount Everest—for a price.
. . . Or going sporty
Today, almost anyone can be taken up to Mount Everest for a fee or travel to Antarctica and survive—notions unthinkable in Mallory’s and Scott’s time.
With the world growing smaller and becoming more accessible, it seems we may have to redefine what adventure is. Perhaps it’s no longer going to unknown places and just surviving but going to familiar places and doing something active—or retro.
Do you think we need to “manufacture” our own adventures now, either by participating in an active sport or re-creating historic feats? How do we now know when we’ve reached adventure’s edge?
The interesting thing is, much like Anker, Ponting himself was a throwback to an older time. As a member of the shore party in early 1911, Ponting helped set up the Terra Nova expedition’s Antarctic winter camp at Cape Evans, Ross Island. The camp included a tiny, photographic darkroom. Although the expedition came more than 20 years after the invention of photographic film, Ponting preferred high-quality images taken on glass plates.
Now, with so much accessibility to extreme climates, how will we find that edge to adventure again? ©Eric Rock
Below is a humorous poem written by Ponting about a piece of his own outdoor gear: his sleeping bag.
The Sleeping Bag
By Herbert George Ponting
On the outside grows the furside. On the inside grows the skinside.
So the furside is the outside and the skinside is the inside.
As the skinside is the inside (and the furside is the outside)
One ‘side’ likes the skinside inside and the furside on the outside.
Others like the skinside outside and the furside on the inside
As the skinside is the hard side and the furside is the soft side.
If you turn the skinside outside, thinking you will side with that ‘side,’
Then the soft side furside’s inside, which some argue is the wrong side.
If you turn the furside outside—as you say, it grows on that side,
Then your outside’s next the skinside, which for comfort’s not the right side.
For the skinside is the cold side and your outside’s not your warm side
And the two cold sides coming side-by-side are not the right sides one ‘side’ decides.
If you decide to side with that ‘side,’ turn the outside furside inside
Then the hard side, cold side, skinside’s, beyond all question, inside outside.
Here’s to finding your true places and natural habitats,
Candy
I personally believe adventure is many things for many people! However, there are those who wish to push themselves beyond the comfort zone. I am one of them. I make no apologies. It has its rewards and downfalls. I say, to each their own, and may the spark of adventure continue to grow.
I don’t believe that adventures need to be “manufactured” or “recreated” for them to be meaningful. Traveling through some off-the-beaten path, exotic land will usually present new experiences even if that locale has been explored and mapped out by others previously. It doesn’t matter that someone was there first or accomplished it in a low-tech manner. As weather, cultural encounters, wildlife encounters, etc will vary for each traveler through that region, so too will the specific adventures he/she will experience. Additionally, the personal perspective of the traveler matters too. Someone who is experiencing something for the first time will likely find it to be an exhilarating adventure, more so than others who may have experienced on several occasions. And regarding the replication of using low-tech equipment or even traveling without preventative medication, IMHO that’s just being irresponsible and taking unnecessary risks. Given that many of us are in it for the photography, I’m sure that our goal is to survive our adventures so that we and others can enjoy the images we’ve made.
it depends up on the type of mentality one keeps in every adventure
I like a connection with history!
Beautifully said, V.R.! LIFE is an adventure!
I am reminded of the commentary on a card in the Osho Zen Tarot “Adventure really has nothing to do with plans and maps and programs and organization. Adventure represents a quality that can come to us anywhere – at home or in the office, in the wilderness or in the city, in a creative project or in our relationships with others. Whenever we move into the new and unknown with the trusting spirit of a child, innocent and open and vulnerable, even the smallest things of life can become the greatest adventures. ” As a tour operator, my job is to prepare itineraries – journeys. The top circuit in India is The Golden Triangle – Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, travelled by thousands of tourists every year – for some it is a holiday of a life time, for others a gauntlet – the same journey ! Is Adventure the “Frontier” Kevin Costner wished to experience in “Dances with Wolves” or is it something we have when we fry an egg or brew a coffee. The way I see it, Adventure/Discovery is everywhere in every moment. A journey to the North Pole is no adventure if I would rather be elsewhere. I think adventure is the preparedness to receive, and “manufacturing” a journey that “seeds and nurtures” such preparedness is a desirable necessity.