Kicking off 2025 with an evening of camaraderie at the Fjällräven store in Seattle.

Date: January 24, 2025
Time: 6:30–8:00 PM
Location: Fjällräven Store, 101 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101 (parking structure right across the street)

We’re excited to welcome chapter member John All as our featured speaker. John will share stories from his latest flag expedition to Aconcagua (6962m/ 22,841 ft) - the highest point in South America - and his role as executive director for the American Climber Science Program.

Enjoy drinks and snacks while connecting with fellow chapter members and hearing about John’s adventures in some of the world’s most remote and beautiful places.

The event is open to all. We look forward to seeing you there!

More information about John All: www.johnall.com | www.climberscience.com 

Our annual Chapter lunch is a warm and inclusive event, open to all chapter members, their families, and their friends. We hope to see you there!

Please click here to register.

Location: Hotel Sorrento in Seattle, Washington

Address: 900 Madison St. Seattle, WA 98104

Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024

Time: 12:00 - 3:00 PM PST

Cost: Members $50, non-members $60. An email from our chapter will go out regarding how to confirm and pay for this event.

Speaker, Kim Frank: Where the Forest Roars: Asian Elephants from Conflict to Coexistence along the Eastern Himalaya, India

While issues involving African elephants are widely known, stories of interactions between wild Asian elephants and humans receive far less attention. There is an intense conflict between humans and elephants throughout India. Still, the conflict is particularly acute in the remote foothills of the Himalayas, at the intersection of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. Each year, a disproportionate number of humans and elephants are killed in northern West Bengal, a biodiverse and politically charged hot spot just three-quarters the size of Long Island, within sight of Kanchenjunga. Explorers Club Fellow Kim Frank has spent six years living and working with stakeholders to raise awareness and find solutions to this intense conflict. Her work has resulted in four international publications, a book, and now a new documentary in post-production entitled Where the Forest Roars.

Speaker, Peter Dekluyver: Design and Test of Low-cost Vacuum-Rated EVA Pressure Suits

My exploration involves making low-cost cost, fully functional pressure suits. The suits are an amalgamation and smorgasbord of various facets of engineering and design - material science, adhesive sciences, electrical engineering, and quite a large dose of mech eng. I got into suit design via a fellow club member, Dr. Cam Smith, who runs the PAC Space Flight in Portland, Oregon. In late 2019, I helped his team make a CO2 Scrubber. Standing on the shoulders of giants is my motto. Much of what I do and know is from his hard work over the last decade. In 2022, I started making my own suits and life support systems. Three suits and two backpacks later, I've made considerable improvements to how suits are made and much more flexible joints. Using my approach, I've managed the cost per suit to under $4,000 per unit and am continuing to innovate.

This will be a wonderful chapter gathering in Oregon with a theme around Oceans.

Date: Saturday, October 26th, 2024

Time: 12 pm - 4 pm Pacific Time

Location: Rick Williams home in Oregon City, 30 minutes outside Portland (see the email from pacificnorthwest@explorers.org for Rick’s home address)

Food: Potluck! And we'll fill in any gaps for snacks and drinks. A hosted dinner will be served for those who can stay.

RSVP: Please fill this out: https://forms.gle/X72qQrpWxTiLcog98 and you'll that form has details for both the meeting and the hosted dinner. And remember guests are always very welcome.

Theme: Oceans

Talks: Ocean Exploration

Paul North: An Inquiry of Invertebrates - A global perspective on the tiny and overlooked life forms that populate the oceans, featuring Paul's macrophotography. Paul is a polar diver and founder of Meet the Ocean (www.meettheocean.org) and a wonderful human in many ways.

Rick Williams: Think Deep(ly): Applying lessons from deep submergence to community disaster resilience.

It’s time for the annual Thor Heyerdahl lecture!

Easter Island/Rapa Nui is one of the most remote and intriguing islands in the world. Located in the South Pacific, it is known for its hundreds of stone statues, “moai”, which have captured the public’s imagination. In 1955/56, the famed Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, organized an international archaeological expedition to address the island’s many mysteries. This lecture will tell the story of this fascinating project which laid the foundation for much of the cultural and scientific research that has continued since.

Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 7:00 PM PST

Location: Scandinavian Cultural Center, Pacific Lutheran University

Title: “Aku-Aku from Afar: Thor Heyerdahl’s Norwegian Expedition to Easter Island/Rapa Nui."

The Speaker: Reidar Solsvik is a Norwegian archaeologist and the curator/archivist at the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway. He has conducted archaeological field-work in the Pacific and is the author of numerous scholarly articles. Reidar is the co-author of a recent book, Drømmen om paradis: Thor Heyerdahl på Påskeøya, which documents Heyerdahl’s expedition to Easter Island/Rapa Nui.

The lecture is sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Consulate in San Francisco, the PLU Scandinavian Cultural Center, and the Ryan family.

Mark your calendars for our next PNW Chapter gathering! The topic is "Citizen Science," and we have two speakers: Veronica Kenney will discuss her work in the Marshall Islands, and Jackie Selbitschka will focus on coral reefs. Both will stress how ordinary folk with an avid interest but little professional training can still contribute to serious advances in science. The Explorers Club, a hundred years ago, recognized that as an obvious truth hardly worth comment. More recently, the "amateur naturalist" label has fallen a bit out of favor. These two talks will remind you we should keep that historical thread.

Location: Leavenworth in the North Cascades

Address: Kristall’s Restaurant and Lounge, 280 US Highway 2, Leavenworth, WA 98826

Date: September 21st, 2024

Time: Noon - 4:00 PM

Food: Lunch from the menu, and the chapter will cover all food and most drinks, but anything alcoholic is on you.

RSVP: Please! We want to see all of you, but an RSVP will help our planning. Link below.

Theme: Citizen Science and its Role in Exploration

Speakers: Veronica Kenney: Marshall Islands Citizen Science; Jackie Selbitschka: Reef Check Citizen Science

Networking: We’ll have some nametags, and the RSVP will give us information we’ll share between us to help spark conversations.

Please click here and register:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUVAIeWscYAe9hDuQE67QaJxvvFvRGT7mtT4QbVKSX925KwA/viewform?usp=sf_link

We have a chapter gathering coming up on Sunday, 28 July at Pete Wallingford's home in Normandy Park, not far from SEATAC. Pete’s place is at 236 SW 171st St, and the theme is Space.

Friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else you think would enjoy it are welcome. There is no charge of any kind, and lunch will be served potluck style; Pete will provide Texas Pork ribs, and you are welcome to bring a side dish. It's an indoor-outdoor venue, and there will be plenty of opportunities for conversation.

12:00 - 1:30    Network + Potluck afternoon lunch

1:30 - 3:00      Two talks + 10 minutes of questions

3:00 - 4:00     Post-Talk Networking

RSVP so we can get your background information for networking sessions and help us plan logistics.

RSVP: https://forms.gle/ACwnuQoEne4uGvGj9

Our much-admired member Ed Sobey will deliver a lively presentation at the Redmond Public Library on Sunday, June 30, at 11:30 a.m. on Expedition Ship Cruising. He invites everyone interested in small-ship/exotic destination cruising to join him, and there's no charge. He, and we, would love to see you there.

Location: 15990 NE 85th St, Redmond, WA 98052

Registration through King County Public Library, link here: https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events/65f9bbc4284a1a4570124c15

Click here to learn more about Ed Sobey

Peter Chrzanowski is an adventurer specializing in high-adrenaline action and adventure documentary films, dramas, and photo-journalism. As a filmmaker, Peter has 30+ years of international experience in a variety of productions and expeditions. Follow Peter’s brutally honest autobiography in his newly released book where he openly chronicles his incredible life story. Read in this engaging work, how he has gone around the world in a DC3 airplane, met the Dalai Lama, received blessings in a letter from Pope John Paul II, skied or paraglided in the Himalayas, The Alps, The Tatra Mountains, The Andes, Alaska’s Chugach Range, the Canadian Rockies, BC’s Coast Mountains, and Colombia’s sacred Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta.

You can read about Peter's incredible journey for yourself in his book I Survived myself, now conveniently available on Amazon.

Book signings: June 22, 2024 for Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival at the Shipyards in North Vancouver and on June 29th, 2024 at Chapters store on Granville, Vancouver from 1:00-3:00 PM

We are excited to announce the first 2024 PNW Explorer's Club Event with interesting speakers and some time for socializing. The Mountaineers - Seattle Branch has graciously offered to host our event. All chapter members, prospective members, friends, and family are invited.

Event: Icy Summits and Frozen Caverns

Date: Tuesday, March 26th @ 7 PM - 9 PM Pacific

Location: The Mountaineers, Seattle Branch is kindly hosting at their Seattle Program Center: Seattle Program Center 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115

https://www.mountaineers.org/locations-lodges/seattle-program-center

Food and After Mixer: Light refreshments will be served at the event. After the event, an optional gathering will be held at the Mountaineering Club restaurant and bar near the University Village around 9:15 pm (a different location unaffiliated with the Mountaineers).

https://graduatehotels.com/seattle/restaurant/mountaineering-club/

SPEAKERS AND BIOS

Matt Bachman will discuss Under the Ice, Above the Clouds, exploring the mysteries of Mount Rainier's Ice Caves.

Matt Bachmann retired from the U.S. Geological Survey after a career in seismology, volcanology, hydrology, and glaciology. He has climbed most of the world's tallest mountains, created Washington's first scientific diving team at USGS, and conducted fieldwork on all seven continents, including two field seasons in Antarctica. He holds a BS in Geology from Caltech and a PhD in Geosciences from Penn State. In retirement, he ran a cub scout pack and two nonprofits, restored a sailboat, played the ukulele, and continued to climb locally throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Tom Vogl will discuss On the Snow Above the Clouds - The Haute Route Ski Tour.

Since 2016, Tom Vogl has been the CEO of The Mountaineers, one of the US's leading outdoor education and conservation organizations. He currently serves on the board of directors of Outdoor Alliance, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, and Comoto. Before joining The Mountaineers, Tom had over 25 years of e-commerce and marketing leadership roles with organizations such as REI, Dell, Redfin, and The Clymb. He is an avid backcountry skier, climber, and cyclist, plays the guitar, and has nine siblings.