Meet the 2008 Adventures of the Year

Last Thursday, ADVENTURE magazine held the third annual Best of Adventure awards ceremony at the National Geographic Society headquarters, sponsored by South Africa Tourism. The event honored the achievements and gear featured in the December 2008/January 2009 issue (on newsstands now). Rob Gauntlett and James Hooper, the 21-year-olds who skied, sailed, and cycled from geomagnetic pole-to-pole, were named this year's Adventurers of the Year. Hall of Fame awardee Rick Ridgeway captivated the audience with a presentation on his latest project, Freedom to Roam, which aims to open up wildlife migration corridors.

Nearly all the honorees were present, from Olympic silver medal snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler to humanitarian aid worker Ash Clements (whose next assignment will take him to the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Andes thru-hikers Deia Schlosberg and Gregg Treinish. K2 hero Pemba Gyalje Sherpa made his way all the way from Kathmandu to accept his reward. Speed rider Francois Bon, who was honored for successfully flying from the summit of Aconcagua, had a slight limp as he crossed the stage due to an injury sustained during an Everest attempt cut short by an avalanche. Source-to-sea Amazon rowers Sam Stime and Maroy Correa Estenos pushed through the last grueling miles to make it to the ocean, just in time for the event. Modern-day abolitionist Ben Skinner, author of the book A Crime So Monstrous, followed up his night with meetings on the Hill.

“Professional” backpacker Andrew Skurka, last year’s Adventurer of the Year, was openly ambivalent about passing on his title, though he managed to graciously welcome Rob and James to join the ranks of Ed Viesturs and Colin and Julie Angus.

We’ll have photos from the event, as well as videos of each awardees achievements posted soon. Stay tuned.

Music Wednesday: South African Legend Miriam Makeba Dies

South African singer Miriam Makeba died Sunday night, from a heart attack she suffered walking offstage after a show in Italy. She was 76.

From the many, many obituaries and tributes (Nelson Mandela released a statement saying,"...she used her worldwide fame to focus attention on the abomination of apartheid. Her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us.") the uninitiated might think Makeba was more freedom fighter than musician. This is inaccurate. Makeba said so herself:

“I am not a political singer. I don’t know what the word means. People think I consciously decided to tell the world what was happening in South Africa. No! I was singing about my life, and in South Africa we always sang about what was happening to us—especially the things that hurt us.”

It's not that Makeba isn't remarkable. She is. She introduced much of America and the world to traditional South African music, and she acted heroically in the face of a reprehensible system. Her cannon is deep and all of it is wonderful, especially the old stuff she recorded in Cape Town and New York in the late-1950s and early-1960s. Her range, the way she used her voice—from whisper to scream and back again, beautifully—will never be duplicated.

Check out these albums (below). There's no bad time to listen to "Mama Afriika," but her sound is especially good for mornings. It's hard to have a bad day after listening to "Pata Pata."

The Magnificent Miriam Makeba
Pata Pata
Mama Africa: The Very Best of Miriam Makeba

Music Wednesday is Assistant Editor Ryan Bradley's weekly exploration of great global music, in collaboration with Nat Geo Music.

Video: Kiteboarder Photographs Whale Encounter

Photoshoppers step aside: These images were created with old-fashioned ingenuity—and luck. While kiteboarding in New South Wales, high school photography teacher David Sheridan mounted a camera, set to shoot ten frames a second, to his kite and recorded this incredible encounter.

Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristGreen Dictionary: Navigating the Eco-Lexicon Jungle

For the green-minded traveler, it's easy to get lost in the jungle of new terms. Ecotourism, geotourism, voluntourism, sustainable tourism—more names keep popping up all the time, threatening to confuse even the most savvy globetrotter. By focusing on the well-established terms listed below, you can understand what really matters in the global movement to make travel an opportunity for protecting the Earth's cultural and natural heritage.

- Ecotourism
- Sustainable Tourism
- Geotourism
- Voluntourism
- Agrotourism
- Responsible Travel
- Greenwashing

Read the definitions of these green travel terms >>


Photograph by Stephan Brueckner/Courtesy of Namibrand Safaris

David de Rothschild: Voyage of the PlastikiFive Tips For Young (at Heart) Adventurers

1) Aim big.
Don’t be afraid to aim for the thing you really want the most. In other words, follow your dreams.

2) Find a good team.
It’s essential to have a strong support network of people around you who can help throughout the expedition from the planning stages through to the actual journey itself.

3) Always test your equipment thoroughly before you go.
You don’t want to end up getting out into the field and realizing your boots are too small or your backpack is rubbing your shoulders.

4) Make sure that you document everything from the moment you start planning, all the way through the expedition.
Create as much content as possible in and around your expedition--the one thing you will regret is missing photographs and footage. As a sub note, I would definitely recommend keeping a diary so that when you get back, you can match up all your film and photographs with dates and locations.

5) Last, and by no means least, have fun.
There will always be highs and lows to any adventure. It’s important to embrace and learn from them both. It’s not the end of the world if things go wrong, so don’t panic. Roll with it and enjoy every moment.

Read de Rothschild's dispatches >>

David de Rothschild, a National Geographic Visiting Fellow and founder of Adventure Ecology, will depart in March 2009 on a 7,500-mile voyage from San Francisco to Sydney (see the route map) in a boat made of plastic bottles. Find out more about the expedition in a feature article by Contributing Editor Paul Kvinta ("Voyage of the Plastiki," October 2008 issue of ADVENTURE). Check in here for de Rothschild's dispatches.

Photograph by Gregg Segal

The Adventure Life with Steve CasimiroCongress Promises Huge Public Lands Gift, But You Have to Ask

Part of the California wildlands to be protected.

Text by West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro, photo by John Dittli

“Vote the Environment” doesn’t stop with the culmination of the presidential election: Congress is set to protect 3 million acres of land across the United States and add safeguards to 1,000 miles of rivers—but it needs encouragement to get its lame-duck butt back to D.C. to approve it.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has promised to call back the Senate to vote on the massive Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2008, but Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has not said whether she’ll force her fellow reps to return and consider it. She should. And you should call her office and tell her so. Here’s why: CONTINUE READING>>

Call to Voters: Help National Geographic

Here's your chance to vote for a second time this week.

As part of their "More than Footprints" campaign, TripAdvisor is asking users to select a charity to receive a million dollars. With five very worthy world organizations in the running, we know the money will be put to good use no matter who wins. Of course, we're hoping you'll help support the National Geographic Society. And while the yellow border is symbolic of many things, we thought you might like to learn some hard facts about ADVENTURE magazine's parent company:

The National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations and is dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. Since its founding in 1888 the Society has funded more than 9,000 scientific research, conservation, and exploration projects around the globe. National Geographic currently supports more than 350 people and projects annually, and develops conservation, exploration, and education initiatives around major issues, such as language and culture loss and the establishment of sustainable tourism in authentic places. These efforts and their results are communicated through National Geographic magazine and other media to an audience of more than 325 million people around the world each month.

Some examples of National Geographic's work to sustain cultures, habitats and heritage include the Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations, The Enduring Voices Program, Photo Camp, The All Roads Project, and the Genographic Legacy Fund.

Music Wednesday: Songs that Salute Obama

With the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, people around the world have been voicing their support—sometimes in song. After reviewing a host of old and new Internet tunes, ranging from calypso (The Mighty Sparrow) to reggae (Coco Tea) to Obama Girl's "I Got a Crush...On Obama," we found our favorite: Kenyan benga-American rock band Extra Golden's tribute "Obama." Download a free live recording here.

Bonus: To listen to a surprising alternative to the "Yes We Can" anthem, click here >>

Election Distraction: Speed-Riding the Eiger Video

Take a break from your addiction to realsimplepolitics.com and fivethrityeight.com with our favorite adrenaline video. There's nothing like watching a guy fly down one of the world's deadliest peaks with just skis, a chute, and a helmet cam to help make the minutes creep by a little faster. (Keep an eye out for the fearless Francois Bon in our December/January "Best of Adventure" feature story.)

Music Tuesday: Democracy!

Not world music, just good music, and especially good for a big election day. Listen here.