Ten Days Left to Vote For the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year! VIDEO

Here's to living adventurously. And voting for the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year. There are just ten days left to cast your vote once a day. Voting ends January 18, 2012, at midnight.

Vote Now!
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/adventurers-of-the-year/2012/vote/

You can also read interviews and see photos of each candidate.

We'd like to give special thanks to our Adventurers of the Year Advisory Board. They helped us stay on top of the year's brightest adventure accomplishments. We hope you will check out their respective work and organizations.

National Geographic Adventurers of the Year Advisory Board

Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei Angus, adventurers-authors, Angus Adventures (2007 Adventurers of the Year)

Kraig Becker, Editor, The Adventure Blog

Fitz Cahall, Editor, The Dirtbag Diaries

Natalie Cash, Senior Producer, Wildlife Conservation Society

Steve Casimiro, Editor, Adventure Journal

Ted Endo, Surf Editor, The Inertia

Alex Honnold, Rock Climber (2011 Adventurer of the Year)

Trip Jennings, Kayaker/Filmmaker, Epicocity Films (2008 Adventurer of the Year)

Lorie Karnath, President, The Explorers Club

Pete Mortimer, President, Sender Films

Rebecca Martin, Executive Director, National Geographic Expeditions Council

Andrew Skurka, Hiker/Expeditioner (2008 Adventurer of the Year)

Bryan Smith, Kayaker/Filmmaker, Reel Water Productions

Gregg Trennish, Adventurer/Biologist, Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (2009 Adventurer of the Year)

Sadie Quarrier, Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic magazine

 

Video: In Spain, Climber Chris Sharma Preps For the World's First 5.15c and Settles Down

Chris Sharma: A Sense Of Place from Prana Living on Vimeo.

We checked in with the indefatigable Chris Sharma, known for rock climbing the hardest routes on Earth. Once a world-wandering rock hound, Sharma has now put roots down in Catalonia, Spain, the limestone epicenter for sport climbing. Far from resting on his laurels, the 30-year-old is quietly training for the world's hardest rock climbing route—a 5.15c—and marveling at the golden age of rock climbing that is upon us. —Mary Anne Potts

Adventure: Are you still deepwater soloing these days?
Chris Sharma: I am here in Mallorca [Spain] doing some deepwater soloing right now. I haven't been here for a while. I've really gotten into sport climbing over the last few years. I actually have some good friends from Santa Cruz, California, who are visiting. I've been giving them a tour. And we've been doing some deepwater soloing. It's really cool for me to come back to Mallorca. 

What does Spain have to offer a rock hound like you? 
CS: I live in Catalonia, the province of Lleida, in the foothills of the Pyrenees. It's a really special place right now. In the 1990s southern France was the epicenter of sport climbing. Everyone around the world would go to the south of France. That was where the best competitions were. That's were the standards were being set.

And now that has moved to Catalonia. That has to do with me living there, establishing a lot of the hard routes. But then, just in general, it's really an international epicenter. Everyone goes there. It's where all the hardest climbs are right now. The grade 5.15, which is pretty much the highest level out there, there are a handful of these routes around the world. But 90 percent of these routes are in Catalonia in Spain.

Swedish Free Diver Annelie Pompe on What She Loves About Oxygen Deprivation (Interview)

By Tetsuhiko Endo; Photograph by Stephane Bailliez

The Scandinavians have long been known for their polar exploration so it came as a surprise to us when a Swedish woman named Annelie Pompe snatched the new free diving world record in the Variable Weight Apnea class in October. The smiley 29-year-old rode a weighted sled 126 meters down into the Red Sea, then ascended back to the surface along a line. That’s 413 feet, underwater, with nothing but a mask and some flippers.

 And it doesn’t stop there. An accomplished mountaineer, Pompe is planning to take on Mount Everest in May. Assuming all goes well, she’ll then set her lungs to the task of breaking Nat Geo Adventure favorite, Tanya Streeter’s No Limit class free-dive world record. (For an explanation of the different competitive classes, check out the free diving wikipedia page.)

Clearly, we had to talk to this lady and figure out what she loves so much about oxygen deprivation. We tracked her down to her home in Sweden this week for a few questions. English may not be her first language but she had a lot of interesting things to say.

When people think of free diving, Sweden isn’t the first country that springs to mind. How did you get into the sport?

There's actually quite a lot of divers in Sweden. I grew up close by the sea and I've always felt at home in the ocean. I don't think that feeling has any continental boundaries.

Since I loved being in the sea I got a scuba certification as soon as I was allowed to—and I really enjoyed it. Though I realized after a few years that the best feeling was diving in the water without any clumsy equipment. So I took up free diving and found a free-diving course. I was immediately captured by the challenge of diving as deep as possible on one breath. It's not only a physical challenge. For deep free diving you have to take your mind and mental strength to new levels.

Field Expedition: Mongolia - Join Explorer Albert Lin's Groundbreaking Search

When we first introduced Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin in our Adventurers of the Year feature story last November, we were all blown away by his groundbreaking archaeological quest in northern Mongolia—you even gave him the Readers' Choice Award. Now you can literally be part of his expedition team with our new Field Expedition: Mongolia website.

By conducting a noninvasive archeological survey as never before—with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flyovers, ground-penetrating radar, remote sensors, satellite imagery, and even a 3-D virtual reality chamber—the team has redefined exploration and conservation. And while solving the 600-year-old mystery would, of course, be amazing, Lin's ultimate goal is to help preserve the region's significant cultural heritage (see a photo gallery from their previous expedition).

To do that, Lin's crew is currently on the ground in Mongolia's "Forbidden Zone" to continue their search—with some new tech toys, such as their "oktokopter" UAV (see it nearly crash into Lin in this video). But all the technology in the world can not make up for the skill of the human eye, so they are asking for your help. Think of it as a citizen science expedition team of 1,000 or 10,000 or as many people as we can recruit. The potential for discovery is astounding.

On the Field Expedition: Mongolia website you can examine real-time satellite photos to spot irregularities that the scientists on the ground should investigate. Lin's team will then report back with their findings. This crowd-sourcing technique has been used before—perhaps most notably in the search for Steve Fossett's lost airplane. We are hopeful that you will have a hand in helping preserve Mongolia's most sacred heritage. Follow their blog and sign up for newsletter updates.

Finding Machu Picchu: A Look at Explorer Hiram Bingham, A Real-Life Indiana Jones

 
Almost one hundred years ago, on July 24, 1911, a Yale University history lecturer named Hiram Bingham III climbed to the top of a mountain ridge in Peru and encountered one of the most extraordinary sets of ruins on Earth: Machu Picchu. In his new book Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu, the historian Christopher Heaney examines how Bingham got there, why he fooled himself into thinking he’d found the Lost City of the Incas, and what influence Bingham had on a certain whip-toting movie daredevil. Heaney spoke with Adventure contributing editor Mark Adams.

NGA: Hiram Bingham III wasn’t trained as an archaeologist or an anthropologist. His specialty was history. Was it a fluke that he ended up at Machu Picchu?

Christopher Heaney: It was a fluke in the sense that he didn’t set out to look for Machu Picchu. Bingham was really in Peru trying to find the last capitals of the Incas, Vitcos and Vilcabamba.

NGA: Explorers had been roaming the Peruvian countryside for years, searching for the legendary Lost City of the Incas, which they imagined was filled with gold. So how did Bingham end up as the one who made that famous climb on July 24, 1911?

CH: What’s amazing about Bingham is that he put himself in a position where he couldn’t not have reached Machu Picchu. He was really the first person to go into the region and gather up as much oral testimony as possible. Using the names of places mentioned in the Spanish chronicles and maps of past Peruvian geographers, he just went from point to point and never turned down an offer to go look for ruins. He was also working with the maps of at least one other explorer, a guy named Curtis Farabee who was at Harvard at the time.

From the Field: Standup Paddleboarders Prepare to Cross Hawaii's Open-Ocean Channels

Next week, Morgan Hoesterey (pictured above) and Jenny Kalmbach, both accomplished standup paddleboarders, will begin a three-week attempt to cross Hawaii's nine legendary open-ocean channels as never before. Their expedition is called Destination 3°, for the three degrees of latitude (19° to 22°) that encompass the entire archipelago. Let us put this feat into perspective: The Alenuihaha Channel, sandwiched between two volcanoes, is one of the roughest stretches of water in the world and can have 20-foot swells. Or 65-mile Ka’ie’iewaho Channel may take 24 hours to cross, so they plan to paddle by a full moon. Also avid freedivers and surfers, these ladies' efforts are in the name of cleaning up plastics and other debris from the ocean with Algalita Marine Research Foundation. We caught up with Hoesterey, a California native who now resides in Honolulu, to clue us in on this quest. We'll hear from Kalmbach mid-expedition.—Mary Anne Potts

David de Rothschild's Plastiki Sets Sail! - Video

Just in time for World Water Day (today) and after nearly four years of development, eco-adventurer David de Rothschild has launched his most ambitious expedition yet. The Plastiki, an innovative catamaran made from 12,000 post-consumer plastic bottles, set sail on Saturday for a 100-day voyage from San Francisco to Sydney. Their mission is to witness some of the most devastating waste accumulation on our planet, including the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch. According to his twitter feed, David and the crew had eggs for breakfast on their first morning at sea. (Read our previous coverage and see the NG Plastiki site.)

Taking inspiration from Thor Heyerdal's 1947 Kon-tiki expedition, the Plastiki's crew includes of David de Rothschild, accomplished skipper Jo Royle, and Olav Heyerdahl, Thor's grandson. Check back for updates here, or go to http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/plastiki/.

Photographs courtesy of Luca Babini

Alaska-Yukon Expedition: What's in My Pack? A Guide to Ultralight Backpacking

Today adventurer Andrew Skurka begins an ambitious, seven-month expedition that will take him 4,720 miles across Alaska and the Yukon by skis, foot, and raft. Follow his blog dispatches here and his tweets via twitter.com/andrewskurka.

The contents of my pack are almost entirely need based. During this trip, my legitimate needs will include staying hydrated and nourished, keeping my body temperature regulated, and traveling efficiently and safely over the land–snow-covered tundra, glacier-fed rivers, and dense alder forests. I can think of only one item, my camera, which can be classified as a “want.” This Spartan approach to packing is easily explained: carrying more stuff means more work, and work, well, it’s generally not very fun.

The weight of an item is a major consideration in whether it makes the final cut, for there is an indisputable correlation between pack weight and the quality of one’s experience. But it’s not the only factor I consider–particularly on a trip like this, which will be hard on gear and has relatively few opportunities to replace things. Durability and versatility are also of great value. My RidgeRest Deluxe Solar sleeping pad is a case in point. It’s warmer for its weight than any inflatable pad, it won’t puncture, and, come springtime, I can cut it in half to make a suitable three-season pad.

Alaska-Yukon Expedition: Andrew Skurka Embarks on 4,720 Miles by Skis, Foot, Raft

On Thursday Andrew Skurka arrived 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Kotzebue, Alaska, to begin his latest expedition. Similar to his Great Western Loop hike (a feat which made him our 2008 Adventurer of the Year), this is an ambitious, never-before-attempted endeavor. For the next seven months, he'll cover more than 4,720 miles in Alaska and the Yukon by skis, foot, and packraft. Much of the time he will be in true wilderness, without a track or trail to follow. Luckily Andrew will be keeping us posted here, so stay tuned for his weekly dispatches. He'll also be tweeting via twitter.com/andrewskurka.

Andrew's route inspires both awe and envy. He will cross through six U.S. national parks (Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias, Glacier Bay, Gates of the Arctic, Klondike Gold Rush, Kobuk Valley) and two Canadian national parks (Vuntut and Ivvavik). He will traverse parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Iditarod Trail, and the Chillkoot Trail. He'll also float some of North America's wildest rivers—the Copper, Yukon, Peel, and Kobuk. He will hike 450 miles in the Alaska Range and a whopping 975 miles in the Brooks Range.

Alexandra Cousteau on Kilimanjaro, the Clean Water Crisis, and Transgender Fish

You’d expect someone who has spent most of her life at or below sea level to sweat a little harder hiking up 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro on the Summit on the Summit climb last January. Not so for Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques, lifelong water advocate, and a National Geographic emerging explorer. While she can’t explain why altitude sickness didn’t affect her on Africa’s tallest peak, she can shed light on why we all are connected to the climbers' cause, the global clean water crisis. Here Cousteau explains the issues surrounding water scarcity worldwide, her upcoming Blue Legacy expedition, and what you can do to help out.

You grew up diving the planet’s great oceans and are now a leading advocate to help improve water issues worldwide. Did you feel a little like a fish out of water climbing the world’s tallest freestanding mountain?
That was definitely the first time I had scaled a mountain of that size. It was challenging to trek five to seven hours every day at altitude. The weather was not cooperating very well. We had fog, rain, hail, and snow. But I was fortunate in that I didn’t experience any physical ailments at all.