We are now 60 days from the Expedition Hope — Mt. Vinson Massif (Antarctica) expedition! Here are a few fast facts about the continent: Antarctica is the Earth’s 5th largest continent, measuring 14 million square km (5.4 million square miles). This is just under 1½ times the size of the United States. With zero percent [...]
On November 17th, we depart for the next Expedition Hope climb to Mt. Vinson Massif in Antarctica! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting further details about Antarctica regarding the continent, the environment and the weather conditions found there, as well as additional information about the training regime I’m following during the next nine [...]
On the long journey and flights back home from Moscow, Russia, to Frankfurt, Germany, to Chicago, Illinois, and finally to Indianapolis, Indiana, I had plenty of time for reflection about the Expedition Hope — Mt. Elbrus climb. It started with the disappointment of not only me, but also for my fellow teammates and other climbing [...]
On Wednesday, September 13th, Emmy-Award winning actress, Linda Dano (Best known for her role as Felicia Gallant on NBC’s Another World, and the recurring roles of Dr. Rae on ABC’s All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital) will be at the Conrad Hotel in downtown Indianapolis from 6:00p.m – 7:30p.m. Linda will [...]
Greetings! We’ll be posting final reflections on, and photos from, the Expedition Hope – Mt. Elbrus climb in the next week, but we wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that this is National Suicide Prevention Awareness week. Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) USA just wrapped up their 11th National Awareness Event, Suicide Prevention: [...]
Today, Joe and his teammates are in Moscow and will depart for Frankfurt, Germany. Joe will arrive back home in Indianapolis late Saturday afternoon. Then, he’ll start training for the Expedition Hope — Mt. Vinson-Massif (Antarctica) climb, for which he departs on November 17. Please stay tuned for further updates, and check back next week [...]
Joe and the rest of his teammates had a safe but stormy descent from the mountain and are now back in the valley at Terskol. Please click on the “Audio – Mt. Elbrus” link on the right to hear the clips and read the transcripts from Joe’s satellite phone calls from the mountain. Thank you!
Early Sunday morning, the climbers set-off for their summit attempt on Mt. Elbrus. The group began the day short another member who stayed at camp (either by personal choice or due to illness/injury, details are uncertain at this time). As previously noted, this day is long and strenuous, with more than 4,000 feet of vertical [...]
Today was another day of climbing and acclimatization, with sleet, snow and high winds on large order. Acclimatization continued through the afternoon and the team is spending the night at the Priutt Hut, at an altitude of just over 14,000 ft. Joe and his fellow climbers are hoping that tomorrow will be a good day [...]
On Friday morning, the team began the ascent up the mountain. The current plan is to spend two days and nights acclimating on Elbrus before a summit attempt. This, of course, depends on the weather and safety conditions they will encounter in the upcoming days. Joe and his fellow teammates have already lost one member [...]