Two words that are at the pinnacle of humanity’s achievements. An intrinsic trait of a select few who choose to spend their lives at the risk of
death to go further than anyone else has gone before, to push themselves and the rest of us beyond what was only considered fantasy prior, and to
surround themselves with the mystery of the unknown.
Adventurers, Explorers, Pioneers. These people and individuals who change worlds. History writes of them, the future is shaped by them. And they still
exist today.
Here are 6 Modern-Day explorers that you should know about.
Mike Horn:
Mike Horn became famous in 2001 after completing a one-year, 6-month solo journey around the equator without any motorised transport. In 2004 he
completed a two-year, 3-month solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle, and in 2006 along with Norwegian explorer Børge Ousland, became the first
men to travel without dog or motorised transport to the North Pole during winter, in permanent darkness.
He just completed his Pole2Pole Expedition last month, becoming the first person to undergo a unique circumnavigation of the globe via the two poles
over land and sea, solo, and unsuported.
Krzysztof Starnawski:
After 20 years of risky exploration and technical trial and error, The team shouted the readings on the ROV’s depth gauge. At 393 meters, they set a
new world record, besting the previous champion, 392-meter Pozzo del Merro cave in Italy. Then the ROV passed 400, the team’s hoped-for milestone.
At 404 meters, the cave’s floor, covered with a tangle of fallen trees and rock, came into view—and confirmed this cave as the deepest on the
planet.
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner:
Dubbed ‘The queen of rock” In 2012 she won the prestigious National Geographic Explorer of the Year Award after being the first woman to climb the
fourteeen eight-thousanders without using supplementary oxygen or high altitude porters. The eight-thousanders are the 14 independent mountains on
Earth that are more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) high above sea level. All eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain
ranges in Asia. Their summits are in the death zone.
• 1998 – Cho Oyu
• 2001 – Makalu
• 2002 – Manaslu
• 2003 – Nanga Parbat
• 2004 – Annapurna I
• 2004 – Gasherbrum I
• 2005 – Shisha Pangma
• 2005 – Gasherbrum II
• 2006 – Kangchenjunga
• 2007 – Broad Peak
• 2008 – Dhaulagiri
• 2009 – Lhotse
• 2010 – Mount Everest
• 2011 – K2
Robbie Shone is an Adventure Photographer, travelling across the globe from Borneo to Papua New Guinea in an effort to find the most remote and
bizarre caves, and he does it all while lugging along pounds of camera equipment, hoping to capture “the perfect shot.”
Between floods, falls, and cave-ins—not to mention losing your way in the subterranean maze—caving can be incredibly dangerous, but Robbie Shone
takes plenty of precautions, despite climbing into some unusual vantage points to get a picture. And then there are unforeseen dangers, one of which
Shone describes from a three month trip to Papua New Guinea: “During that trip I even had a leech stuck to my eyeball for a couple of days. We tried
coaxing it off with some raw meat and salt.”
KT Miller:
She has been called on by some of the industry’s biggest players — Backcountry Magazine, Patagonia, Zeal. Her hard work and talent have landed
her sponsorships from Dynafit and Lowepro. KT’s not just a photographer and skier, a lot of her expeditions are focused on conservation work and
transparency regarding major topics of discussion, such as Climate change.
In Spring 2014, Miller was a member of the all-female Shifting Ice, Changing Tides expedition. The five set sail from Iceland, bound for Greenland.
The purpose of the journey was to document and raise awareness of climate change and to ski first descents on the island of Greenland, all while
inspiring other women to adventure and explore.
Coming Soon:
We are just a few years away from what will become the most important adventure of human history. The first colonization of another planetary body
leads Humanity to its first steps in becoming an interstellar species, and a new chapter in our future that will open the way for an infinite amount
of knowledge and exploration.
Or… you know…
This…
So! Have you ever wanted to go on an adventure and explore? What would you do, and where would you go?!
edit on 28/3/17 by Ghost147 because:
(no reason given)