The New Age of Exploration Is Here…And It’s Personal
Ever feel like everything has already been discovered on this great planet of ours? Well, that’s because it has. But don’t let that stop you. Yes, the tallest peaks and the deepest parts of the ocean have been conquered…again and again. However, technology is allowing us to redefine exploration, and with it usher in a new age.
Exploration Before You and Me
The great explorers of the past set out on treacherous journeys of survival. The goal then was to conquer virgin land. Teddy Roosevelt co-led the Roosevelt–Rondon-Cheerie-Jodi O’ Rodio Scientific Expedition to explore a 1,000 mile segment of the Amazon. Three men died on the expedition. One drowned, one was murdered, and the murderer was left in the jungle to die. Disease and the threat of starvation were constant. They risked their lives to advance science.
Ernest Shackleton led the famed Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914. What was meant to be a much publicized expedition to cross Antarctica turned into an incredible feat of survival. It is one of the most remarkable adventure stories. It made Shackleton more famous than had he successfully completed the expedition.
Sir Edmund Hillary was the first mountaineer to summit Everest in 1953 along with his Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay. Their feat has inspired thousands since to summit Everest. What used to be a symbol of the ultimate feat has now turned into long lines of climbers creating traffic jams. The once mystical peak has now garnered a bad reputation for attracting too many inexperienced climbers. In some ways Everest is a signal that the age of exploration is changing. It is now personal. Here are three ways to conquer your own Everest, wherever you are:
One: Do something crazy and unique
Dawid Andres and Hubert Kisinski are two half-brothers that came up with one crazy idea: bike the entire length of the Amazon River. The journey took 5,000 miles and six months. The brothers had to create special pontoons for their mountain bikes so that they could “bike” on parts of the river where the land would not let them.
Andres and Kisinski chose the expedition after some trial and error. They knew they wanted to traverse the length of the Amazon River but were limited in their skill (white water rafting) and means (very expensive to transport large amounts of gear). That’s when they came up with the crazy idea of building pontoons and using their bikes as the motor to travel the river. Indeed, they are the first individuals to travel the Amazon using only a bike.
Two: Make it really hard
Two ultrarunners Mike Foote and Mike Wolfe know how to make a hard challenge. The pair created a goal to complete a 600 mile mountain run from Missoula, Montana to Banff, Alberta, known as the Crown region. These are tough mountains, some of the tallest in the lower 48.
When asked why they did it, Foote casually responded, “We like to suffer, and to challenge ourselves physically. In the end, that’s reason enough.” Yes it is. Grand expeditions have always been about pushing your limits and growing in the process. Sir Edmund Hillary said, “it is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” Shackleton simply stated, “Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all.” Want to do something great? Make it hard.
Three: Share it with the world
Karl Meltzer, the best ultrarunner on the planet right now, recently set the world record for the fastest time to run the entire Appalachian Trail. That’s right the whole thing: 2,190 miles, 4,330,207 steps, 345,122 calories burned. But don’t just take my word for it, check it out here. Red Bull tracked the whole thing live. But you don’t need to be sponsored by Red Bull to be able to track your adventures, we have Strava and Instagram and dozens of ways to capture and share your journey. Apps like Strava, the slew of advanced GPS trackers on the market, and the advancement in sensors allows us to see the data behind the journey. After all, if it’s not on Strava then it didn’t happen.
So grab a friend, come up with a crazy expedition, make sure you push yourself beyond your perceived limits, and share it with us.
