WrightED Spring Semester: Epic Adventures in Four Continents
Presented by Kelvin Kent
Tuesdays @ 9:30am via Zoom $15 per class $60 for the semester
*Join us for the full semester and get one class free!*
FREE to our local high school students
Can't attend? No problem! Enroll and enjoy the recording at your convenience!
Full Schedule:
April 5th: Arctic and polar exploration
April 12th: Antarctic and polar exploration
No class on April 19th
April 26th: The Darien Gap
May 3rd: The Annapurna South Face Expedition of 1970
May 10th: British Everest Southwest Face expedition of 1972
Kelvin Kent will draw on his extensive knowledge and personal involvement in exploration, human endeavor and endurance to highlight four aspects of expeditions in different settings around the world, in a five-part presentation.
April 5th: Arctic and polar exploration
This class will cover earlier and later Arctic exploration, beginning with the incredible 300-year search for discovering a route through the icy North Sea Passage and subsequently, the international race to become the first person or teams to reach the North Pole and current situation for control of resources. With archival images and exposing some little-known history, we will uncover a lot of previously unreported feats of bravery and resilience. as well as the current effects of climate change and control of resources.
April 12th: Antarctic and polar exploration
Antarctica is a continent in its own right and substantially different in size, scope, conditions and topography than the arctic regions. In this presentation we will trace the quest for the South Pole from the earliest attempts in the first decade of the 20th century, up to recent historic successes and the establishment of large permanent research stations and control of resources. With several film clips, emphasis will be placed on two of the most famous expeditions of all time; Robert Falcon Scott and Earnest Shackleton.
Break on April 19th
April 26th: The Darien Gap
Even today, North and South America are not joined together by road. This is because of "El Tapon" or what the locals refer to as "The stopper" AKA the notorious Darien Gap which lies between southern Panama and northern Colombia. Kelvin was the deputy leader of a 65-person expedition in 1971/72 which set out to make the first-ever road journey from Alaska to Southern Chile, via the jungle infested and mountainous terrain of the Darien Gap. This presentation will mark the 50th anniversary of the successful expedition and will consist of a film that was made plus slides, history and personal anecdotes.
May 3rd: The Annapurna South Face Expedition of 1970
This epic climb took place in 1970 when it was considered to be the hardest unclimbed Himalayan route in the world. Its leader, Chris Bonington assembled the finest team possible, including American climbing legend Tom Frost. The summit participants were Don Whillans and Dougle Haston. Kelvin Kent was given time off from military duties in Hong Kong to take on the role of logistics, communications and Base Camp manager.
May 10th: British Everest Southwest Face Expedition of 1972
In 1972, the British attempted to climb the Southwest Face of Everest in the post monsoon season. It was known that in October the winds of Everest can make all climbing impossible but the expedition went ahead, using some of the Annapurna team (including Kelvin Kent) plus the addition of Doug Scott and others. The team had to trek for 17 days from Kathmandu to Everest in the monsoon before tackling the very steep part snow/part rock face- resulting in wind chill temperatures of nearly 100 below and two casualties.