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After Marc Cornelissen completed his studies in
1995 at the Technical University in Delft, he
decided to trade in his budding career as an
architect for that of a professional adventurer and
organizer of expeditions.
He has a broad experience in making expeditions
into the remote regions of this planet. His
projects took him to the Peruvian cloud forests,
the Gibson Desert of Australia, and mostly to the
Polar Regions. He is one of the few who has reached
both the Geographic North and South Pole on skis
(respectively 1997 and 2000). His experiences with
large and often complex expeditions form the basis
for many television documentaries, books,
publications, and intriguing lectures and training
programs for international business organizations.
Alarmed by continuous reports on climatic
changes in the arctic, Marc initiated Pole Track:
"The drive to return to the North Pole once more
for a scientific expedition is fueled by my desire
to contribute to a better understanding of the icy
wilderness that I love so much. With this new
project I want to bridge the gap between the cold
facts of science and the way we take care of this
great white spot on our planet."
For more information, see also: www.xmarx.nl
expedition leader, filmmaker, writer and lecturer
Skier, Photographer,
Mac Designer
Living in Norway, winter travel and skiing are a
second nature for Petter Nyquist. In the past years
Petter started a rapidly developing career in the
world of expeditions that he combines with being a
photographer and mac designer. In 2000 he got a
taste of theArctic Ocean when he participated in a
last degree expedition to the North Pole, only 21
years old.
From that moment on he regularly made
expeditions to the high North such as the Greenland
Ice cap and again theArctic Oceanwhere in 2002 he,
together with Kjetil Holen, completed the final
distance of 450 kilometers that kept Fridjof Nansen
from reaching the North Pole. In 2003 he summited
Mt. Elbrus(5643m), and he also summited
Aconcagua(6962m)in 2004 as part of a scientific
study into the effects of altitude to the human
body. His fascination for sensitive ecosystems
recently took him to the Madidi region in
Bolivia where he documented the wildlife and local
population on his camera.
In 2005/2006 he wil put his skies on the
Antarctic region. Skiing from Patriot Hills to the
South Pole and return to the Vinson Massif where he
will try to ascend Mt. Vinson, the highest mountain
in Antarctica.
Now he is focusing again on the North Pole. 'I
get goose skin on my back just thinking about the
Arctic. I will learn even more about it and I will
work together with very different individuals who
have the same kind of fascination. That is
very exciting and appealing to me. I am sure this
project will turn out to be a memory for life.
For more information see also: www.exreme-expeditions.no
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Doug
Stoup
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Willie
Benegas Home: Holladay, Utah, USA
Recent achievement: Favorite TNF gear: Redpoint Jacket
--"good layer from the city to the summit of
Everest."
What he gets out of his sport: "Feeling
alive."
Born and raised in the wild heart of Patagonia, Guillermo "Willie" Benegas has pursued a long apprenticeship in the mountains. His passion for climbing and exploration has taken him in search of adventure worldwide, from the big walls of Yosemite to the airy summits of South America and the loftiest peaks of the Himalaya,. Willie's first major ascent was completed in the winter of 1987 with a route up Patagonia's West Face of Piltriquitron (VI, 5.9 A3 W2/3), a feat which has yet to be repeated. At age 20, he climbed Aconcagua's impressive South Face, as well as Fitz Roy. In the following years, Willie "ticked off" the first ascent of the North Face of Pakistan's Nameless Tower ("Book of Shadows" VII, 5.10+ A4 W14), made record speed ascents in Yosemite Valley, and attempted major new routes on the legendary North Faces of Thalay Sagar and Jannu. Noteworthy feats since the millennium include setting the world record for a speed ascent/descent of Aconcagua (22,831 ft.), running the legendary Leadville Ultra 100-mile race and summiting Everest four times. Perhaps Willie's biggest achievement to date, however, is his first ascent of the "The Crystal Snake" of Nuptse in Nepal, done with his brother Damian in the spring of 2003, for which they won Climbing magazine's Golden Piton Award. Willie often gets asked the question, Why do you climb? His response echoes Willie's philosophy on life: "A mountain adventure will carry over into the many facets of life, teaching yourself about yourself, your co-existence with nature, and the respect for people's cultures." Films/Media Highlights
Career Highlights
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Kristoffer
Erickson
Photographer / Climber/ Glisse Alpinist
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As a native of Montana, Erickson now calls Livingston, Montana his home. Kris represents a different breed of alpinist. A photographer by trade, he often combines his abilities to ascend difficult mountains with a love and passion for a true mountain sliding descent. Erickson's commitment to his photography, climbing and glisse alpinsim over the last decade has spurred him to make the driving force of his images the difficult ascents and descents he's made in the Continental United States and Alaska, Canada, Peru, Argentina, Italy, France, Tibet, and Antarctica. His romantic vision for exploration in the final frontiers and his photojournalism documenting the adventures has blended with his traditional style and ethics in climbing and skiing to capture a rare and wild side of history. Erickson jokes often about being an invisible man mainly because he usually is the one taking the photographs on each of the adventures. With his camera in hand, Erickson has documented adventures around the world publishing images editorially and commercially throughout the United States and Europe. His work spans a decade of documenting the cutting edge of adventure journalism for Skiing, Climbing, Rock & Ice, Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Sports Illustrated, Powder, The North Face, Patagonia, Vasque, Lowa, Nike, Koflach, Cascade Designs, Grivel North America, and Black Diamond. Erickson's love for photography and exploration has allowed his avocation and vocation to merge, complementing the full mountain adventure. Erickson pushed to establish some of Montana's hardest mixed ice climbs in to the late nineties with Alex Lowe as one of his partners. At the age of twenty-three in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, he had pioneered new alpine climbing routes on the southwest face of Santa Cruz Norte (5829m) and the unclimbed Caraz III (5720m) via the south face. Also in Peru he has made ski descents of the northwest ridge of Tocllaraju (6032m), southeast face of Artesonraju (6025m) and the Shield on Huascaran (6768m). In Pakistan, as a member of the Karakoram Cleaning and Climbing Expedition he worked for a less polluted, healthier environment by educating porters while also attempting the unclimbed peak 5998 in the Hushe valley. Through a trip to Tibet in the fall of 1999, leading up to an attempt on the southwest face of Shishapangma (8027m), two additional first ski descents were made on peaks over 6000m. His expeditions continued visiting unclimbed peaks of the Fairweather range of Alaska, adventures in the French and Italian Alps, eight trips to the Canadian Rockies, and three expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula where majestic mountains along the Peninsula's coast were climbed and skied from the ocean. During January of 2002 Kris worked at the South Pole as a safety coordinator for the first ever South Pole Marathon where he found some of the most bone chilling conditions of all his expeditions. Erickson also holds claim to being the only American male to have skied off the summit of an 8000meter mountain with his descent of Cho Oyu (8201m) on October 1st 2002. Kristoffer has worked as a guide for Exum Mountain Guides, Adventure Network International, and Fathom Expeditions. He also works as an ambassador for the technical development team at Vasque Footwear and Grivel North America. |
