Author Archive
07/06/2009
Is there a link between Frozen Woolly Mammoths and Pole Shift?
When I first read parts of John White’s 1980 book, Pole Shift, what left an indelible mark on me, was reading the link between the green veggies found the stomachs of frozen woolly mammoths and possibility of relatively rapid shiftings of the earth’s magnetic poles called “pole shift”. Then again, maybe I didn’t read correctly, as the excerpts from an old nhne.com article indicate below, where White is interviewed by David SunFellow.
- Pole Drift
I’m not well versed on the subject, but from what limited knowledge I do have on the subject, I find the the correlations interesting. Also, the way that the poles are “drifting” more every year, (also according to NASA scientist turned author/mystic Gregg Braden) has my attention. According to Braden, airports are having to repaint their runway compass coordinates so often, that some have stopped the procedure. (Check out his books, two of which are The Isiah Effect and Awakening to Zero Point.)
Pole Shift Torpedoed by Author
By David Sunfellow
When John White first published “Pole Shift” in 1980, his book sent re-affirming shocks waves through the earth changes community. Many (including this reporter)
- White mentions Mammoths
believed White’s book “proved” that Edgar Cayce, and a host of others, had correctly foreseen a global catastrophe that would destroy much of the planet along with major portions of the human race. White’s book was particularly powerful because it was written by a man with serious professional credentials and, perhaps more importantly, because it seamlessly wed modern scientific data with contemporary psychics and ancient myths and prophecies. While White refused to say in “Pole Shift” that he was absolutely certain that a pole shift was coming, he left no doubt that he thought one might strike sometime near the year 2000.
Now, however, White has publicly said that he doesn’t believe there is going to be a pole shift — at least the kind of cataclysmic variety envisioned by Cayce, Gordon-Michael Scallion, and others. (more…)
Tags:Apollo 14, David Sunfellow, Dexter Randall Richards, ecospiritual psychology, Edgar Mitchell, Experiential Education, Frontiers of Consciousness, Frozen Mammoth, Holistic Living, Institute of Noetic Science, link to pole shift, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, mtnspirit.org, New Hampshire, New Zealand, nhne.org, Peru, Pole Shift, Spiritual, Sunapee, Sustainability, Utah
Posted in Books, Climate Change, Environment, Glaciology | 1 Comment »
06/06/2009
- Check the latest travel advice and subscribe to receive free e-mail notification each time the advice for your destination is updated.
- Take out appropriate travel insurance to cover hospital treatment, medical evacuation and any activities, like adventure sports, in which you plan to participate.
- Before traveling overseas register online or at the local embassy, high commission or consulate of your country, once you arrive so we can contact you in an emergency.
- Obey the law. Consular assistance cannot override local laws, even where local laws appear harsh or unjust by Australian standards.
- Check to see if you require visas for the country or countries you are visiting or transiting. Be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry..
- Make copies of your passport details, insurance policy, travellers’ cheques, visas and credit card numbers. Carry one copy in a separate place to the originals and leave a copy with someone at home.
- Check with health professionals for information on recommended vaccinations or other precautions and find out about overseas laws on travelling with medicines
- Make sure your passport has a minimum six months validity. Carry additional copies of your passport photos in case you need a replacement while overseas.
- Leave a copy of your travel itinerary with someone at home and keep in regular contact with friends or relatives while overseas.
- Before departing your country check whether you’re regarded as a national of the country you intend to visit. Research whether holding dual nationality has any implications for your travel.
From SmartTraveler.gov.au
Tags:Latest Travel Advice, Mountain Spirit, Top Travel Tips
Posted in Traveling | Leave a Comment »
06/06/2009
Autralia's TravelSmart Program
If you’re looking for some of the most concise, easy to read travel tips and up-to-date travel advisories and advice read on. Included with my wife’s Aussie passport, is a travel brochure supplied by the Australian government. We all know Aussie’s and Kiwi’s are known for their Overseas Expeditions (OE) often lasting years. What better place to go for fine-tuned info. I picked up the brochure this morning, and scanned such titles as travel health, insurances (exciting topic), reciprocal health care agreements, the law, and tips on each region. A visit to their website shows the brochure (with assistance of Lonely Planet) in its entirety under different links for each topic on travel advisories and tips. It’s well organized and concise, from a country who’s citizens know travel.
Tags:Australian Governement, Mountain Spirit, Travel Insurance, Travel Tips, Travelling abroad, TravelSmart
Posted in Books, Health, Traveling | 4 Comments »
05/06/2009
Near The Sunshine Route-Bergshrund Mt. Hood
I was a senior staff trainer at Outward Bound for their Instructor’s Alpine Courses on Mt. Hood. We were finalising a week of training with a successful summit climb. But on the ascent, there was one of those moments, when learning from experience could have been painful but wasn’t, because the outcome was positive. We were climbing the Snow Dome, on Mt. Hood’s northwest side, on the final approach to the Sunshine Route. I had been leading and training staff on this route for a few years prior, so was relatively familiar with the route, crevasses and bivy sites.
Site not far from snowbridge collapse
We set out from high camp on the snow dome early on a cloudless sunny day, a crisp snap in the spring air, crampons crunched the snow underfoot. I decided to let the trainees lead out on ropes of four, with one trainer per rope team. There were three rope teams, and my team was in the back, with taking up the final position. It was easy ground, and once we got to the base of the steeper terrain at the start of the Sunshine route, we’d rearrange the order.
Before setting off, we first decided who would lead out. I then briefed him on the route, which generally followed the crest of the snow dome, but (more…)
Tags:Bergshrund, Dexter Randy Richards, Glacial recession, Glacier Travel, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, Mt. Hood, Outdoor leadership, Outward Bound, Pacific Crest Outward Bound, Route finding, routefinding, Snow bridge collapse, Snow Dome, Staff Training, Sunshine Route
Posted in Climb/Ski/Mntneering, Conservation, Environment, Glaciology, Leadership | 1 Comment »
04/06/2009
MSI VP Bob Stremba
MSI Board Member Attends “Kids Outdoors” Conference
Mountain Spirit Institute board member Bob Stremba of Fort Lewis College’s Outdoor Pursuits, Durango, Colorado, recently attended a conference aimed at addressing initiatives of getting children outside more in the natural world. This “No Child Left Indoors” initiative has a strong advocate with Colorado Lt. Governor O’Brien who is currently soliciting suggestions in writing Colorado Kids‘ Outdoor Bill of Rights.
Stremba shared his findings at this week’s Mountain Institute staff meeting and asked what others in MSI thought about developing curriculum that can be replicated and offered throughout the USA to schools, summer camps and community recreation programs. Said Stremba, “Colorado residents in communities throughout the state are giving feedback on this exciting intiative. He added, “There are about 8 to 10 sites in Colorado working on this, and there will likely be partial government funding for such programs.” Those at the meeting agreed this direction is a good fit for Mountain Spirit.
- Revenge of Gaia
Founder Randy Richards said Mountain Spirit’s core values focus on body mind and spirit, spiritual experiential education, (or a term coined here “espiriential” education), learning from indigenous wisdom, environmental education, sustainability, social responsibility and service. He added, MSI was founded on just the values for which the ‘Kids in the Woods’ iniative is striving.”
Sustainable Communities Programs Director and MSI board member Brenda Dowst mentioned that she has noticed programs “popping up all over” her region in Nova Scotia, and said that including the Indian nation people to teach about giving back, the earth, about appreciation and understanding of the earth would be vital to such education.
She also refered to James Lovelock’s book, Revenge of Gaia, where he warns of the perils of ignoring nature and that our survival of a species, in its present numbers, is in question. She added her reason for bringing up the book in the meeting was that it could serve as a touchstone for moving such programs forward.
- Brenda Dowst
Colorado Kids Outdoors‘ statement of purpose states it “is a collaboration among organizations in the public, private and nonprofit sectors for whom the shared goal is increasing outdoor activity for children. The purpose of this effort is to create a comprehensive framework within the State of Colorado to support efforts of many diverse organizations to provide opportunities, environments and infrastructure for children throughout the State to spend significant quality time in the outdoors. The elements of this framework must include:
- Development and adoption of public policies at the state and local levels that reflects a very high priority for the goal of ensuring that all Colorado’s children, in particular minority and underserved children, have access to safe and healthy, structured and unstructured, outdoor experiences; (see resources below and.. (more…)
Tags:Bob Stremba, Brenda Dowst, Colorado Kids Outdoors, Dexter R. Richards, Experiential Education, Fort Lewis College, James Lovelock, Kids Outdoors Bill of Rights, Mountain Spirit, No Child Left Behind, Outdoor Pursuits, Outdoor resources, Randy Richards, Revenge of Gaia, Susatainable Communities Espiritiential Education
Posted in Environment, Experiential Education, Holistic Living, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
25/05/2009
Fair Trade – Buying Instruments in Peru
Chromatic, Curved Zampona
I’m in cusco, and I found your website while searching for how to shop ethically while in Peru. I am particularly interested in musical instruments. Do you have any reccomendations or contacts you could share with me?
Thanks,
Ben E.
Dear Ben,
I will put you in touch with Guillermo Seminario, the musical director of Chimu Inka in Cusco.
There are a two things to consider when purchasing instruments in Peru, 1. Buying locally, and 2. quality:
First, regarding Fair Trade, the only thing to watch out for are guitars that may be manufactured in China, otherwise all other guitars, and all zampoñas and flutes will be either be made locally in the town or village, or on the coast such as Lima or Trujillo and shipped up to the mountain Gringo Trail towns in Peru.
Quena by Guillermo Seminario
Regarding quality, there are tourist grade instruments and professional grade which are calibrated at 440 hz (concert pitch) by the maker. And even with pro grade, it can be difficult to know you’re really getting concert pitch instruments unless you happen to carry an electronic tuner with you.
Guillermo Seminario, USA/Peru Music Exchange and Cusco Music Exchange Program Director for Mountain Spirit Institute, makes all his own flutes and zampoñas, and a cousin of his is in the charango manufacturing business on the coast.
I showed him a cheap version of a chromatic double row zampoña which I purchased in Bolivia, and he made a professional grade one, improving on the one I showed him. It’s top-notch and a real work horse, sound great, has a good tone and is made with spirit. It’s featured on our website’s fair trade page. (more…)
Posted in Fair Trade, Inbox, Music, Peru | 2 Comments »
23/05/2009
Christophe Pelet, Blogger extrodinaire in NZ's S.Alps
Christophe Pelet from France, shares images and word of New Zealand with heart.
A fellow traveler and volunteer hut warden at *French Ridge, *Frenchman (*coincidence? Maybe not) Christophe Pelet has become a good friend of ours. In fact he’s been hanging here in Auckland before he heads back to France. He’s been traveling New Zealand since late 2008 and been writing a great blog. But it’s in French so you’ll have to sharpen your French reading skills. He’s one of the best photographers I’ve seen, the images he creates through the lens of his camera are stunning and moving.
Author's niece and nephew with Christophe Pelet
So it’s worth a visit just for the photos. There’s tons of history and background on all sorts of New Zealand aspects, as well as good commentary on his *”Wwoof“ing experiences. *(World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms)
See Christophe’s Blog where his most recent entry is called “The Top of New Zealand.
Tags:adventure travel, Blogs in French, Christophe Pelet, Dexter R. Richards, ecospiritual psychology, Experiential Education, France, Holistic Living, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, mtnspirit.org, New Hampshire, New Zealand, Organic Farms, Peru, Randy Richards, Spiritual, Sunapee, Sustainability, travel photography, wwoof
Posted in New Zealand, Sustainable Living/Communities, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
23/05/2009
Suitcase or Backpack? How about both – A hybrid
Heading to High Camp, Huascaran, Peru
What you decide to take as your main travel luggage will depend mostly on what you’ll be doing. If you’re climbing Mt. Aconcogua or Mt. Huascaran Sur, you’ll be needing a “mule bag” full of climbing gear plus an expedition pack, which I usually carry on my back and wheel the mule bag around. If you’re vagabonding, with overnights in hostels or camping, a backpack is the way to go. If you’re doing a tour where you’ll mostly be in hotels, a hybrid bag is great.
Travel as lightly as you feel you can, My rule of thumb is lay out everything you think you want to bring and cut it by at least a third.
But you’ll need some trusty long underwear and possibly a down sweater or something like that if you’re headed to Lake Titicaca in July or August. The reason I mention this, before I answer the size of the luggage and type, is… The bulk of what you may take could be the insulation for the chilly nights in Cusco and Lake Titicaca.
Luggage is a personal preference. I prefer a backpack just because I like the freedom of it, and I have traveled that way for years. (more…)
Tags:Aconcogua, adventure travel, Dexter R. Richards, Huascaran, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, mtnspirit.org, New Hampshire, Peru, Randy Richards, Sunapee, The North Face, Travel Luggage, What's best travel bag
Posted in Peru, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
21/05/2009
Ida, The Missing Link
May 19, 2009—Meet “Ida,” the small “missing link” found in Germany that’s created a big media splash and will likely continue to make waves among those who study human origins.
In a new book, documentary, and promotional Web site, paleontologist Jorn Hurum, who led the team that analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil seen above, suggests Ida is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution.
Read the rest of this story at National Geographic’s website.
Tags:Ida, John Hurum, National Geographic
Posted in Archeology | Leave a Comment »
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