Madre de Dios Speleo 2008
Personnel
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Chris Day 3rd year doctoral student at University College and Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford, aged 29. Roles Chris is leading the group of Oxford cavers and scientists who will join up with Charlie Porter for a joint palaeoclimate reconstruction and cave exploration project. Paleo-climatologist. Caver. Climber. Experience OUCC Picos de Europa Expedition 2007 (Spain). Caving in Britain with OUCC since 2005 (South Wales, Yorkshire, Mendips). Scientific caving fieldwork: Morocco 2007, Sri Lanka 2007. Climbing: traditional and sport climbing for 14 years in Britain, Slovenia, Thailand, Romania, Italy and multi-pitch climbs of up to 1000m in the French Alps. Over 15 years of biannual visits to the French Alps to climb, ski, walk and mountain bike. Attended Expedition First Aid Course in 2006. |
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| Charlie Porter
Director of the Patagonia Research Foundation, adventurer, Captain of the Ocean Tramp, aged 57. Charlie Porter, in conjunction with Brenda Hall from the University of Maine, is our collaborator from the United States. He captains his vessle, the Ocean Tramp, which we are using for travelling to Madre de Dios from the Chilean mainland (Puerto Eden) and which will act as a mobile base when exploring the island. Charlie has many years experience of travelling and conducting climate-science fieldwork along the southern coast of Chile and further afield on the island of South Georgia. He has captained a number of expeditions to the glaciers and islands of Patagona, including "Chronology of Late Holocene Moraines" (2006) and "Ice Cores from Patagonia" (2005), both in association with the University of Maine; "Isla de los Estados" (2005) with Lund University; and the "Scotia Centenary Antarctic Expedition" (2002), with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Charlie has visited Madre de Dios, including some of its caves, on several occasions in the past. On one of these occasions, Brenda Hall and himself, collected the stalagmite sample MDD-M2 that Chris Day is now working on at the University of Oxford. We are returning to Madre de Dios with Charlie this year in view of extending the speleothem-based palaeoclimate records that we are working on from this region. This forms part of our joint goal to further the understanding of the palaeoclimate history of this strategic location and supports the palaeoclimate reconstruction work already undertaken by George Denton and Brenda Hall (University of Maine). In addition to expedition fieldwork, Charlie has previously undertaken many climbing, kayaking, and sailing expeditions, being particularly w ell known for pioneering routes up El Capitan, and rounding Cape Horn by kayak, one of the first people to do so. Additional information is available from the following article in the New York Times about his scientific work in Southern Chile and about the 'Porter Nuts' climbing equipment that he developed for climbing the big walls of Yosemite. |
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Louise Maurice Karst hydro-geologist at the British Geological Survey, member OUCC, lives in Oxford, aged 32. Roles Karst hydrogeology and cave safety. Cave explorer and surveyor. Film-maker. Experience Caver since 1990. Sport and traditional climbing since 1991. Hydrological fieldwork in Iceland (1994). OUCC caving expeditions to Spain, (1997, 1998, 1999); Caving expedition to Uzbekistan (2000). Paragliding world record attempts Texas (2004), South Africa (2005, 2006). Canadian arctic canoeing expedition (2007). Selvaggio Blu expedition (2007). Extensive cave exploration in UK (e.g. Ogof Draenen). UK ocean sailing experience since 2005. Travelling in New Zealand, Iceland, European Alps (many trips), Spain. Expedition articles in “Descent” and “Skywings” magazines. Co-maker of three adventure films broadcast on National Geographic channel. Expedition First Aid 2006. |
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| Tim Guilford Professor of Animal Behaviour, Department of Zoology, and Fellow at Merton College, Oxford, aged 48. Roles Film-maker. Cave explorer and surveyor. Experience Many years’ caving, climbing, diving, paragliding, and general wilderness experience. Caving expeditions: OUCC Picos de Europa, 10 expeditions (1984-1997); Uzbekistan (2000, Wilderness Award). Zoology expeditions or fieldwork: Hebrides, Aldabra, Malaysia (diving), Tanzania, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, US Virgin Islands. Paragliding expeditions: world record attempts, Texas (2004), South Africa (2005, 2006); Mexico (Paragliding World Cup, British Team); Pyrenees, Vol Bivouac traverse (2002); holder of 5 UK & US tandem paragliding records. Selvaggio Blu expedition (2007). Canadian arctic canoeing expedition (2007). Extensive UK cave exploration and surveying. UK Ocean sailing experience since 2004. Co-maker of three adventure films broadcast on National Geographic channel (Best Film on Mountain Sports, Banff Film Festival 2003; twice winner BCRA Underground Video Award), and much additional TV work. Assisted in 3 cave rescue operations with Gwent Cave Rescue. Attended Expedition First Aid Course in 2006. |
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Rick Padfield 2nd Year Geography undergraduate, St. Peter’s College, Oxford, OUCC Equipment Officer, aged 19. Roles Equipment Officer. Cave explorer and surveyor. Experience OUCC caving expedition to Picos de Europa, Spain (2006). Two years’ caving experience. Mountaineering, Hillwalking, and Travelling experience since 2004. Long distance cycling, including trip from Lands Ends to John O’Groats. Experienced cartographer. Attended Expedition First Aid Course in 2006. |
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| Ben Lovett Qualified Podiatrist, former surveyor, living and working in South Wales, aged 39 Roles Medical Officer. Cave explorer and surveyor. Experience Many years’ caving, climbing, mountaineering, and general wilderness experience. Caving expeditions: Dachstein, Austria (1993); Goufre Berger, France (1996); China Caves Project (1997, 2001, 2003, 2007); OUCC Picos de Europa expeditions. (2000, 2007); Uzbekistan (2000). Mountaineering trips/expeditions: Trans-Greenland - east west ice cap self-sufficient traverse (1995); Summer Field Assistant (surveyor) with British Antarctic Survey at Halley Base (1998). Shipton’s Lost Valley: successful Anglo-Indian Expedition re-attempting Shipton and Tillman’s 1934 attempt to find a route between the Hindu Temples of Badrinath and Kedarnath in the Garhwall Himalaya (1998). Alps Mountaineering summer - 81, 83, 85, 87, 91, 94. Winter - Jan 01. Extensive UK cave exploration & surveying experience. Assisted in 5 cave rescue operations with Gwent Cave Rescue. |
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Simon Headford Freelance IT specialist, sailor, caver, living in Oxford, aged 47. Roles Treasurer. Marine Logistics and Safety. Cave explorer and surveyor. Advance Field Liaison. Experience Many years’ ocean sailing, caving, and climbing. Sailing expeditions: Papua New Guinea (1989-1993) including 2 x Australia to PNG yacht races; Sailed single-handed and two-handed Australia to Solomon Islands (1994); Indonesia, Torres Straight and Coral/Arafura Seas (1995); Durban to Southampton via Cape Town, St Helena, Ascension Is and the Azores (2004). Paragliding expeditions: Multiple world record camps (Texas, South Africa), current British paragliding distance record holder. Trans-pyrenees vol bivouac traverse (2002). Extensive experience of UK cave exploration and surveying. |
