Behind the scenes
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BLOG: Discovering the bones of Tam Pa Ling
Tam Pa Ling cave sits at the top of Pa Hang Mountain, in Hua Phan Province, Laos. Every day, we climb the mountain and descend into the cave to dig. The view from outside the cave is spectacular, but its location means that the only equipment that we can use to dig through the wet […]
BLOG: Finding a Home for the Bones of Tam Pa Ling
VIENTIANE, LAOS – I normally would not make a trip to Laos lasting less than a week. Since travel time each way is about 20 hours, it is difficult to justify a total of 46 hours on the ground. But this is an exception. I am a paleoanthropologist, and with a team of researchers from […]
Image of Research: A Pinch of Salt and Imagination
I was holding the dried out agar plate in my hand, wondering what I was looking at. These beautiful self-organized fractals changed shape in front of my eyes. I could imagine the salt deposits as a starry night, a mysterious garden or white snowflakes. Agar plates are inseparable parts of microbiology labs. My project mainly focuses […]
Blog: Expedition to the highest lake in the world: The child decides
I’ve been waiting for weeks to share this with you, patient reader, but thought it best to report only the final outcome of this year’s adventure to Ojos del Salado, the highest active volcano in the world. In case you hadn’t guessed, team Illinois did not and will not make it to the lake near the top of […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world: Timing is everything
CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA – We had finished our acclimatization training. We had arranged for a truck to take us – again – across the vast Catamarca wilderness to base camp of Ojos del Salado. We had recruited two young men with mountaineering experience to join the expedition. With offerings of water, beer, mountain herbs and coca leaves, we […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world: Changes in plans
FIAMBALA, ARGENTINA – We thought that the expedition was over. My husband’s altitude sickness left only three of us to climb Ojos del Salado, make our way up the mountain in the thin air, find the lake, collect the biological samples and get back down safely. It wasn’t feasible. On what we thought would be […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world: Expect the unexpected
FIAMBALA, ARGENTINA – You may think that mountain expeditions are all about action, but in fact there’s a lot more time spent sitting around. Plans may be perfect, but obstacles arise. The weather is unexpectedly cold; the ice on the lake is too thick; the snow on the mountain is melting much later in the […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world: The why
“For us, this is an extreme environment. But for the microbes, this is home.” – Manfredo Seufferheld MENDOZA, ARGENTINA – We head out to Fiambala tomorrow, near the base of Ojos del Salado, the tallest active volcano in the world. We will continue our acclimatization hikes at higher and higher altitudes before beginning our approach […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world – Climbing higher
VALLECITOS, ARGENTINA – Mount Franke is a giant rock pile. Some of the rocks are attached to the mountain. Many, many others are not. The loose rocks are engaged in slow tumble down the mountainside. Hikers often help them along. Expedition leader Francisco Seufferheld tells us that climbers who hope to climb South America’s highest […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world – Day 2
POTRERILLOS, ARGENTINA – The polar explorer Amundsen hated adventure and worked hard to avoid it. Adventures begin when things go wrong and are a sign of bad planning, he said. For us, the adventure began even before we landed in Argentina. One of our five giant duffle bags full of gear never made it to […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world – DAY 1
MENDOZA, ARGENTINA – We arrived in Mendoza today and if we feel up to it tomorrow we are going on our first trek: up from 2,080 meters to 2,700 meters on Mount Mihlo, just outside of Mendoza. This will begin the acclimatization process for us. I was anxious to see if I felt any effects from the […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world – on the road
Failure is Always an Option IN TRANSIT – One of the reasons I felt comfortable joining this expedition was the attitude of the expedition leader, Francisco Seufferheld. He made it abundantly clear that this was to be a positive experience and that we were not to become so driven to reach the goal that we forgot to stay safe […]