Geographical information for safe high-mountain exploration is a project dedicated to a group of Cracow alpinists of the young generation - Łukasz Depta and Wojtek Kozub (read more...), and also to our test team, which has planned a climbing-exploration expedition to Himalayas Gharwalu in fall 2008.
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Destinatoin of 'Expedition aim 'Gharwal 2008' - glacier Gangotr region, from the satellite view.
(Source: Google Earth) |
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Despite young age the team, they can proudly present many mountainous achievements in Tatra Mountains, Alps and Himalayas. For the expedition to Honboro Group and Shigar Mountains in Karakorum, during which they climbed on 3 six thousandths (including two which have not yet been reached) Cracow climbers together with Andrzej Głuszek received prestigious award - the Kolosa for the biggest Polish climbing achievement in 2007.
The main aim of the project is the technical and training support in the scope of improving knowledge and mountain techniques improving safety of the high-mountain activity in the broad sense. The support is realised by training the groups in: the knowledge of snow and snow avalanches, training concerning the usage of GPS navigation or first aid training.
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Lukasz Depta, Wojciech Kozub and Andrzej Głuszek
After reaching Honboro Peak West in 2007
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The Foundation organises the trainings thanks to the cooperation in the project together with instructors and rescuers from Mountain Volunteer Rescue Service (GOPR), experts from snow-avalanche service, Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) and scientists from Institute of Geography and Spatial Management at Jagiellonian University in Cracow (IGiGP UJ)
The cooperation of various institutions in the project is an accomplishment of our postulate, which aims at integration of communities that takes up common purposes in order to enable an efficient flow of information and technology for both scientific and practical needs.
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Official partners of the project - Mountain Volunteer Rescue Service and Jagiellonian University - Institute of Geography and Spatial Management
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Within the framework of the project the Foundation also guaranties professional training and expedition equipment. In order to improve the safety of the expedition, climbers will get among other things: full avalanche equipment, professional first-aid kits or GPS receivers with digital maps of the future exploration area.
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Specially prepared equipment improving safety conditions of alpinists
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Why 'Geographical Information'? Because knowledge concerning threats in the mountains is very often the knowledge about the processes and phenomena which take place in the geographical space in the mountains. It is difficult to present the phenomenon of mountain atmosphere, or the transformation in snow causing snow avalanches, without the reference to the basic knowledge of nature.
Geography is also the knowledge concerning global GPS positioning systems, also known as digital geography or professional geographic information system GIS. Thanks to that kind of training you could not only improve your skills in operating GPS receivers which helps in navigation, but also in preparing digital maps (imported to the receiver), being a derivation of traditional paper maps or new forms of depicting the surface of the Earth - satellite pictures.
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Digital geography - Google Earth
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Through our actions we want to show that geographical sciences are the kind of science which is very close to human and that they can also be used in practice. This can lead to improvement of climbers' safety and enable them to continue their passion longer.
Project is an innovative idea implemented by our Foundation. Having a great climbing and mountain experience our test team will definitely provide us with valuable tips which will allow to improve our training and organisation methods in future. We are hoping that this kind of training will become possible not only to well known people form mountain communities but also to young followers of mountain adventure, for whom that kind of knowledge is especially important.
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