Polartec Announces 2009 Grant Winners

Polartec has announced the winners of it's 2009 Polartec Challenge Grant, which awards $14,000 to worth adventure expeditions for the year ahead.

This years winners are:

Majka Burhardt: Later this spring Majka will lead a team of climbers to make a first ascent on Van Zyl, a 2000 foot big wall located in Namibia. The expedition has a cultural side to it as well, as the team will visit and interact with Himba tribe, whose way of life is being encroached upon by outside influences.

Bernice Notenboom: Bernice leads the Himalaya Alert expedition, who will be traveling to the Himalaya to survey the impact of global climate change on the Sherpa people who live in the mountains.

Jordan Romero: The 12-year old climbing sensation that I've mentioned here before has earned part of the grant money to focus on his continued pursuit of the Seven Summits. Jordan hopes to become the youngest climber to bag each peak, and will be headed to Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia later this year. If successful, he'll have just Antarctica's Mt. Vinson and Mt. Everest left to do.

Congrats to the winners! These each sound like great expeditions and I hope they are successful for everyone involved.