Yoshi Wada Adventure Skier On A Mission sky tour information Introduction Yoshi Wada has been an adventurer and extreme skier for more than 20 years. With the spirit of a true adventurer and explorer, Wada undertakes to climb the peaks he targets for skiing down. This can sometimes mean trekking in for days to a mountain¡Çs location. As part of a 10-Challenge Victory Series, Wada has conquered some of the most remote mountains in the world, including Mt McKinley in Alaska, Chinborazo in Ecuador, Mt Kenya in Kenya and Mt Altai in Mongolia. Wada¡Çs 10th and final challenge is to trek to the live volcano Mt Erebus in Antarctica, climb it, then ski down the mountain to the base. Initially, Wada undertook the Victory Series because of a desire to pit himself against the elements and overcome the extreme challenge of skiing down preferably unconquered mountains-the more remote and unexplored the mountain the better. V9¡¡Greenland Now, however, Wada is driven by a philosophical determination as well. During the days and weeks of isolation in some of the harshest environments on Earth, he has come to accept and understand the importance of mankind maintaining life in balance with the natural environment. This was brought home full force due to Wada experiencing first-hand polluted ¡Èblack snow¡É and glacial retreat, which can be attributed in part to depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. In an effort to communicate to the general public both his death-defying experiences in isolation and his concerns for the environment, Wada undertakes regular speaking engagements, holds photographic exhibitions and produces documentaries of his exploits. Background Wada was born in a mountain region of Japan¡Çs northern island of Hokkaido. As a child he often had to get through waist-deep high snow to school during winter and would spent up to six hours a day on skis-a solid grounding for his future as an adventure skier. Wada became a professional skier at 21 and travelled to Europe on his first expedition. At 26, he became the first person to rock ski down Mt Fuji. This challenge initiated Wada¡Çs 10-Challenge Victory Series. V7 Alaska V5 Ecuador Profile 1976 became professional skier 1983 rock skied ¡ÈMt Fuji¡É (3776m), world first 1985 V1 ¡ÈMatterhorn¡É (4479m) in Switzerland from the peak, world first 1988 V2 ¡ÈMcKinley¡É (6194m) North America¡Çs highest peak 1990 V3 ¡ÈJaya¡É (5030m) in Indonesia, first peak on the equator 1991 V4 ¡ÈKenya¡É (5198m) in Kenya, second peak on the equator 1991 V5 ¡ÈChinborazo¡É (6310m) in Ecuador, third peak on the equator 1993 V6 ¡ÈMt Altai¡É (4200m) in Mongolia, world first 1995 V7 ¡ÈJuneau Ice Field-200km¡É in Alaska (skied glacier, three mountains and conquered a 67-degree downhill slope) 1998 V8 ¡ÈYushan¡É (3950m) in Taiwan, world first 2000 V9 ¡ÈMt Gunnbiorn¡É (3700m) in Greenland, highest point in Arctic Circle Training on Mt Illimani (Bolivia) Training on Mt Zermatt (Switzerland) 10-Challenge Victory Series Active Volcano Mt. Erebus in Antarctica ¢¡Concept Reveal the wilderness of Antarctica and its environment ¢¡Theme The Earth-Forever Beautiful ¢¡Expedition Team Yoshi Wada, skier John Svenson, leader of Mountain climbing Support member (2 people), Photographer (1 person) (separate team) TV production (3~5 people) Mt Erebus research trip 1999 Iceberg in Ross Mt Erebus Wada has chosen to conclude his Victory Series on the active volcano, Mt Erebus (3794m) in Antarctica. He selected this mountain for a number of reasons:     Mt Erebus as an active volcano represents to Wada a sign that the Earth is a living, breathing entity and he wishes to see that ¡Èlife¡É up close.     Antarctica¡Çs fragile environment, like the Arctic Circle¡Çs, is threatened among other things by global warming and ozone depletion. Wada would like to draw public attention to this as there are already other signs such as the desertification in Africa and the glacial retreat occurring in South America that indicate Mother Earth needs our care and attention.     As an adventure skier, Mt Erebus in this isolated part of the world offers Wada sufficient challenge for him to want to conquer it. At the same time, he can see and experience the beauty and wonder that is the extreme wilderness of Antarctica. Schedule    1992 Planning to ski iceberg in Antartica    1997 Research trip to Argentina    1998 Select active volcano Mt. Erebus in Antarctica    1999 Feb Research trip to Antarctica and Mt Erebus    2000 June Polar region expedition begins Downhill ski from highest point in Arctic Circle, Mt Gunnbiorn,    2000/01 Mt Erebus expedition postponed    2001 July Mt Erebus expedition training begins Mountain bike across Japan (Kagoshima to Sapporo, approx. 2600km)    Sept Altitude adjustment training in Bolivia, Mt. Illimani    2001/02 Expedition postponed due to 9/11 terrorist incident    2002 July Training in Japan    Aug Ski training in South Island of New Zealand    Sept Ski training in South Island of New Zealand    Oct Training in Japan    Nov Altitude adjustment training in Switzerland, Mt Zermatt    Dec Final training in New Zealand, Mt Cook and Tasman Glacier    24 approx To Hobart, Tasmania, final check for Mt Erebus expedition    2003    Jan 3 Depart Hobart to Antarctica    Jan 20 Arrive Ross Island V10 Challenge, Mt. Erebus    Feb 14 Depart Ross Island    Feb 24 Arrive Bluff, NZ