Anna measure 1
Measurements in the Field There is a lot of time between field tasks while the drone is flying, so everyone took advantage of this to trek through the forefield to take some measurements. Not only…
Group at Tsanfleuron
Forefield of Tsanfleuron Glacier Our first target was the Tsanfleuron glacier, a 3.5 km long glacier located in the western Bernese Alps in the cantons of Valais of Switzerland. The group had…
Historic glacier
Signs of the Times I flew into the country a few days before the official start of the expedition in order to acclimate myself to the high altitude and to get my legs into shape hiking the steep…
Poppy quartz
Rock and Mineral Identification Believe it or not, this is something I do quite often. As the Director of the Rutgers Geology Museum, we offer rock and mineral identification events throughout the…
Trail marker
Making new friends There have been so many people along the trails, trains, etc., that I have been making an effort to strike up a conversation with as many as I can. I have had some really…
 Bluebell Bellflower; "Harebell"
The Hills are Alive When talking to people about my upcoming trip to Switzerland, many of them mentioned the beautiful wildflowers. This was something that was not really on my radar, but once I…
Bargg hike geology
Daily Journal The journey starts with a single step I decided to tackle one of the closer hikes yesterday. Having never hiked in another country before, I wanted to see what the trail conditions…
Glacier Grindelwald
Finally Here! After months of anticipation, I’m finally here! One long airplane ride and four trains later, I arrived at Grindelwald and stepped off the train to take in the views of the Alps…
Cheesequake trailhead sign
Daily Journal Cheesequake is a real name To better prepare myself for hiking in the Swiss Alps, I have been doing a 10k training program and trying to get out on some practice hikes. Although with…
PolarTREC Poppy
Daily Journal One month to go! Time is flying by, and in just about a month, I will be getting on a plane and heading to Switzerland for some pre-expedition “training”. The official expedition…
Drone picture
Daily Journal Ready to Fly After the drone finished surveying our test site, we powered her up one more time so all of us could get a chance to see what it is like to fly it. I won’t lie; I was…
Iowa Cornfields
Meeting of the brains After a rough start with severe weather alerts and several delayed/cancelled flights, I arrived in Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday to meet with some of the team members that I will…