|
World's Greatest
Living Explorer?
Or, not?
| Is he really? Or is that simply an often quoted,
but outdated and incorrect, "publisher's dust
jacket" item? |
|
 |
http://observe.arc.
nasa.gov/
nasa/exhibits/ubar
/ubar_0.html |
Q: Who said he was
the "World's greatest living explorer?"
A: Supposedly that was once printed in Guinness...?
When? |
"Fiennes was particularly obtuse when it came to the mildest of questions.
Did he think of himself as an explorer first, or a writer?
'My passport says I am a travel writer.'"
"The problem is knowing what people mean by the word
'explore'. I've done 32 years of expeditions, only one of which was as a
true explorer, as opposed to what I call myself - an expedition leader."
|
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• His passport says he is a travel writer(1).
• In the UK he is available as a celebrity/motivational speaker.
• In an interview Fiennes says he's an expedition leader, not an explorer.
• His adventures have been endurance treks, not exploration. |
|
(1)
Traveling is not
exploring. Trekking across remote but previously discovered areas is called
an adventure, not exploring. Exploring is journeying to a remote area
for a scientific purpose such as mapping, documenting flora & fauna, etc. |
|
Q: Does Fiennes truly claim he discovered the Arabian city Ubar?
"...Fiennes
led several expeditions in the great deserts of Arabia,
before
finally finding the city in Oman in 1992."[http://www.speakers.co.uk/SubPages/Speakers/6071.htm]
"After numerous attempts he found the Lost City of Ubar ...in
1992, his biggest expeditional success so far." [http://www.angelfire.com/biz5/beeswing/ranulphfiennes.html]
"Ranulph has led over 30 expeditions...The discovery of the lost
Arabian city of Ubar" [http://www.tracyedwards.co.uk/fiennes.html]
He is laconic, maddeningly matter-of-fact: discovering a fabled
lost city in the Oman desert in 1992 was "luck."
[http://www.time.com/time/europe/eu/magazine/0,9868,188819,00.html]
"The Guinness Book of World Records describes Fiennes as the world's
greatest living explorer. He was at the helm of the expedition that
found the Lost City of Ubar."
[http://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/rfiennes.html]
"TIME: What's next? FIENNES: ...maybe I'll try for another
lost city in Arabia."
[http://www.time.com/time/europe/eu/magazine/0,9868,188819,00.html]
"Question: Which expedition are you most proud of? Sir Ranulph Fiennes: I think probably
locating the lost city
of Ubar in the early 1990s,..."[http://www.travelleronline.com/travel_talk/chatranulphfiennes.shtml] |
|
|
A:
Nasa and Nicholas Clapp found Ubar!
Fiennes was hired to do logistics... |
|
Who really found Ubar? Nicholas Clapp found Ubar. What did Fiennes really
do? Apparently he only handled logistics & financing. |
Clapp found Ubar
"... it was one of
the strangest phone calls that the NASA space agency had received…A hesitant voice on the end of the line said:
'I would like to talk to someone about using the Space Shuttle to look
for a lost city.' With these few words, began one of the most extraordinary quests of the 2Oth
century. A quest to solve a mystery which had baffled scientists and
explorers for a thousand years."
"...Nicholas Clapp...made that -fateful phone
call to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California back in
1983. 'It was a little nutty, a little eccentric,' he reflected years later.
'But as an amateur you can do things the professionals can't.' What Clapp
didn't know then was that he was about to embark on a 10-year odyssey. And
that his 'amateur' efforts would culminate in what Time magazine heralded as
'one of the three major scientific events' of the 1990s."
"Clapp found Ubar. His revelation that the city had indeed collapsed into an
underground cavity also proved that ancient 'myths' are often founded on
sound historical fact."
[http://www.guidedones.com/issues/reports/ubar10.htm] |
Major Find
"The idea of searching for the lost city of Ubar was conceived in 1981 by
Nicholas Clapp, a Los Angeles filmmaker and adventurer...with
the help of Mr. Hedges, recruited a team of experts in several fields.
Analysis of the space images was directed by Dr. Charles Elachi, ...Working with him
were Dr. Blom and Dr. Robert E. Crippen,...Alan Jutzi, ... assisted with
archival research. Dr. Zarins, a professor at
Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield ...is still at the site directing the excavations....Sir Ranulph
Fiennes, a British polar explorer...directed logistics for the expedition and helped
arrange financing from Omani backers.
[http://www.ups.edu/faculty/velez/FL380/Ubar/page2.htm] |
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[NAVbar2.htm] |
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Copyright © 2002 Lord Vernon Russell-Twittledorf
Robinson, MCE (Member of the California Empire) |
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