GC Open #51 (Challenge-Cache) Mystery Cache

GC Open #51 (Challenge-Cache)

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Alfred Lothar Wegener (1 November 1880 – November 1930) was a German climatologist, geologist, geophysicist, meteorologist, and polar researcher.

During his lifetime he was primarily known for his achievements in meteorology and as a pioneer of polar research, but today he is most remembered as the originator of continental drift hypothesis by suggesting in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting around the Earth (German: Kontinentalverschiebung).

His hypothesis was not accepted by mainstream geology until the 1950s, when numerous discoveries such as palaeomagnetism provided strong support for continental drift, and thereby a substantial basis for today's model of plate tectonics.

Wegener was involved in several expeditions to Greenland to study polar air circulation before the existence of the jet stream was accepted. Expedition participants made many meteorological observations and were the first to overwinter on the inland Greenland ice sheet and the first to bore ice cores on a moving Arctic glacier.

In 1906, Wegener participated in the first of his four Greenland expeditions, later regarding this experience as marking a decisive turning point in his life. The Denmark expedition was led by the Dane Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen and charged with studying the last unknown portion of the northeastern coast of Greenland. During the expedition Wegener constructed the first meteorological station in Greenland near Danmarkshavn, where he launched kites and tethered balloons to make meteorological measurements in an Arctic climatic zone. Here Wegener also made his first acquaintance with death in a wilderness of ice when the expedition leader and two of his colleagues died on an exploratory trip undertaken with sled dogs.

After his return in 1908 and until World War I, Wegener was a lecturer in meteorology, applied astronomy and cosmic physics at the University of Marburg. His students and colleagues in Marburg particularly valued his ability to clearly and understandably explain even complex topics and current research findings without sacrificing precision. His lectures formed the basis of what was to become a standard textbook in meteorology, first written In 1909/1910: Thermodynamik der Atmosphäre (Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere), in which he incorporated many of the results of the Greenland expedition.

On 6 January 1912 he presented his first proposal of continental drift in a lecture to the Geologische Vereinigung (Geological Association) at the Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt am Main. Later in 1912 he made the case for the theory in a long, three-part article and a shorter summary.

Plans for a new Greenland expedition grew out of Wegener and Johan Peter Koch's frustration with the disorganisation and meager scientific results of the Danmark expedition. The new Danish Expedition to Queen Louise Land would involve only four men, take place in 1912–1913, and have Koch for leader.

After a stopover in Iceland to purchase and test ponies as pack animals, the expedition arrived in Danmarkshavn. Even before the trip to the inland ice began the expedition was almost annihilated by a calving glacier. Koch broke his leg when he fell into a glacier crevasse and spent months recovering in a sickbed. Wegener and Koch were the first to winter on the inland ice in northeast Greenland. Inside their hut they drilled to a depth of 25 m with an auger. In summer 1913 the team crossed the inland ice, the four expedition participants covering a distance twice as long as Fridtjof Nansen's southern Greenland crossing in 1888. Only a few kilometres from the western Greenland settlement of Kangersuatsiaq the small team ran out of food while struggling to find their way through difficult glacial break-up terrain. But at the last moment, after the last pony and dog had been eaten, they were picked up at a fjord by the clergyman of Upernavik, who just happened to be visiting a remote congregation at the time.

Third Greenland expedition

In April–October 1929, Wegener embarked on his third expedition to Greenland, which laid the groundwork for the German Greenland Expedition which he was planning to lead in 1930–1931.

Wegener's last Greenland expedition was in 1930. The 14 participants under his leadership were to establish three permanent stations from which the thickness of the Greenland ice sheet could be measured and year-round Arctic weather observations made. They would travel on the ice cap using two innovative, propeller-driven snowmobiles, in addition to ponies and dog sleds. Wegener felt personally responsible for the expedition's success, as the German government had contributed $120,000 ($1.5 million in 2007 dollars). Success depended on enough provisions being transferred from West camp to Eismitte ("mid-ice", also known as Central Station) for two men to winter there, and this was a factor in the decision that led to his death. Owing to a late thaw, the expedition was six weeks behind schedule and, as summer ended, the men at Eismitte sent a message that they had insufficient fuel and so would return on 20 October.

On 24 September, although the route markers were by now largely buried under snow, Wegener set out with thirteen Greenlanders and his meteorologist Fritz Loewe to supply the camp by dog sled. During the journey, the temperature reached −60 °C (−76 °F) and Loewe's toes became so frostbitten they had to be amputated with a penknife without anaesthetic. Twelve of the Greenlanders returned to West camp. On 19 October the remaining three members of the expedition reached Eismitte.

Expedition member Johannes Georgi estimated that there were only enough supplies for three at Eismitte, so Wegener and 27 year-old native Greenlander Rasmus Villumsen took two dog sleds and made for West camp. (Georgi later found that he had underestimated the supplies, and that Wegener and Villumsen could have overwintered at Eismitte.) They took no food for the dogs and killed them one by one to feed the rest until they could run only one sled. While Villumsen rode the sled, Wegener had to use skis, but they never reached the camp. Wegener died in his tent around 90 miles from Eismitte and was hastily buried with his skis stuck upright in the snow. Villumsen resumed his journey, but he was never seen again. Six months later, on 12 May 1931, Wegener's skis were discovered. Expedition members built a pyramid-shaped mausoleum in the ice and snow, and Alfred Wegener's body was laid to rest. Wegener had been 50 years of age and a heavy smoker, and it was believed that he had died of heart failure brought on by overexertion. Kurt Wegener took over the expedition's leadership in July, according to the prearranged plan for such an eventuality.

Source: Wikipedia

Challenge Cache: if you want to log this cache as found, you must complete the task or requirement. If you haven't completed it yet, you can sign the logbook, but you is not allowed to log the cache as found. In this case, you make a write note online. As soon as you have completed the challenge, you can convert your log into a found. You can read more about this topic here: https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=127&pgid=206

Your task here in this challenge: find 150 Tradis on Crete

You can check here if you have succeeded:

https://project-gc.com/Challenges/GCB2ZVZ/96568

Of course, we also meet this challenge ourselves:

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For the Rules of this Open series and the current List of caches see the GC Open #01 listing.

Many thanks to ivans for this nice idea :-)

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We generally have a well-coordinated maintenance team (good friends who help each other). But sometimes it is better to accept help from the geocaching community. This should prevent geo-garbage and also improve the overall experience & more fun for all geocachers. We have deliberately decided not to use this procedure for all of our caches. This cache is part of the GCRM ​​/ GCRL cooperative. For more information see here: https://gcrm.gocacher.com/