If you had two super powers what would it be? Why?
The ability to speak any language. Because it just seems
more polite to speak to people in their own language, but
learning them is tough.
The ability to stretch time—like most of us, I don’t find
24 hours a day long enough and could use 30-hour days to
catch up.
What is ACSP and what do we gain to learn from their
research?
The American Climber Science Program is dedicated to
integrated environmental research in the world’s moun-
tain regions. We bring climbers and scientists together to
teach people how to move safely in alpine regions while
bringing multiple scientific disciplines together for holistic
examination of environmental issues. By exploring these
remote regions and producing data that informs the
science as well as local decisionmaking, the ACSP tries to
do ‘science with a purpose’.
You’ve participated in environmental mountaineering
expeditions on four different continents. Which moun-
tain region do you feel is the most endangered? Why?
Environmental change in the world’s mountains is mainly
driven by climate change, growth in human populations, or
a loss of protection from degradation. Nepal and the high-
land regions of Africa are facing these issues and undergo-
ing incredible changes. While the causes of degradation in
these two regions are very different, the result is a rampant
loss of biodiversity and a poor outlook for the future.
How is this information integrated with remote sensing
technology?
Remote sensing is the regionalizer. It allows us to bring
disparate data sources from across a region together and
the remote sensing imagery provides the holistic vision to
examine these various environmental data integrated into
large-scale analysis.
JOHN ALL
I N T E R V I E W
John All has a PhD in Geography and Global
Climate Change, a JD in International
Environmental Law, and a Master’s
Certificate in Environmental Ethics. Dr. All’s
primary interest is at the boundary where
science and policy intersect. In finding ways to
bridge the two, his research has been directed
towards natural resources and ecosystems
that are impacted by climate change. In his
scarce free time, Dr. All is a photographer and
alpinist who has climbed on four continents.
Why is research in these remote regions important?
The areas we work are on the ecological margins and so
any environmental change has dramatic consequences. By
working in these areas, we can understand them better
both for conservation efforts today but also to gain an
appreciation for how environmental change might mani-
fest itself in more temperate and resilient areas in coming
decades and centuries.
Most of these expeditions are extremely dangerous.
You almost died on your most recent expedition to Mt.
Everest. What happened?
This year was a tragic one in Nepal as many expeditions
suffered accidents and people died. We lost a team member
during the April 18 accident on Mt. Everest and moved to the
Annapurna region. I was lucky I survived my accident but as
climate changes melt glaciers ever more rapidly, mountain
research becomes more risky. In my case, the monsoon was
about to strike and end our field season and so there was a
rush to our data collection after the Everest accident. One of
our ACSP team members felt ill and so the other member of
our team escorted them back to basecamp to recover. I made
the calculated risk that I could gather some snow samples
near my tent and return safely by myself while I waited on
them to return. But you should never, ever, walk alone on a
mountain glacier and I plunged into a crevasse. I was lucky
to only fall 70 feet before a small ledge stopped me from
plunging into the void and to be able to climb out in spite of
eleven broken bones (including three vertebrae and my right
arm), a badly separated shoulder, and internal bleeding. I
had to climb diagonally to get out of the vertically walled
crevasse and it took about 4-5 hours and then I crawled back
to the tent. Unfortunately I had to wait 18 hours for the
helicopter while I bled inside and out. Fortunately, they did
come and I survived. I am now recovering and preparing to
join our 2014 ACSP expedition in Peru.
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August 2014
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
