SPORTS

For 11 years, National Geographic has combed the globe to find the Adventurers of the Year, each selected for his or her extraordinary achievement in exploration, adventure sports, conservation, or humanitarianism. Get to know this year’s honorees, then vote for the 2016 People’s Choice. (Nat Geo Adventure)

Play our game to explore like a Nat Geo adventurer, or get started with the adventure in your community with our fun booklist.

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including a chance to vote for the 2016 People’s Choice for Adventurer of the Year!

Discussion Ideas

Meet the Mountaineer!

• Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, the first female mountaineering instructor in Nepal, led massive relief efforts following the devastating earthquake in April.
  • Use our resources to map Nepal and learn more about the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck this year.

 

Meet the Boundary Breakers!

• This year, the Afghan Women’s Cycling Team competed internationally for the first time.
  • Use our resources to map Afghanistan (lots of mountains for those cyclers!) and learn more about other ways women are making changes in the country.

 

Meet the Climbers!

• Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson captured the world’s attention as they completed the first free climb of Yosemite’s Dawn Wall, considered the world’s longest, hardest, blankest rock climb.
  • Use our resources to map California and learn more about Yosemite National Park.

 

Meet the Exploratory Kayakers!

• Ben Stookesberry, Benny Marr, Chris Korbulic, and Pedro Oliva made a source-to-sea first descent of the treacherous Beriman River, tucked away in the jungles of Papua New Guinea.
  • Use our resources to map Papua New Guinea and learn more about whitewater kayaking.

 

Meet the Long-Distance Kayaker!

• Freya Hoffmeister completed a perilous passage: a four-year, 16,700-mile-long circumnavigation of South America.
  • Use our resources to map South America and learn more about long-distance kayaking.

 

Meet the Ski Mountaineers!

• Chris Davenport, Christy Mahon, and Ted Mahon have climbed all of Colorado’s 53 “fourteeners” (peaks that reach at least 14,000 feet)—and skied down them.
  • Use our resources to map Colorado and learn more about skiing.

 

Meet the Solar Pilots!

• When the Solar Impulse 2 landed in Hawaii this year, pilot André Borschberg had been at the controls for 118 hours. Borschberg and fellow pilot Bertrand Piccard hope to use the momentum to turn the world’s attention to clean energy.
  • Use our resources to map the Pacific Ocean and learn more about solar-powered flight.

 

Meet the Trail Runner!

• Legendary ultramarathoner Scott Jurek set a new speed record on the Appalachian Trail: 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes.
  • Use our resources to map the Appalachian Trail and learn more about ultramarathon running.

 

Meet the Wildlife Heroes!

• Ecologist Arthur Middleton and photographer Joe Riis combined science and stunning imagery to shine a light on why Yellowstone’s wildlife needs freedom to move.
  • Use our resources to map Wyoming and learn more about Yellowstone National Park.

 

Meet the Wilderness Protector!

• Biologist Steve Boyes led a team 1,578 miles to save the wildest place in Africa and the pulse of the planet.
  • Use our resources to map the heart of Africa and learn more about the Okavango Delta.

 

Which adventurers intrigue you the most? Vote for them here!

 

TEACHERS’ TOOLKIT

Nat Geo: Adventurers of the Year 2016

Nat Geo: Adventurers of the Year: People’s Choice Vote

Nat Geo: Go on a Family Adventure game

Nat Geo: The Adventure in Your Community booklist

Nat Geo: 1-Page Maps