Space Foundation Donates Emergency Bivvies to AdAmAn, EPCSAR for New Year's Eve Climb

As a New Year’s gift – and to offer protection as the AdAmAn Club once again ascends Pikes Peak for New Year’s Eve fireworks – the Space Foundation gave both the AdAmAn Club and El Paso Search and Rescue a dozen Survive Outdoors Longer (SOL) Emergency Bivvy protection shelters.

The ultralight, ultra-warm SOL Emergency Bivvies, which are made of heat-reflective material that carries official Space Certification™ status from the Space Foundation, are polyethylene sacks that retain 90 percent of body heat and offer full protection from wind, rain and or snow. Manufactured by Space Foundation certification partner Advanced Flexible Materials (AFM) Inc. and Adventure Medical Kits, SOL Emergency Bivvies can be life-savers for climbers caught in bad weather.

About the AdAmAn Club
A Pikes Peak Region tradition since 1922, the Pikes Peak AdAmAn Club is a group of mountaineers who climb the icy slopes of Barr Trail on the east face of world famous Pikes Peak each Dec. 30 and 31 and, at midnight on New Year’s Eve, ignite a fireworks display from the summit to usher in the New Year. The club is dedicated to the memory of the original “Frozen Five,” Ed Morath, Fred Morath, Fred Barr, Willis Magee and Harry Standley, who decided that only one new member could be added to the club each year, hence the name: AdAmAn (add a man). A climbing party of 30 members and guests leave the trailhead of Barr Trail on Dec. 30, with an overnight stay at Barr Camp. On Dec. 31, they flash mirrors from timberline to friends and families in the Colorado Springs area and then finish the ascent to the summit. The climb from timberline (12,000 feet) to the 14,110-foot summit is often accomplished on icy and snowswept slopes with wind chills of -50 degrees. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, they ignite a spectacular fireworks display, which can be seen on a clear night for hundreds of miles along the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies and eastern plains. For more information, go to: www.adaman.org.

About El Paso County Search and Rescue
El Paso County Search and Rescue (EPCSAR), which works closely with AdAmAn to ensure the safety of the climbers, is a nationally accredited, all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives and educating the public about backcountry safety. Formed in 1970, the team provides search and rescue services under the auspices of the El Paso County Sheriff for El Paso County, Pikes Peak and surrounding mountains. The team conducts operations whenever needed, in any weather conditions. Each member of the team provides his/her own gear, at significant expense, and the canine handlers and mounted patrols maintain their animals privately. There is never a charge for EPCSAR services and the group receives no regular governmental financial support. For more information, go to www.epcsar.org.

About Space Certification™ and the Space Foundation
Products and services that display the Space Certification™ seal are guaranteed to have stemmed from or been dramatically improved by technologies originally developed for space exploration or to have significant impact in teaching people about the value of space utilization. Developed and administered by the Space Foundation, the world’s foremost advocate for all sectors of the space industry, the Space Certification program serves three purposes:

• Providing a unique marketing edge for Space Certification partners
• Demonstrating to the public how space technologies now improve life on Earth
• Making space knowledge more interesting and accessible to everyone

There are three classifications of Space Foundation Certified Products:

• Certified Technology Products – Products or services that directly result from space technology or space program development or advances in space technology
• Certified Educational Products – Products used in educational environments to stimulate interest in and knowledge about space
• Certified Imagination Products – Entertainment products, games or toys that increase interest in and excitement for space and inspire new generations to take an active interest in space

Space Certification products and services have been scrutinized by the Space Foundation, which works closely with NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and other organizations engaged in space research and development to identify and validate that they are eligible for and deserving of recognition.

A global, nonprofit organization, the sponsoring Space Foundation is a leader in space awareness activities, educational programs that bring space into the classroom, major space industry events and space research studies, analyses and publications, all in support of its mission “to advance space-related endeavors to inspire, enable and propel humanity.” Headquartered in Colorado Springs, the Space Foundation has an office in Washington, D.C., and a field office in Houston, Texas.

For more about Space Certification, go to www.spacefoundation.org/space-certification; for more information on the Space Foundation, visit www.SpaceFoundation.org.

For more on the bivvies, go to www.adventuremedicalkits.com/product.php?product=144, and for more on AFM, go to www.heatsheets.com.

 

 

This article is part of Space Watch: January 2013 (Volume: 12, Issue: 1).