New Year – New Look – New Book

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Administrator

Happy New Year 2012!

Time has come for a new look here at the Panamerican Peaks project.
Here is a list of the improvements to the site design:

  • Cleaner look with the modern ‘Twenty Ten’ theme
  • Easier navigation with the top-level menu
  • Aggregated various media in one menu and subset of pages
  • Included links to various peripheral sites in Page footer
  • Revolving set of photos in animated header

    Even more importantly, though, the work on my new book is making good progress. As you can see from the book page, there are now several chapters ready for review and proof-reading. I intend to use this set of pages to facilitate the proofing and review process.

    Introduction Wind Rain Hills Cold Heat Fire Ice Coast RedWoods Pampa Tropics Salt Thin Air Volcano Epilogue
    Book Chapters

    Chapters of the Book

    Click on any of the icons or select the subpages from the Book menu.
    (Contact me for the password if you want to review a chapter.)

    Happy Browsing and Enjoy Reading!

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    View of Journey from Space

    Posted on September 28, 2011 by Administrator

    Here is a wonderful time lapse movie made from Hi-Def images aboard the International Space Station. During the 1 min video the space station flew at night along the Pacific Coast of North America and Central America, then across the Pacific to the Coasts of Ecuador and Peru and on over the altiplano of Peru and Bolivia into the sunrise.

    One can observe the many coastal cities from their lights, as well as the big cities in Central Mexico. (Select HD if your bandwidth supports it!) I found it amazing that the route paralleled so much of the Panamerican Highway and went right over so much familiar territory such as the Baja California and later the atiplano with Lake Titicaca and the Salar de Uyuni very clearly visible (at ~55 sec).

    Cycling and Climbing this 10,000+ mile journey took a bit more than 1 year. The Space-Station flies it in under 1 hour (orbital speed 17,500 mph). This time-lapse shows it in 1 minute.

    Posted in Logistics, Peaks, Rides, Technology | Leave a comment

    Recent Developments

    Posted on August 16, 2011 by Administrator

    In the last couple of months I have been giving several talks and presentations. I received very positive and useful feedback, which allowed me to further refine my materials. I have put together a page with more information about the digital audio-visual media materials as well as the presentation here:

    Digital Media and Inspirational Presentations

    If you’re interested to hire me for a presentation, feel free to contact me by sending email to tlausser@hotmail.com.

    My recumbent finally has a proud new owner: Sean Beresford from California bought this Seiran (manufacturer: Challengebikes.com) and is now the third rider of this particular bike. Each of the previous two owners rode it from Alaska to Patagonia. So it’s up to Sean to perhaps complete the hat-trick! That would make this bike the first recumbent to ride the Panamerican Highway not just twice but three times!

    I am continuing with the book project. I had written several chapters and obtained feedback from a few editors. That feedback made me change my approach a bit and I rewrote quite a few chapters. Each time after the presentations I got additional feedback and felt a renewed sense of wonder and excitement about this journey. It is now time to wrap it up and complete the book. Look out for some announcements here in the near future.

    Posted in Charity, Logistics | Leave a comment

    Some Frequently Asked Questions

    Posted on April 6, 2011 by Administrator

    When people learn about my project, they inevitably ask questions involving superlatives: Where was the most beautiful place? What was the hardest part? What was the most dangerous part? etc. I find it hard to pick just one place or experience, so I usually offer a small number of them to chose from. I put together answers to several commonly asked questions such as:

  • What was the hardest part of your trip?
  • Which part of the bike ride did you enjoy the most?
  • How do you prepare for such a trip?
  • Have you ever been in a dangerous situation or felt unsafe?
  • What did you learn from this project or how did it change you?
  • The big question: What’s next?

    • Check out the answers on my FAQ page.

    Posted in Logistics, Philosophy | Leave a comment

    Presentations in California

    Posted on April 2, 2011 by Administrator

    Later this April I will be conducting 3 presentations at REI stores in California as follows:

  • Tue, Apr-19: Santa Monica
  • Wed, Apr-20: San Francisco
  • Thu, Apr-21: MountainView

    • Presentations will be from 7-8pm, followed by some Q&A.

    The presentations are advertised on the REI websites as follows:

    In May 2009, independent traveler Thomas Laussermair set off on an adventure of a lifetime-to pedal the length of the Panamerican Highway (Alaska to Patagonia) and climb the highest mountain of every country along the way. Tonight, Thomas will give a digital presentation of some of the most exhilarating segments of his 14-month journey. Join Thomas as he ropes up for glacier travel on Canada’s wild and remote Mount Logan (19,551 feet), braves the high heat of Baja California, cycles across the stunning Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, and makes an unguided climb of Argentina’s Aconcagua (22,841 feet). Thomas will show you what it takes to plan an adventure of this magnitude, and discuss what he learned along the way. For more information, visit www.panamericanpeaks.com.

    For directions to the stores and to reserve your seat, please go to
    www.rei.com/santamonica
    www.rei.com/sanfrancisco
    www.rei.com/mountainview

    Looking forward to seeing you there!

    May 1st, update: The 3 presentations went well and the content was very well received. Polly Bolling, Bay Area REI Outreach Specialist and Event Coordinator had this to say after the presentations: (highlights added)

    Hi Thomas:

    My belated thanks for all you did to put on a fantastic show at each of our stores! Will and Martin were wowed by your program. The customer evals from SF are exceptional. I’m still waiting for those from Mountain View, and have no doubt they are similar. … “very informational and inspiring”, “fascinating stories, lively presentation”, and “stunning adventure!” are a few of the many superlatives. …

    …

    I wish I could have seen your show, and hope we can interest you in coming again when your book is out. I’d love to schedule you in Berkeley, Saratoga and one of our other Bay Area stores.

    Best,

    Polly

    Posted in Charity, Logistics | Leave a comment