Ladies Night - Open Thursday
Georgia Durante - The Company She Keeps
Georgia Durante
Georgia Durante is the founder and President of Performance Two, Inc. which is
one of Hollywood’s most relied on stunt and precision driving companies.
The expert stunt driving work of Georgia Durante and her drivers have been featured in many television commercials and movies.
Georgia was born in 1950 in Rochester, N.Y.
Georgia is also the author of the best-selling book The Company She Keeps.
It’s a book that has been recognized by domestic violence prevention and
recovery groups for the inspiration and motivation it provides abused women who are looking to reclaim and rebuild their lives.
Georgia Durante’s beginnings were in Upstate New York when at the age of twelve,
the radiant little girl began her national modeling career.
At seventeen, Georgia Durante became the "Kodak Girl" immortalized with her life-size image displayed
in more than 80,000 retail stores throughout the world.
Soon the smile that launched Georgia’s modeling career masked the pain she endured from a brutal rape
at the hands of her brother-in-law, her first brushes with mob violence, the birth of her daughter,
and a failed marriage, all before she turned twenty.
The roller-coaster that had become Georgia Durante’s life continued its downward ride as she met, fell in love with,
and married Joe Lamendola, a respected businessman, but one with a dark secret and ties to the Syndicate.
Georgia Durante’s retelling of the facts paints a picture of a victim hopelessly caught in a web constructed
of her own emotions as well as the abuse and threats of the tyrant whose wife she had become.
Georgia made her escape from the darkness and danger in her life for something safer.
She became a stunt driver.
It wasn’t long before Georgia founded Performance Two,
which became one of the most relied on precision driving companies in Hollywood.
Along the way, Georgia performed as a stunt double for stars including Cindy Crawford, Priscilla Presley and Catherine Hicks.
The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles thanks Bill Murrell Dr. Steve Bein for recommending this speaker.
Nepal offers many trekking and mountaineering opportunities.
This program describes a trek to Everest Base Camp and summiting Island Peak (20,305’)
on November 1, 2011, at age 71.
By way of contrast, Bill Burke summited Mt. Everest (29,029’) from the Tibet side
on May 25, 2014, at age 72.
His series of accomplishments, and especially this recent success, set the bar very high.
As shown below the four goals for this trip were to
(1) visit Everest Base Camp,
(2) walk up Kala Patthar hoping to have a clear day for photographing Mt. Everest,
(3) summit Island Peak, and
(4) have everyone return home safely.
These goals were achieved.
The route that was followed while climbing Island Peak is shown below in red.
The Route Followed While Climbing Island Peak Shown in Red
To some the name Everest Base Camp creates the impression that there is an established area
at the bottom of Mt. Everest that is called the "Base Camp."
That is not the case since Everest Base Camp is located on a glacier that is continually moving,
The picture below shows Everest Base Camp and the deadly Khumbu Icefall
Everest Base Camp and the Deadly Khumbu Icefall
The red dot in the picture below shows the general area where the April 18, 2014,
tragedy took place that claimed the lives of 16 Sherpa’s.
General Area Where the April 18, 2014, Tragedy Took Place
Some have the perception that folks at Everest Base Camp can see the summit of Mt. Everest.
As shown above that is not the case as there is a small peak that interrupts
the line of sight between the two points.
For that reason people visiting Everest Base Camp often walk up Kala Patthar where,
as shown below, on a clear day magnificent pictures of Mt. Everest can be taken.
Mt. Everest
Island Peak is so named because it appears as an island in a sea of ice, a
nd provides some of the most spectacular scenery in the Everest region.
For example, from the summit of Island Peak looking north one can see Lhotse (27,940’),
the fourth highest peak in the world.
Then looking to the south is Ama Dablam (22,493’).
The relationship of Island Peak to Mt. Everest and Everest Base Camp is shown on
the relief model below.
Relationship of Island Peak to Mt. Everest and Everest Base Camp
Six of the ten members of the group were able to summit Island Peak.
One is taking the picture below,
the fellow in the lower right was the guide for the trek and the fellow in
the lower left of the picture was the Sherpa that led the climb.
Supplemental oxygen is not needed at 20,000’ as at that elevation there is 50% of
the oxygen concentration per cubic foot of air that exists at sea level.
Six of the Ten Members of the Group Were Able to Summit Island Peak
The series of pictures below are examples of how the Nepalese people live and work,
and were taken during the walk in to Everest Base Camp.
How Nepalese People Live and Work
How Nepalese People Live and Work
How Nepalese People Live and Work
People sometimes ask why I took this trip.
At age 56 I had back surgery and the surgeon said no backpacking and no tennis from this point forward.
After adjusting to the disappointment resulting from this statement life went on until at age 65
when my son-in-law asked if I would like to participate in an attempt
to climb Mt. Rainier in Washington State.
Realizing that there would never be a better opportunity I said yes.
After carrying a 55 pound pack to base camp we summited Mt. Rainier which led
to climbing Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens in Washington State, Mt. Hood in Oregon,
and Mt. Shasta in California.
The next trip was to Africa to experience the local culture and climb Kilimanjaro.
The mountains of Nepal and its people had always held a fascination. When the outfitter that put the Kilimanjaro trip together suggested the Everest Base Camp/Island Peak trip I was in. It was another opportunity to experience nature at its best with people who also enjoy the outdoors.
The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles thanks Bob Aronoff for recommending this speaker.
Ladies Night - Open Thursday
Kevin Lee - Diving Above the Arctic Circle in SVALBARD
Longyearbyen Svalbard
Kevin Lee photo by Mark Edward Harris (Click on Image to View Complete Photo)
Let’s visit Svalbard, a remote, inhospitable archipelago of islands near the Arctic Circle.
Then plunge into the frigid Arctic waters near the North Pole, with our 2013 Adventurer of the Year,
Kevin Lee, who is an accomplished scuba diver and prolific underwater photographer.
Kevin is one of few who has dived all Seven Continents,
from the warm, clear waters of Indonesia, teeming with marine life, to Antarctica,
where the water temperature was below freezing at -2C (29F) and
where the region’s top predator the leopard seal thrives.
When viewing Kevin’s images,
one notices he employs a unique photographic technique to highlight the beauty and anatomy of
his favorite marine subjects, Opisthobranchs, aka sea slugs, and other marine life.
Opisthobranchs, commonly called sea slugs, come in a wide range of fantastic colors,
strange shapes and varied sizes, from barely visible to several feet long.
These creatures inhabit all oceans and seas, from warm tropical to frigid polar waters.
Most sea slugs have evolved to lose their heavy, cumbersome shells.
Therefore, to survive, they have developed unique defensive strategies to protect themselves,
including the ability to incorporate and store toxins from the food they consume,
into their tissues, and then release those poisons later to ward off potential predators.
Many sea slugs are so well camouflaged they are practically invisible in their surroundings,
while others are aposematic and brilliantly colored as to warn "don’t bother me."
Opisthobranch diets vary from species to species.
Their food includes algae, bryozoa, sponges, small animals and even each other.
Some can actually manufacture their own nutrients, using sunlight and zooanthellae,
which they ingest and store in their bodies.
Svalbard, Norway
Kevin’s mastery and skill of underwater photography has yielded images which
have been published in numerous magazines, newspapers, textbooks, scientific works and
marine life books.
For many consecutive years, Kevin has earned the title
"Photographer of the Year", awarded by both
the Los Angeles and Orange County Underwater Photographic Societies.
Kevin’s works have been exhibited in numerous galleries across the US and
a special collection is permanently housed in the Leatherby Libraries of
Chapman University, Orange, California.
Kevin presently resides in Fullerton, California and is also an avid high-altitude trekker,
mountain biker and outdoors-man.
In fact, Kevin was selected the 2013 Outdoorsman of the Year by the Orange County Register.
Not only has Kevin dived the Seven Continents,
he has also experienced numerous adventures in over forty countries.
Kevin has climbed Africa’s two highest mountains, Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya,
the latter being much more interesting in his words.
And, he has backpacked solo in the Himalayas for ninety days,
with multiple visits to Everest Base Camp and remote regions in eastern Nepal and Sikkim, India.
One of his fondest experiences was backpacking around the Deccan Plateau and
northern India for fourteen months, where he met Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.
Come join us for this fascinating presentation by the Adventurers’ Club’s
2013 Adventurer of the Year, Kevin Lee.
Video: Kevin Lee discusses diving around the world on Dialogue With Doti and Dodge
Polar Bear Greeting
High on a hill, near the airport is the Svalbard Seed Vault, where samples of the world’s seeds are stored in permanent deep freeze. This is the entrance.
Coal Loading Facility
Old Mine Structures, High on the Mountainsides of Longyearbyen
Kevin Lee's Photos
