University Project Ideas

Hey There!

I have tentative plans to head to Patagonia next winter. I was originally planning on taking time off of school, but was just made aware by my advisor that if I can come up with a project, get a professor to 'sponsor' me, and create something gradable (i.e.-paper, presentation, video, ect) then I can get a few credits. I've been brainstorming ideas and just haven't come up with anything I'm super pleased with, so here I am.
I am a natural resource major with an option in outdoor education, so I have a pretty large span of options: resource management, social issues surrounding land use, recreation management, issues in the guiding industry, you name it. The idea I had involved looking at the climber's impact on sustainability, investigating environmental, social and economic facets; however I don't think I'll find anything that groundbreaking and would probably just end up restating LNT principles in the end.

Anybody have any ideas? Or have been down there and have thoughts as to what would be a good topic? Whatever it is, I'd like it to be something I can fit into poor weather days and don't have to rearrange any climbing plans for it.

Cheers

Lots of endangered species and invasive species in patagonia. Don't know where you're going but anything in the Chalten and Paine areas have a lot of active sheep ranching sharing ground with native species like guanacos (related to llamas) and joiques (emus). You could go visit estancias during bad weather days. There are also huemul which are a very rare and endangered deer.

You could look at water as a resource, most of patagonia is desert and all water flows from the glaciers and snow fields in the andes so you can assess the impact of climbing in specific popular areas on water quality down stream that is used by ranches and towns.

Obviously, LNT is what you are supposed to do but there are always ways to refine those practices for specific areas. Find what is most important and the best way to address a problem. Also, you will find that the culture in South America is much less aware of issues surrounding pollution and over use of resources. Tourist towns like Calafate and Chalten are kept pretty clean but wandering around and visiting other towns you will see massive amounts of trash. The wind is so strong that you will start seeing plastic bags and other litter several miles before the first house because when they put the trash out it just gets blown all over the place. The Atlantic coast towns are especially bad and it is easy to understand how there are massive garbage gyres in the middle of the ocean after watching constant streams of styrofoam and plastic getting blasted out to sea every day.

Plenty of issues down there, stop assuming there is a set answer to everything and that everyone knows what it is. You will find plenty to examine and write about.

How about examining the impact of chopping the compressor route on local guiding, social interactions with visiting climbers, maybe the environmental impact on Cero Torre and the other peaks? Would give you a chance to interview the Patagonian elite, and meet locals as a sympathetic researcher. Could probably find a way to spin the work into several seasons in Patagonia.
Unless Cordes' book already covers this. Haven't had a chance to pick it up yet, but definitely plan to.

Yury wrote:I am confused. Do you need gradable or groundbreaking project? What is your priority? What's wrong with old copy/paste approach (in case you need just gradable project)?