Online Adventures

Surviving Denali

[real-time June 2 through June 30, 2000]
Follow a NOVA team reporting live from Mt. McKinley (Denali) while filming a documentary about humans coping with extreme cold and altitude. Covered in the verite style of the television program "ER," this medical online adventure follows a team of doctors and climbers conducting a study of the body's ability to maintain its core temperature in sub-zero weather. Three-time NASA shuttle astronaut John Grunsfeld makes his first attempt on the mountain in the company of veteran guides Colby Coombs and Caitlin Palmer, who have made multiple ascents of North America's highest peak.

The Wilds of Madagascar

[real-time May 18 through June 8, 2000]
Journey with us into the lost world of Madagascar, whose wildlife is almost wholy unique to this 1000-mile-long island off southeast Africa. In two little-visited regions—a cave-riddled canyonland and a mountainous rain forest—follow the efforts of scientists trying to capture and study a catlike predator known as the fossa and an extremely rare lemur called the silky sifaka.

Shackleton's Antarctic Odyssey

[real-time during October-November 1999]
Journey into iceberg-clogged Antarctic waters and onto rugged Elephant and South Georgia islands as NOVA follows in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton. This legendary explorer's Endurance expedition of 1914-1916 is justly deemed one of the greatest survival stories of all time. Follow this six-week expedition as it made landfall, entered the pack ice, and negotiated some of the world's roughest seas to film the scenes of Shackleton's remarkable journey for NOVA.

Lost on Everest

[real-time during April - May 1999]
Who was the first to reach the summit of Everest? Since 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay have held that honor. Here, on our third Online Adventure to Everest, follow the dramatic story of an expedition looking for George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine—two British climbers who disappeared near the summit back in 1924. What the expedition found is the subject of the NOVA program "Lost on Everest."

Mysteries of the Nile

[real-time during March and September 1999]
This Web site leads you on a fascinating excursion through the wonders of ancient Egypt. To see for yourself the enormous energies the pharaohs devoted to erecting their soaring monuments—particularly obelisks—you will travel to Giza, site of the Pyramids and that enigmatic half-man, half-lion, the Sphinx and to Luxor, site of the archaic capital of Thebes, to examine some of the great tombs and temples of the New Kingdom. You'll also visit Aswan, where a NOVA team tried to raise a 25-ton obelisk using tools and techniques the pharaohs themselves might have used. Finally, watch a new team working in a Massachusetts quarry succeed at last in raising an obelisk using an ingeniously simple technique.

Island of the Sharks

[real-time during September - October 1998]
Costa Rica's Cocos Island boasts more sharks per cubic yard of water than perhaps any other place on the planet, including whitetip reef sharks, 40-foot whale sharks, and hammerheads that school by the hundreds. We joined Howard and Michele Hall, two of the world's leading underwater filmmakers, as they dove into this shark-infested paradise to shoot an IMAX large-format film, "Island of the Sharks."

Into the Abyss

[real-time during June - July 1998]
A mile and a half beneath the sea off the Pacific Northwest coast, a volcanic ridge has given birth to towering structures that spew toxic, superheated water. The structures, known as black smoker chimneys, are home to bizarre life forms that thrive far beyond the reach of the sun's light. Follow the daring attempt of an ambitious expedition to retrieve several of these black smokers from the seafloor, as chronicled in the NOVA program "Volcanoes of the Deep."

Secrets of Easter Island

[real-time during April - May 1998]
For nearly three centuries, explorers and archaeologists from Captain Cook to Thor Heyerdahl have been fascinated by the secrets of Easter Island. How did the original Easter Islanders arrive on the most remote inhabited island on Earth? How did they move and erect the giant Moai statues? What happened to the ancient and vibrant civilization that created these legendary statues? Join us as we explore Easter Island's past and attempt to unlock its well-kept secrets.

Tracking El Niño

[real-time in January - February 1998]
Next to the seasons, El Niño is the most powerful force driving global weather. On travels that took him from the California coast to the Galapagos Islands, our correspondent reported live on the effects of El Niño around the world and what scientists are learning about this mysterious weather phenomenon.

Alive on Everest

[real-time in May 1997]
Take on the ultimate challenge to mind and body and climb Mt. Everest, the highest point on Earth. NOVA takes you there with a team of elite climbers who track their mental and physical state all the way from sea level to the summit, in the infamous Death Zone. While you're there, learn about the checkered history of Everest attempts and the many noteworthy characters involved.

Pyramids - The Inside Story

[real-time in February - March 1997]
Have you ever dreamed of exploring the pyramids of Egypt? If so, enter here, wander through the chambers and passageways of the Great Pyramid, and learn about the pharaohs for whom these monumental tombs were built. Also, follow the progress of a team of archaeologists as they worked to excavate the massive bakery that fed the pyramid builders.

Balloon Race Around the World

[real-time from October 1996 through January 1997]
To fly non-stop around the world in a balloon is one of aviation's last great challenges. This adventure followed the preparations and launch of one of the top ballooning teams during the 1996-1997 season. Check out our stories on the contenders for 1997-1998, the history and science of ballooning, the jet stream, and much more.

Ice Mummies of the Inca

[real-time in September 1996]
Follow the work of high-altitude archaeologist Johan Reinhard as he journeys to the peak of Mt. Sara Sara in Peru in search of icy relics from the time of the Inca. Join him on the summit as he finds Sarita, a 500-year old Inca mummy, as well as exquisite textiles and other artifacts.

Everest Quest

[real-time in May 1996]
In the spring of 1996, we launched our first NOVA/PBS Online Adventure, tracking the progress of an IMAX film team as it captured the first large-format movies from the world's tallest peak. Follow the story here, and the tragedy that claimed eight lives, through riveting dispatches.