Ball Watches - Explorers Club

Jim Whittaker was the first American to climb the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, in 1963.

A quintessential adventurer, Whittaker looks back on a lifetime of many 'firsts': in 1978 he organized and led the first American ascent of K2, world's second highest - and many say the most dangerous - peak, after five American failures in 40 years; he has led an expedition of people with disabilities to the top of Mount Rainier; and in 1990, he persuaded the Russian and Chinese governments to allow their climbers to join Americans on a successful Mt. Everest Peace Climb.

"Accuracy is everything when you climb Mount Everest" says the American mountaineer, who began climbing peaks in the Pacific Northwest with his twin brother, Lou, as a young man.

"I believe that to have a well-lived life, you have to give something back - to others and to this fragile planet. Giving back is a way of giving thanks, and of sharing joy with others."

Whittaker continues to live an adventure-packed life into his ripe old age, still on the trail of discovery. His guiding philosophy, as revealed in his award-winning autobiography A Life On The Edge - Memoirs of Everest and Beyond, is inspired by a phrase he learnt: If you aren't living on the edge, you're taking too much space.

"Being on the edge, with everything at risk, is where you learn - and grow - the most,"explains Whittaker, who was feted together with the rest of his Everest team by President John Kennedy in 1963. "It's about making the most of every moment, being willing to learn constantly."

Jim believes that going out on a limb makes life worth living. "If you stick your neck out, whether it's by climbing mountains or speaking up for something, your odds of winning are at least 50:50. If you take risks with preparation and care, you can increase those odds significantly in your favor.

On the other hand, if you never stick your neck out, your odds of losing - as in losing out on life's joys - are pretty close to 100 percent. I think a life well-lived is also inseparable from being able and willing to learn continuously."

Jim Whittaker's trailblazing conquest of Everest - crowning a lifetime of achievements - comes from his innate passion for outdoor adventure and a constant curiosity for the new and undiscovered, outside the known realm. As the first member of the Ball Explorers Club, he perfectly encapsulates the drive and spirit of true adventurers.

"Deploying oceanographic instruments in frigid polar water must be done with exact timing", stresses Richard Limeburner, senior research specialist with the US Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics.

A precise, rugged timepiece like Ball Watch is crucial for his scientific experiments in extreme Antarctica where adverse conditions rule: temperatures plunge to -60 degrees centigrade, hurricane force winds can whip up to 320 km an hour, and ice is everywhere.

Otherwise, you have wasted a long trip, explains Limeburner, who has been working for three years at Marguerite, near the Western Antarctic Peninsula.

As part of the Globec programme - which aims to predict how populations of marine animal species respond to climatic changes - Limeburner developed and deployed, near the bay, a series of moorings for crucial functions such as tracking ice motion and measuring salinity.

I have always enjoyed travelling, especially in China and Japan, says the ocean current explorer. "We usually fly to Punta Arenas, Chile, to meet a big icebreaker that transports us to Antarctica." Working in the frozen continent is a unique experience, but it also requires more preparation and just getting there is an experience.

Limeburner tested his knowledge of oceanic currents to help a team of marine scientists find the fabled wreck of the 291-foor coastal steamer, the Portland, in the summer of 2002. The Portland foundered and sank with all 191 passengers and crew aboard in a perfect storm after leaving Boston en route to Maine in 1898. For years, the location of the ill-fated ship was shrouded in controversy. Researchers had spent decades looking for the 291-foot vessel, to no avail. The discovery of the wreck ended a century-long search for the so-called "Titanic of New England".

In the summer of 2004, Richard took on another adventure to locate the Alligator, the first American submarine, lost for 141 years. This first U.S. Navy submarine was built by French scientists in 1861. Compared with the standards back then, Alligator was equipped with the most advanced features. Thus, its discovery will solve many puzzles regarding the state of military technology back more than a century ago. Throughout his whole journey, Richard has been accompanied by his Ball Watch Engineer Hydrocarbon.

At Ball Watch Company, we are proud to help Richard keep time.

Some choose to climb mountains; others only climb them so they can rocket back down at speeds unheard of by the average person. Speed Skiing combines the athleticism of alpine skiing with the mental fortitude of drag racing. Top racers break 100 miles per hour(160kph) during warm-ups. The best reach over 150 miles per hour over a course that lasts a few hundred meters.

The wind tears at your body and your skis flop wildly as you fight to maintain position on the steep mountain. You feel a strong surge of acceleration as you hurtle down the steepest portion of the course. Passing through the start gate, your body punches a hole in the atmosphere that rips the air with a jet-engine roar.

John "Mad Cow" Hembel was among the first Americans to break 150mph on skis. In 2003, he took the overall World Cup Championship and he's remained at the top of his sport ever since. During the last seven seasons, John has progressed to become the best in his discipline, with many top 5 finishes over the last 3 seasons.

Many of the speed skiing races take place in France or Switzerland. There are only a few tracks worldwide that have the right qualities to be used for such a rigorous sport.

During the 2003 Fédération Internationale de Ski(FIS) Speed Skiing World Cup tour, John Hembel began learning French from his competitors, who would teach him a new phrase each day. This was during the beef scare in Europe, and one day John learned the phrase 'Mad Cow' in French. The next morning, before his race, he bellowed out "Vache Folle" and promptly set a new World Record of over 150mph.

For the rest of the FIS tour, he repeated this routine, either yelling 'Mad Cow' or letting out a thunderous Moo! He quickly picked up the nickname 'the Mad Cow.' And 2003 was John Hembel's World Cup year. He set the world record and finished the season as the winner of the FIS Speed Ski tour. So the name stuck.

A split-second break in concentration can spell the end of his Championship dreams. It is a frustrating reality in a sport where weeks of preparation culminate in a few quick trips down the mountain. But one question keeps John "Mad Cow" Hembel going - Is there a limit to speed on the snow?

At Ball Watch Company, we are proud to help Mad Cow keep time.

On July 28, 1973 at 6:10am, Owen Garriott sat strapped into his seat in the Apollo CSM capsule, awaiting ignition of the Saturn IB launch vehicle that would take him to his new home, the Skylab space station. The countdown finally ended, and seconds later Garriott's space adventure began as he passed through the last wisps of Earth's atmosphere.

It would be a journey of records – longest time spent on a space station - nearly two months, longest combined spacewalk, over 13 hours, and most extensive medical research in orbit, the results of which are still the definitive source on the effects of spaceflight exposure.

Here we are cruising around the world at about 16,000 miles per hour, so we see sunrises about every hour and a half. - Owen Garriott, Skylab II Astronaut

Such was life on the world's highest home, the American space station Skylab. When not enjoying the unparalleled vistas, Garriott and his team led groundbreaking experiments in space physiology, performed space walks to maintain and repair the station, and manned the solar telescope. Throughout his experiences, he learned the value of accuracy in every action of every day.

"In space, accurate time is even more important than on the ground," Garriott stresses. "As the spacecraft moves at about 7.5km/sec, every second of error moves your landing point by 7.5 km." Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter learned this when he landed many kilometers away from his intended splashdown point, because he delayed the deorbit burn too long!

The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), the most advanced solar telescope of the day, allowed Garriott to capture some amazing moments on film. "We operated that ATM panel from the moment we got up to the last orbit before we went to bed." And his efforts did not go unrewarded – Garriott filmed an enormous eruption of solar radiation on August 10, and ATM photos provided the first real glimpse of the solar atmosphere. In fact, the Skylab II mission patch depicts a massive solar flare that Garriott had studied!

Garriott did not only operate the ATM - he also spent one of his space walks replacing its film. Other space walks focused on repairing the solar shields of the station. He had the good fortune of participating in all 3 space walks on Skylab II, for a combined time of more than 13 hours in space.

Since leaving NASA in 1986, Dr. Garriott remained active in the space program with various aerospace companies, and as interim director of National Space Science & Technology Center in Huntsville, Alabama at its inception. Of course, Garriott has pursued numerous Earthly exploits including diving and deep sea research activities, and Antarctic expeditions to study microscopic hyperthermophiles and reach the South Pole.

At Ball Watch Company, we are proud to help Owen keep time.

On July 3, 2008, Guillaume Néry dove in Villefranche sur Mer harbor to reclaim the World Record of Free Diving in constant weight (descent and ascent without assistance) to the incredible depth of -113 meters.

The search of the unknown is part of human nature. The quest for depths in apnea is the adventure of a group of men and women passionate for the seas. Gliding deeper into water, they search the unexplored oceans and their inner world.

Since the beginning of time, men have dived for a living like the Japanese and Korean fishermen dive for pearls, or simply to defy the laws of human nature. The film "The Great Blue," about diving rivals Jacques Mayol & Enzo Maiorca, revealed to the general public the wonderful world of apnea, or freediving.

Guillaume Néry, 25, belongs to the new generation of underwater explorers and chose to devote his life in the quest for the unknown.

Guillaume grew up in Nice at the edge of the Mediterranean. He snorkeled every summer to discover the treasures of the undersea world, but spent the majority of his time in the mountains. At 14 he met a group of freedivers from Nice, in particular Claude Chapuis, who became his mentor.

At 20, Guillaume Néry dove to 87 meters below the surface of the sea and returned as the youngest world record holder in the history of apnea. In 2004, he reclaimed his world record with a dive to 96 meters. His next world record was 109 meters in 2006.

Always faithful to the philosophy transmitted by l'ecole niçoise (the Nice school), Guillaume dove each day a little deeper, always with patience and pleasure. Much more than a sport, apnea proved to be for Guillaume a way of life, an exploration of the depths and human limits, a personal and collective adventure.

Guillaume dives with a monofin: "I think it's the most beautiful and environment-friendly way to glide in the water. The undulation allows a close and intense contact with the liquid element. There is no artifice, just me and the water."

In the extreme world of free-diving, competition is as much about setting new records as finding the will to go beyond one's limits. It combines purity and respect with the mental strength required to maintain concentration even while descending the depths.

After a year of challenging preparation, Guillaume began his quest to reclaim the world record on June 30, 2008. Guillaume approached Day 1 as a training day. He hoped for a strong dive to -107 meters, just short of his previous record.

On Day 4, he knew he was ready. With renewed determination on July 3, Guillaume dove under his own power for -113 meters and the new World Record.

At Ball Watch Company, we are proud to support Guillaume Néry in his daring attempts to push the limits of human achievement.

At 14,000 feet above sea level, Dr. Christopher Hillman travels on a motorbike among different communities providing healthcare for emergencies and house calls. He often works from atop a glacier and the bamboo bench that serves as his waiting room, seats 60. Logistical problems are often insurmountable and timing is critical. Often patients need to be transported over long distances to receive the necessary care. Equipment must be specially designed to withstand the long, cold winter, and most instruments do not pass the test.

"The area where I live is often referred to as the top of the world, winters here are extremely harsh. Everything freezes in the winter; batteries freeze all the time. I have two sets of batteries when I am using battery-powered equipment. One set I keep next to my body and periodically I switch them. Even the photography is affected - the frigid temperature slows the shutter speed causing the pictures to be overexposed. I usually can take pictures only for a short time, once the camera freezes; photography is finished for the day."

"Time is an essential part of my day, because without the correct time people would die." Correct time is crucial during the basic physical exam for heart rate, pulse, and respiration. The environmental conditions are harsh, especially during the cold months, when all normal watches freeze. A special timepiece that keeps the correct time at -40° simply just saves lives.

Despite all this, the rewards are unsurpassed. For example, there is the case of a young boy afflicted with polio. It took three years and 50 people working together to match him with his orthotic which enabled him to walk without a cane for the first time in his life. "Sometimes things just take time," notes Dr. Hillman.

Dr. Hillman returns to the United States yearly to stock up on supplies that simply cannot be found in his chosen community. While there, he attends refresher courses to learn about new diseases and diagnostic skills, and he also conducts seminars addressing the challenges of International Medicine.

On his yearly return to the mountains, Dr. Hillman escorts an annual group of fresh British doctors to discover the trials & joys of life in the Himalayas. "My desire is to share my experience with others and hopefully their response will be one of participation and understanding. This truly is an extraordinary time in my life."

At Ball Watch Company, we are proud to support Dr. Hillman's noble efforts high in the Himalayas.