Native Eyewear to Support Canadian Team – First to Row Northwest Passage
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For Immediate Release:
Media Contact:
Todd Walton
The Walton Works
970.260.9283
todd@thewaltonworks.com
Native Eyewear to Support Canadian Team – First to Row Northwest Passage
Native Eyewear is selected as “official eyewear” of Northwest Passage rowing expedition.
Denver, CO (June 19, 2013) – Native Eyewear makers of high-performance, lightweight polarized sunglasses, has been selected to support the Last First Expedition, in their attempt this summer to row the Northwest Passage. The team plans to row the entire distance, this summer, about 3,000 kilometers, across the Canadian Arctic, from Inuvik to Pond Inlet.
Kevin Vallely, the team leader said, “Native’s superior optics will be a big help to us in the 24 hours of daylight we will experience in the Arctic summer. The team expects all light conditions, from full sun, sun and cloud, to sea fog. Native’s polarized lenses will be critical in this range of conditions, along with sunlight reflecting from the water, ice and snow. Native’s lens interchangeability into the Sportflex low-light lens should be a big plus during cloudy and foggy conditions,” Vallely continued. “We expect to encounter all conditions, and top gear will be critical to us.”
The key sponsor for the expedition is Mainstream Renewable Power, an international solar and wind power company with offices in Canada, that hopes to draw attention to what’s happening in the Arctic because of global warming. “The expedition can only happen because the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate,” Eddie O’Connor, chief executive of Mainstream Renewable Power, says on the company website.
The team members (Paul Gleeson, a self-employed personal adviser, Frank Wolf, a filmmaker and Dennis Barnett, who works in the shipping industry) have been training for the epic journey, right up to their departure date next week.
“Several people have kayaked it [a section at a time] over several years. But no one has ever done this under human power in a single season. Not even close,” said Kevin Vallely, team leader.
Among his many adventures, Mr. Vallely has skied Alaska’s 1,860-kilometre Iditarod Trail and set a world record for the fastest unsupported trek to the South Pole. Mr. Gleeson spent 85 days rowing across the Atlantic, in 2005 and Mr. Wolf has retraced the Nome gold rush route, cycling more than 2,000 km through Alaska and the Yukon.
The expedition website can be seen at:
http://mainstreamlastfirst.com/
About Native Eyewear
Native Eyewear makes polarized sunglasses for adventurers of all types with the vision to navigate any terrain in any type of sunlight. Featuring interchangeable polarized lenses, exceptional grip & comfort and ultra-light frame technology; Native sunglasses are the perfect companion for seeing the path ahead. Whether you’re approaching the mountain, the water, the trail or the asphalt, you’ll be ready. So go ahead—go Native. http://www.nativeyewear.com.
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