Erden Eruc

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Then he will cycle back to Ecuador, retrieve his boat, and row across the Pacific Ocean. From there, the trip will become extremely dangerous. There will be no coastline to hug, no humanity within range of rescue. By the spring of 2008, Eruç expects to reach the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya and, that summer, scale the shortest of the six summits, 16,000-foot Carstenz Pyramid. He won't reach the tallest peak in the world-29,058-foot Mount Everest-until 2009. The following year he'll row across the Indian Ocean, climb 19,335-foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and, after rowing through the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea, land in his native Turkey and cycle to Russia's 17,000-foot Mount Elbrus. If he sticks to his plan and survives the climbs, let alone the oceans, the year will be 2011, and he will still be half а world away from his home. "The next 10 years are pretty much mapped out," Eruç said.
	At the Pocock Rowing Center in Seattle, Eruç trains religiously, preparing himself for the day he departs Miami and rows across the Caribbean Sea. It's already February, and time is ticking. From his launch, Emi1 Kossev trains а watchful eye on his protégé. The U.S. Olympic coach has been to the sport's grandest stage. He has seen the world's finest rowers. Eruç is hardly one of them. Kossev says that affectionately, of course, because style points are hardly important at this stage. With only eight more months to cram as much Sculling 101 as possible, what's most important is survival. Eruç will have no coxswain and no crew to расе him. There will be no launch boat monitoring his progress. Eruç will have no one to rely on but himself "There is training to be done," Eruç said. "I need to be able to keep my legs and lungs, but bring my upper body up to rowing ability. I need to be self-reliant." For now, Eruç is taking it а leg at а time. Aconcagua is the immediate challenge, and it will be quite а journey just to reach its base. Before he can set foot on the mountain-before he can even set foot on land-he will have to learn to row.
A roadside fire during the 5,546-mile roundtrip ride between Seattle, Washington and Alaska's Mount McKinley
Kossev emphasizes exerting as little effort as possible to achieve а consistent расе. Conserving energy is а must. Maintaining а "reserve tank" for emergencies-high waves, inclement weather, strong currents-is imperative. Identifying those limits now is key. To do that, Kossev leverages U.S. sculler Соnаl Groom as а model. Groom, who competed in the qualifier for the 2004 Olympics, helps Eruç refine his stroke and condition his body. "We're talking about open ocean," Groom said. "There are currents, waves, and storms that are really out of our realm of experience. It's going to be dramatically different. Every stroke we want the boat to run as far as possible, and he can't think of it that way as opposed to how many hours can I get in before I have to call it а day. He might get the longest number of hours of rowing in but actually make negative progress and negative mileage if the conditions are bad."
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