John Hodge proudly points to his son, John Jr., who has just conquered Tupungato Mountain in Chile.

John Adams Hodge is an aviation and environmental lawyer with the Haynesworth Sinkler Boyd Law Firm. When not consulting with his clients or making his case in court, he is a teacher, pilot, geologist, astronomer, explorer, and dedicated father. On May 9, Hodge spoke to the Greater Piedmont Chapter of The Explorers Club on the expedition he and his son, John Jr., took to the Andes Mountains in Chile.

Tupungato Mountain in the Chilean Central Andes is 21,681 feet high and towers over the Chile- Argentinian border. Its sister peak, Tupungatito, at an elevation of 19,685 feet, is an active volcano.

Father and son Hodge challenged the mountain along with a filmmaker, a diplomat, and several gauchos - all on horseback. They climbed over lava flow up a glacial valley at freezing temperatures with winds reaching 60 miles per hour. Andean condors sailed above them waiting for their demise.

As they approached the summit of Tupungato, Father Hodge became interested in the rock glaciers they were crossing. He realized they had been formed by sudden catastrophic action and movement down the mountain, much like a landslide. Then, much to his surprise, they came upon penitentes, a unique snow formation of tall thin blades. They discovered a marine fossil bed and strange hot springs bubbling out of the mountain.

Not one to let new discoveries go unnoticed, John Hodge began to compare what he found with what he had seen through his telescope on Mars. Perhaps, just perhaps, the geologic formations of the Andes - rock glaciers, penitentes, and hot springs - could be similar to what is being reported on Mars! An interesting theory.

The Explorers Club meets monthly for lunch and an interesting presentation. For information, contact Nena Powell Rice at 803-777-8170 or nrice@sc.edu.