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Two men from New Zealand plan first unsupported crossing of Antarctica

2021-07-08 /
Gareth Andrews (left) and Richard Stephenson (Right)

Gareth Andrews (left) and Richard Stephenson (Right)

Devon Bolger, New Zealand Herald »

A New Zealand doctor and his brother-in-law are attempting something that’s never been achieved in Antarctica before — the first unsupported crossing of the icy continent.

Richard Stephenson, 40, from Dunedin, and his brother-in-law Gareth Andrews will begin the 2600km journey with little more than a sled and some skis.

They are expecting it to take about 110 days and will start in November next year.

The pair will begin at the edge of the ice shelf and make their way across the continent, to the other ice shelf, by skiing while dragging their supplies in a sled.

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Why do people lose their minds at the end of the earth?

2021-05-14 /
The Belgica caught in the Antarctic pack ice, 1898.

The Belgica caught in the Antarctic pack ice, 1898.

Julian Sancton, GQ »

If the literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—by the likes of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne—imagined a link between the polar regions and insanity, the Belgica expedition confirmed it. The decades of frenzied Antarctic exploration that followed the voyage cemented the continent’s reputation as an inherently maddening place. Still today in Antarctic research stations, as modern amenities dull the ferocity of the environment and digital communications keep year-round personnel in touch with the outside world, madness lurks in the corridors.

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Alastair Humphreys tells us how he chooses his adventures

2021-05-06 /

Alastair Humphreys »

How do you choose your next adventure when there are so many options available?

Wizarding up ideas for adventures is one of my favourite things to do. I find it enjoyable, exciting, but also easy. If I was a specialist I would need to search for something higher, harder and faster within my niche every time I wanted a new challenge. But because I am a generalist, I make the next adventure more challenging by making it differently challenging to previous projects. It is an important part of keeping adventure fresh for me.

I am surprised how often people tell me that they really want to do an adventure but don’t know what to do. Hopefully this walk-through of the way I come up with ideas might get your own adventure cogs whirring…

  • Cycling round the world
  • The Marathon des Sables
  • The South Pole
  • The Arctic Ocean
  • Iceland
  • Rowing the Atlantic
  • …

Dr. James Bowyer tells of solitude and survival in Antarctica

2021-03-09 /

Dr James Bowyer

Dr. James Bowyer, a medical doctor for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), tells of life in Antarctica.

Since 2019, Dr. Bowyer has been based at the Rothera Research Station, a centre for biological research and a hub for supporting deep-field and air operations.

Standing on the Devon coast, my phone rings.

“Hi James, we’d like you to look after Rothera for us. Are you happy to take the job?”

“Yes, of course!”
After an hour-long interview only that morning, I have just signed up to work in Antarctica for eighteen months, providing medical cover for a research station of 27 people in the winter, 160 in summer. I would be the only doctor for at least half of that time, with only narrow windows for medical evacuation in case something goes wrong. My patch in the summer consists of an area the size of Europe, with deep-field teams scattered in some of the harshest environments on Earth.

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The Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme, a new unified classification system

2021-03-07 /

Following Colin O’Brady’s claim to have completed the first unsupported and unassisted crossing of Antarctica, the polar adventure world came together to point out the inaccuracies of the 33-year old American’s highly publicised and inaccurate claims. They then set about to develop a standard of definitions relating to polar travel.

Ash Routen, Explorersweb »

So in the wake of the O’Brady saga, veteran polar guide Eric Philips, along with other senior members of the polar community, decided that standardization was overdue in the polar world. Over the past two years, they developed The Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme (PECS), which was launched earlier this week.

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Jenny Davis skied 715 Miles across Antarctica completely alone—and that’s just one of her crazy adventures

2020-06-15 /
Jenny Davis

Jenny Davis

Jenny Davis as told to Ellie Trice / Shape Magazine »

This passion took on a new life when I was diagnosed with a benign tumor in my abdomen five years ago. After a painful surgery and treatment, I made the decision—while still recovering in a hospital bed—to apply to run the Marathon de Sables, a 155.5-mile ultramarathon through the Sahara Desert, starting in Ouarzazate, Morocco. I moved to Morocco to train and live in a tent among other female athletes from around the world, and ended up being the 16th female to cross the finish line after five days.

…

Adventure to me is about being idle. That doesn’t mean you have to go on a huge expensive expedition—you can simply just set up camp in the wild close to home for the weekend. It’s about getting outdoors and disconnecting from the pressures of mundane life.

…

But I wasn’t going to give up. In November 2019, I strapped on my skis and made my second attempt. This time around, for the first 500 miles, I was skiing at world-record pace. Then an injury, one they call polar thigh, set in. (The motion of skiing into a headwind or tailwind can compress your legwear, and if there you don’t have enough insulation or any cold air gets trapped, you can suffer from polar thigh.) For me, it started as these small clusters of ulcers on my leg, which continued to get bigger and bigger over time.

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More » Jenny Davis (web site)

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Do interesting things. Be bold. Respect. Adventure. Explore. Question. Listen. Learn. Try. Fail. Try better. Your mileage may vary. You are unique. Be yourself. Appreciate. Be kind. To others, with an equal measure to yourself. Do good. Do what’s right. It’s a one way ticket. Enjoy the ride. You are limited to one.

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