What a week for adventure and exploration!
At 1.15am GMT on Friday 7th February Ben Saunders and Tarka L’Herpiniere officially completed their world-record breaking return journey to the South Pole & back following in footsteps of Captain Scott. This is the first time Scott’s route has ever been completed; and marks the end of the longest polar journey on foot in history.
Ben Saunders said, “It is almost impossible to comprehend what we have achieved. Completing Scott’s Terra Nova expedition has been a life-long dream and I’m overcome to be standing here at the finish. The journey has been a mammoth undertaking that has tested the bounds of our bodies and minds each and every day.” For more information on this expedition, please visit www.scottexpedition.com
He has already cycled 14,000 miles from Bangkok to Gloucester, now Jamie McDonald has run Canada coast to coast. The Englishman has just completed the 5,000mile trek alone – a world first – whilst pushing a 60kg baby stroller cradling all his belongings. From St John’s, Labrador to Vancouver, McDonald has raised an impressive $200,000 for children’s charities in the UK and Canada. James Ketchell has successfully ticked off his list of aspirations. He has rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, reached the 8,848m summit of Everest and this very week, he completed his 18,000mile cycle around the world taking just six months. Alex Flynn has also triumphed. 10 million metres cycled, climbed, ran and kayaked. Flynn has done so to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, a disease which he suffers from.
Irishman Derek Cullen is in the midst of cycling across Africa, solo. So far he has pedalled up from South Africa, through Namibia and Botswana. He is now pushing on through Zambia. A regular out on the field has announced some of his plans for the year ahead. Dave Cornthwaite has told of three of his upcoming expeditions for 2014. In April, he and two others will cycle a whike (a three wheel bike with a sail attached) the length of Chile’s Atacama Desert. Next up, he will be attending the Spezialradmesse, in Germany. While there he will invite people to vote for one mode of transport out of a possible three to use for his next journey. He will begin the expedition the next morning; navigating his way back to London on his new ride. Finally, Cornthwaite plans to kitesurf 1000miles of the Brazilian coastline at the end of the summer.
It’s almost time to Gift Your Gear again. Come March, people can donate any of their unwanted outdoor gear to Gift Your Gear, where it will be handed out to various charities and community groups working with young people in the outdoors. And finally, here is the latest video from the talented Sébastien Montaz-Rosset and his Skyliners crew.
Written by Orla O’Muiri | Photo credit: The Scott Expedition