scotts expedition. terra nova antarctica is beaten
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Scott’s ExpeditionTERRA NOVA ANTARCTICA IS BEATEN
BY DONNIE RUST
Imagine the cold. Minus fifty degrees, cold enough to freeze boiling
water instantly. Picture the environment, a white, alien landscape
shocking in its beauty and its icy indifference to life. Imagine, if you
can, the blinding white landscape, inhospitable to anything but the
most ardent creatures and then imagine having 1800 miles to walk
knowing that this very journey has never been completed successfully
and has killed everyone who has tried. Imagine knowing all of this and
still doing it.
Make no mistake. When Ben Saunders, accompanied by Tarka
L’Herpiniere left for the expedition that cost the lives of Captain
Robert Falcon Scott and his entire team in 1913, he knew all the
facts and went in completely prepared physically, spiritually and
psychologically and certain that the chances of his success were
stacked against him. He knew that there was every potential to fail
and that failure could very well mean cost him his life.
But, Ben Saunders was made for this.
Born in 1977, Ben is a record setting polar explorer and a record-
breaking-long-distance skier, with five North Pole expeditions behind
him and is the youngest man to solo ski to the North Pole and he still
holds the record for the longest Arctic journey by a Briton. Since
2001, he has skied 1,860miles (3000km) across the high Arctic which
equates to about 2% of his entire life living in a tent!
“I’ve always had a passion for the outdoors,” he relates fondly,
“Although I didn’t have the best start as an athlete. I was the podgy kid
who was picked last for the football team.”
However he discovered mountain biking in his teens and that led
him to compete on and off road, this took him to run seven marathons
including New York and London and three ultamarathons. It would
appear that his main competitor has always been himself, something
defined very early when he spent four months walking and climbing in
the Nepalese Himalayas when he was nineteen.
Yet, his latest adventure, perhaps an opportunity to prove that
nature is not the master of man, was to retrace the route taken by
Captain Scott a hundred years ago. Leaving October 2013, the two
British men, Ben Saunders and
Tarka L’Herpiniere set off to walk
from the Coast of Antarctica to
the South Pole and back. The
1795 mile Terra Nova route was
completed in 105 days.
PreparationThanks to a lifestyle that
has demanded so much of him
physically, Ben strikes as a man
who knows exactly what he
is capable of and his personal
worth. That’s the sort of prize
you win after conquering the
world’s harshest environment.
But Ben is quick to point out that
even his usual level of endurance,
developed after so much time
training and skiing in the North
Pole, was not enough for this
expedition:
“In terms of physical
preparation the really key piece
was a training expedition we
went on in Greenland in early
2013,” Ben explains, “We set
across Iceland in our trusty Land
Rover before flying to Greenland
for three weeks last May and it
was a unique chance for Tarka
and I to experience similar
conditions, to trial gear, clothing,
food and strategies.”
Crucially this also gave them
the opportunity to see how the
pair got on as a team under a
bit of pressure in some harsh
conditions. Ben relates that
the physical training, which had
included a 12 month cardio and
strengthening regime leading up
to their departure was also really
important.
“You have to have the
strength, in particular at the
beginning to haul our 200kg
loads,” Ben says, “But by the
end our bodies were so frail our
minds took over.”
(200kg is like dragging the
deadweight of two Rugby props
lying on a sled.)
Mental preparation is
something that Ben takes very
seriously. To help develop his
mental strength and his powers
of visualization to deal with the
lack of stimulus over the four
months in Antarctica he dabbled
in meditation as a potential
resource, but says frankly, “There
is nothing like the real thing.
Nothing could have prepared
me for the full extent of what
Antarctica threw at us or the
mental depths we had to reach
to.”
there onwards they walked to
the South Pole, on foot.
Walking is hardly a suitable
word. Firstly walking 900 miles
straight, then turning around
and walking is gruelling enough
before even considering having
to drag a 200kg sleigh behind
you. The sleighs are particularly
important in this because it
means you have to always walk
at bent over angle, with every
step being a push. You’re wearing
skis and although the ice looks
smooth, at that altitude and
temperature it’s not.
Ben was adamant on
capturing the entirety of his
preparation online through his
Youtube Channel, opening up the
experience to the entire world. In
this he’s able to expand on certain
subjects like the best clothing to
wear in Antarctica, which skies
and sleds are the best and the
training required.
“…these are the biggest sleds
I have ever seen,” he says in one
of the videos where he has a look
at the custom designed sleds for
the first time and you can see the
nervous excitement in his eyes.
“We had to take everything
needed to survive for the 105
day journey, from start to finish
and a lot of effort was put into
ensuring that our kit was as
lightweight as possible,” he tells
us, “But the sled starting weight
was still 200kg.”
The AdventureAn important aspect of their
expedition was being able to
share their journey on a live,
realtime manner. Not only the
preparation but the actual
journey itself.
“We worked very closely
with Intel to develop a system
that allowed us to do just this,”
he explains, “This meant taking
a Sony VAIO® Pro Ultrabook
and a Panasonic Toughbook AX2
2-in-1 Ultrabook connected to
a modified Iridium Pilot satellite
system to provide a new level
of internet connection. This
allowed us to share images and
video regularly throughout the
expedition making this a truly
21st Century expedition.”
There is a looming
difference between preparing
for something and actually
What Motivates A Person To Do This?
Inspired from a young age
by stories of explorers and
adventurers testing their mettle
against nature Ben began
planning his first expedition in his
late teens when he was working
for John Ridgway in the Scottish
Highlands. As far as inspiration is
concerned, John Ridgway proved
to be a fantastic role model.
“John having rowed across
the Atlantic in a wooden boat
with Chay Blythe in 1966 and he
also broke records in non-stop,
round-the-world sailing,” Ben
says, “So I blame him for a lot of
it.”
Captain Scott is an iconic
British explorer whose exciting
life story is often represented
to the public by his last failed
expedition with not much
knowledge about what came
before, “Scott’s childhood hero
of mine and completing his
expedition is a lifelong ambition.”
Scott’s ExpeditionRetracing Scott’s original
1911-12 route, Ben Saunders
started at Scott’s Hut on the
north shore of Cape Evans on
Ross Island, from here they
traversed the Ross Ice Shelf,
before climbing nearly 8000ft
on one of the world’s largest
glaciers, the Beardmore Glacier,
on to the Antarctic Plateau. From
“Antarctica, where the hurricane and the blizzard are born” Captain Scott.
finding yourself standing on the
Antarctic shelf, Ben continues
to explain. Physically the trek
itself was a moment to moment
slog through aching legs, lack
of breath and the never-ending
white with occasional breaks
for filming and “vlogging” and
frequently extreme weather of
a likes few of us could appreciate
to keep things interesting.
“It was just two of us on
the ice, Tarka and I,” Ben says,
speaking about the people he
was in contact with, “We were in
daily contact with our expedition
manager, Andy, who was
managing things on the ground
back in London.”
When Captain Scott was
planning the expedition in 1910
he was quoted on saying that
Hurricanes and Blizzards were
born in Antarctica, but it was
a century later that scientists
discovered that the Antarctic
cold was so fierce it created a
different kind of ice never seen
before.
All of this and more must
have been swirling around in his
head during the long hours of
walking, which one of the videos,
simply entitled “Hauling Extreme
Weight Across Ice” illustrates
better than any amount of words.
“I found music really helped
to keep me going,” Ben tells
us, “Usually electronic music
that got more frenetic as the
conditions got worse.”
“However, sometimes all
I could muster was to get one
foot in front of the other,” he
adds, “At other times I spent the
day taking myself on journeys to
some of my favourite places, for
example cycling in Majorca or
walking in Scotland, wandering
through the streets of London
and thinking about family and
friends. Wondering what else
was going on in the world beyond
our vast white expanse…”
SuccessCaptain Scott would be proud
of Ben and Tarka for completing
this expedition, accomplishing
something that nobody else has
ever done.
The expedition’s Patron,
Captain Scott’s grandson, Falcon
Scott was quoted on saying, “…
Expeditions to Antarctica are
important to keep alive a sense
of adventure and to inspire our
young people today to achieve.
The Scott Expedition is a
magnificent tribute to Scott and
his men...’
Having successfully
completed what sceptics
believed to be an impossible
journey, Ben Saunders and Tarka
L’Herpiniere have returned
home as heroes to the millions
of people around the globe
who they have given a taste of
adventure and probably do not
fully comprehend the manner in
which they have inspired people
to do something great.
Beyond The Bottom Of The World
Having started 2014 in such
a fashion, what is on the horizon
for Ben Saunders, how is he ever
going to top this?
“Good question!” he exclaims,
“I’m going to let completing this
expedition sink in first… and am
looking forward to spending
some time with friends and
family. There are a few exciting
things on the horizon though
that I’ll be talking about before
too long on @polarben on
Twitter and I have some emails to
catch up with that landed on my
website www.scottexpedition.
com. So a lot of catching up to do.”
Ben also revealed that he
would like to write a book and
maybe be involved on a film
about what he and Tarka have
just accomplished. Both of which
his many admirers will be eager
to get their hands on.
And what advice does Ben
have for the next generation of
budding adventurers?
“Get out there and
follow your dreams but don’t
underestimate the challenges
you will face along the way but
stick with it,” he says, “It’s worth
it in the end.”
and thinking about family and friends.” “I spent the day taking myself on journeys to some of my favourite places
Photo credits: 1-3: Andy Ward, 4-5: www.scottexpedition.com
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