Hello, to wherever you might be at this moment

I stumbled recently on your online blog.. and.. well I know you must have heard this question a thousand times already, but I simply have to ask. How does one becomes a professional traveler? I would consider myself honored if you could drop me a few words about this
Blue skies and many more miles,
Gustáv Kyselica Jr. (a would-be-explorer (at least in heart for sure)

How to become an explorer? What does it take?

It is quite easy to answer. It takes passion, more passion than others, hard work, harder than all the others, a vision, bigger visions than all the others and an enormous amount of curiosity!

Every day I read about people, mainly young men, who do more or less spectacular adventures, get a lot of attention for a few years, they live on lectures and book sales, then they are gone from the scene of exploration. they just didn´t have what it took to stay in the business for a long time. Some of them have great jobs within the adventure industry, others, on paper some of them do “Expeditions” for a few months every five years and get the media with them due to earlier recognition, but they definitely doesn´t make any difference in the main reason to explore as I see it. Open horizons to other worlds, building bridges between cultures, creating a bigger understanding of this magnificent world we live in and explore the meaning of life. To survive as an explorer you need to have a personality which differs, have a clear vision reaching until the end of ones life and never stop exploring and always continue to be curious. On top of that, I think, there´s an issue to it which never can be taught or trained, either you have what it takes or not. And that has nothing to do with background, possibilities or environment. It is just there.

Just as an illustration to what I mean. If you walk up to the top of a building, walk out on to the edge when you reach the top looking down, do you want to jump? I have asked all my friends who are in the same line of work as me and we all say….yes.

How to become an explorer? Enough curiosity makes a difference!

These are earlier entries that I have written on this very important subject:

• http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2009/04/18/inspiring-explorers-inspiring-times/
• http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2009/04/06/a-note-on-two-explorers-thesiger-and-gienieczko-and-a-word-about-the-theatre-of-dreams/
• http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2009/03/21/a-major-reason-to-choose-a-life-as-an-explorer/
• http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2008/10/14/what-is-the-reason-to-explore/

South Pole Ponies part 2

The Forgotten Story of Antarctica’s Meat-Eating Horses

by

CuChullaine O’Reilly FRGS

Unlikely Equestrian Allies

Modern folklore delights in focusing on the intense rivalry which existed between the Norwegians, led by Roald Amundsen, and the English, led by Captain Robert Scott, with the former relying on dogs to pull their sleds, while the latter obstinately preferred to “man haul” their equipment across the ice. That story sold reams of newspapers in its day and continues to fuel a lucrative niche publishing industry. Nevertheless, this is an erroneous simplification of events perpetrated by pedestrians, one which overlooks an astonishing series of under reported equestrian event.

Disregarded is the fact that this was not a two-horse race between two bitter nationalistic foes determined to champion different methods of travel. Prior to Scott’s departure for Antarctica, Germany and England were still on such friendly terms that it was agreed their explorers would simultaneously use horses, some of whom it was later discovered were meat-eaters, to try and meet each other in Antarctica.

This decision was brought about in 1912, when Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II authorized explorer Wilhelm Filchner to travel to the South Pole. The young German had already made successful explorations across Central Asia, most notably when he rode from Baku to the Pamir Mountains in the late 19th century.

Having received his nation’s commission to explore the southernmost continent, Filchner journeyed to London in search of first-hand knowledge regarding polar travel. Here he was befriended by Captain Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, both of whom encouraged and helped the amateur Polar explorer.

After a series of meetings it was agreed that somewhere in the vast white expanse of Antarctica, the Germans, led by Filchner, would locate the British team, led by Captain Scott, whereupon the two nations would exchange personnel before retiring to their respective camps on either side of the continent. Both expeditions were to use horses, in addition to sled dogs. The British also relied upon motor-driven tractors, and in extremis, man hauling.

Neither team leader realized at the time that both their expeditions would rely on meat-eating equines in this effort. Nor was it known that the Norwegians were even planning on being anywhere near Antarctica, as Amundsen had announced he was trying instead for the North Pole. Therefore, if events had gone as planned, German and English equestrian travellers would have met as friends somewhere in the vast frozen continent.

Sadly, this did not occur. Filchner’s role was air-brushed out of popular history. Germany’s involvement was ignored, as it distracted from the unexpected rivalry brought about by Norway’s explorer showing up to thwart Scott’s role. Nor were the equestrian events, either before or after Scott’s death, fully understood or documented.

To begin with, a profitable modern industry has arisen which delights in highlighting the personal and professional dispute which had arisen between Scott and his former lieutenant, Shackleton. All too often it is forgotten that on their first expedition to Antarctica, Scott had saved Shackleton’s life.

Consequently, while they were indeed rivals for the Pole, what the opponents of either camp neglect to appreciate is that both men main­tained an abiding respect for each other’s talents.

Moreover, thanks to Filchner’s unexpected appearance in London, a significant moment in equestrian travel history soon occurred, when Scott was preparing to leave England’s capital. His slow ship and her crew had already departed for Antarctica. Having concluded last-minute fund-raising, Scott was now taking a train to the coast. There he would board a fast sailing passenger liner bound for New Zealand, where he would rendezvous with his expedition.

When Scott boarded the train, Shackleton and Filchner were waiting to bid their fellow explorer farewell.

Thus, Shackleton and Scott, the two former expedition comrades, shared a poignant final meeting. Any residual antagonism which existed between the Irish and English explorers was temporarily laid to rest, as the two experienced polar travellers expressed what were un­knowingly going to be their last farewells.

Ironically, as the train pulled out of the station, Scott’s final words were aimed not at Shackleton, with whom he had shared many desperate adventures, but at his fellow equestrian explorer, Wilhelm Filchner.

“See you at the South Pole,” Scott yelled to Filchner, as the train pulled away from the London station.

As Scott departed, none of the three explorers could have realized that this was their last meeting. The lure of the South Pole would soon kill Scott. It would then seriously imperil the lives of Filchner, Shackle­ton and all the men involved in both their own expeditions.

South Pole Ponies

What is seldom remembered today is that like Shackleton and Jackson before them, Filchner and Scott were also using Siberian and Manchurian horses to assist them in their push to the frozen end of the Earth.

Upon departing from London, Filchner returned to Germany, convinced that he and Scott were in agreement on an extraordinary plan which incorporated the themes of international cooperation, scientific advancement and horses. There had been no hint of commercial, national nor personal competition.

Filchner never met Scott. Paradoxically, he encountered his nemesis instead.

After setting sail for Antarctica with his ship and crew, the German stopped at the harbour of Buenos Aires. There Filchner chanced upon the Fram. This was the Norwegian ship captained by that country’s famous polar explorer, Roald Amundsen. Unknown to Scott, this Norwegian rival had unexpectedly launched what was to become a nationalistic race to the South Pole. Thus, before Scott had any clue as to what was afoot, the Germans realized that a three way national effort was now under way.

The Fram, with Amundsen’s large contingent of sled dogs, sailed first. Afterwards, Filchner and his German expeditionary force also departed for Antarctica, bound for the opposite side of the continent than that which the Norwegian and British expeditions had chosen. Filchner landed on Antarctica, where he unloaded the horses and dogs he had brought for his team’s push to the Pole. Unfortunately, the ice on which he set up camp was unstable and the expedition was unable to proceed.

Nevertheless, in stark contrast to modern dogma, which insists that it was a race to the Pole that pitted British man-haulers against more competent Norwegian dog-sledders, there were in fact two equestrian expeditions, camped on opposite sides of Antarctica, at the same time, and they had planned to meet !

Like Scott, prior to his departure Filchner had purchased Manchurian horses to explore Antarctica. Upon arriving, he was surprised to learn that because the dogs viewed the ship as a home, they had to be separated by force from the ship, unlike the horses who eagerly went ashore and “when they felt terra firma under their hooves; they bit, kicked and pranced from high spirits and joie-de-vivre.”

Filchner also remarked on the ease which his horses pulled sledges weighing 1,200 pounds.

“As draft animals the ponies achieved miracles.”

Though the Germans were unable to either reach the South Pole, or locate Scott, nevertheless they enthusiastically rode their horses in Antarctica. One German, the Historical Long Rider, Alfred Kling, regularly explored on a Manchurian horse named Moritz.  Another of these horses, Stasi, eagerly ate dried fish and raw seal-meat.

Meat-eating horses, such as the one ridden by the German Antarctic explorer, Alfred Kling, were used by the Kaiser’s expedition to the South Pole.

Captain Scott – Equestrian Explorer

While Filchner had problems, Scott was facing a disaster on the other side of the continent.

Unlike Jackson and Shackleton, Scott took a different view on equine nutrition. He brought none of the high-energy Maujee ration for his horses, deciding instead to feed them compressed fodder made of wheat. He also gave the horses hot bran mash with either oats or oilcake on alternate days.

Despite their traditional diet of hay, oats, bran and oil cake, the equestrian report compiled after the English expedition concluded, “The nutritive value was insufficient under the conditions of sledging and the ponies became very weak and lost flesh markedly.”

Regardless of his well-meaning efforts, Scott’s horses “lost weight until they were just skin and bone.”

Nevertheless, even though they lacked the tasty Maujee ration, eyewitnesses recorded that at least one of Scott’s horses was an avid meat-eater.

“One of our ponies, Snippets, would eat blubber and so far as I know it agreed with him,” Cherry-Garrard wrote.

Snippets, the meat-eating horse who Captain Scott led on his journey across Antarctica.

Cherry-Garrard was later part of the rescue party that found the frozen bodies of Scott and two of the men who had accompanied him on the final push to the Pole. Once again, the equestrian portion of that tale has been almost entirely deleted from popular cultural records.

Prior to his fatal departure to the South Pole, Scott had written to the British army authorities in India asking them to authorize the use of mules which had been specially trained in the Himalayan Mountains. In accordance with that request, seven of these carefully trained mules travelled from India, down to New Zealand, and on to Antarctica. Accompanying them was special equipment based on ideas formulated in the Tibetan Himalayas. This included equine snow shoes and tinted snow goggles.

These valuable animals accompanied the rescue party, led by the surgeon Dr. Edward Atkinson, which set out to locate Scott and his missing men. The snow shoes sent from India worked so well that the mules were able to cross crevasses with them.

In a special equestrian report later authored by Atkinson, he stated that “the mules covered nearly 400 miles and were in such good fettle they could have done it again…..They were obviously stronger and better trained than the ponies and would have done even better than the ponies and pulled longer distances.”

(Notes on the Ponies and Mules used during the Terra Nova expedition of 1910-12 by E.L. Atkinson)

Nevertheless, Atkinson noted that when it came time for the English expedition to leave Antarctica, the perfectly healthy mules were killed rather than returning them to either New Zealand or India.

Equestrian Antagonism

There is still an entrenched dog-friendly view of polar history which has been written by those lacking any appreciation or under­standing of equestrian history.

Though three Antarctic expeditions used meat-eating horses, recent books have continued to denigrate and erase this portion of equestrian history. One volume states, “No horse that set foot on Antarctic ground ever returned.”

(Antarctic Destinies by Stephanie Barczewski, published by Continuum Books, London, 2007.)

This statement is misleading, if not inaccurate, because even though the German expedition was unable to proceed off the ice and onto terra firma, upon the completion of his journey to Antarctica German Long Rider Wilhelm Filchner did indeed save all of his horses. He released the still healthy Manchurian horses on South Georgia Island, allowing them to run wild on the Hestesletten (Horse Plain). The descendants of these horses remained on the island for decades.

Another striking example of this antagonistic philosophy is provided by The Antarctic Dictionary, A complete guide to Antarctic English. Authored by Bernadette Hince, and published in 2000 by CSIRO Publishing, this so-called “complete guide” has no mention of horses, ponies or mules. There are a total of 394 pages, most of which consist of quotations from various books on the subject, yet the author has eliminated equestrian events, and any reference to meat-eating horses, out of her dictionary.

With the death of Captain Scott, and the failure by the Germans to reach the South Pole, the curtain drew down on the role of meat-eating horses in Polar exploration history; nevertheless these astonishing episodes raise intriguing questions.

What would have happened had Scott and Filchner managed to join up their expeditions?

For example, Scott’s equestrian expert, Captain Titus Oates, was a noted xenophobe who could barely manage to be civil to the English expedition’s sole foreigner, an easy-going Norwegian. Consequently, the idea of Oates having to interact with the Germans, or be transferred under Filchner’s command, will unsettle traditional Antarctic dogma.

Deadly Equines reveals that Polar expeditions which used horses equipped with equine snowshoes, and trained to eat meat, could have travelled to the South Pole before dog sleds reached that elusive goal.

If you have additional personal or historical evidence, please contact CuChullaine O’Reilly at

longriders@thelongridersguild.com

To learn more about the “Deadly Equines” research project visit -http://www.lrgaf.org/deadly_equines.htm

To participate in the international discussion regarding “Deadly Equines” visit -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deadly-Equines-The-Shocking-True-Story-of-Meat-Eating-Murderous-Horses/226312534070463?sk=photos

To order the book visit – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deadly-equines-cuchullaine-oreilly/1104580837?ean=9781590480038&itm=1&

South Pole Ponies

The Forgotten Story of Antarctica’s Meat-Eating Horses

by

CuChullaine O’Reilly FRGS

There is a widespread belief in a warm and comforting story which states the horse is a gentle herbivore which fears predators.

A shocking new book, Deadly Equines, reveals instead that horses terrified our ancestors and are still killing us today. Accounts include stories about the English stallion that eagerly killed and ate the citizens of Lucknow, a French mare that slew Russian soldiers and a Japanese horse who slaughtered samurai.

Unfortunately, the average human being’s daily knowledge of equine nature has diminished to an alarming extent. It has been replaced by a Disney-esque version of events where there is no dark side to nature. This is particularly true in Anglophone countries, where books and films now commonly depict horses in romantic terms.

What has been overlooked is that mankind has known about meat-eating horses for at least four thousand years, during which time horses have consumed nearly two dozen different types of protein, including human flesh, and that these episodes have occurred on every continent, including Antarctica.

Examples of murderous and meat-eating horses have been found on every continent.

Because of this pervasive equestrian amnesia, the vital role played by meat-eating horses in exploration history has been lost to modern man.

That strange tale began in the late 19th century when Sweden’s most famous explorer and Historical Long Rider, Sven Hedin, reported that Tibetan horses were fed meat in the grassless Himalayan Mountains. Shortly afterwards the celebrated French Long Rider, Gabriel Bonvalot, not only confirmed that these horses, “feed on raw flesh,” he rode them across Tibet in 1889.

Nor was the practice of training horses to eat meat restricted to Tibet or the past.

The first CIA spy to die in action, Douglas MacKiernan, was murdered in 1950, shortly after he rode across the Gobi Desert on a meat-eating horse. And though the last Long Rider to ride one of these strange animals has just died, the Kazakh tribesmen who train these horses recently offered to sell one to England’s modern explorers.

(http://www.thelongridersguild.com/bessac.htm)

While new evidence continues to be uncovered, including how the Bhutanese are still feeding their horses tiger’s fat and yak meat, the most astonishing exploration story has been buried by scholastic neglect under the snows of Antarctica.

North American Long Rider Frank Bessac was the last known Long Rider to own and ride one of the legendary Kazakh meat-eating horses.

North Pole Horses

While it is now commonly agreed that dog travel in winter con­ditions is an excellent methodology, abundant evidence demon­strates that this view was not shared by all polar explorers at the beginning of the last century. What has also been overlooked is the simultaneous use of meat-eating horses in trying to reach both the North and South Poles.

Likewise, it is wrong to think that the lack of any equine fodder in the Antarctic interior automatically ruled out horses, as once the explorer moves away from the seal and penguin populations there is also no meat for the dogs. Advocates of dog travel argue that as the expedition journeys further inland, dogs can be sacrificed and fed to their companions. Horses, it was believed, had to rely on grass or grain, brought at great effort from the coast.

Recent discoveries demonstrate instead that a meat-eating horse would have reached the South Pole years before dogs did so, had he not fallen victim to an accident en route.

The decision to incorporate equine strength into Polar exploration was based upon the fact that the Siberian equestrian culture had a centuries-old tradition of winter-time horse travel. Despite having the coldest climate in the northern hemisphere, the Siberians routinely travelled along the great post road which criss-crossed that portion of the Russian empire.

These horses are able to survive because they have specialized hair which has a special core that greatly increases its insulating charac­teristics. Additional insulation is provided by a sub-dermal layer of fat. Plus, the Siberian horses have the special ability to alter the rate of their respiration, thereby helping them to further adapt to extremes of cold weather. They were even known to function well while being covered in sheets of ice, which actually acted as an insulating agent.

(http://www.thelongridersguild.com/yakuts.htm)

During his crossing of Siberia, in the winter of 2004, Swedish Long Rider Mikael Strandberg, documented the still thriving Yakut equestrian culture. This local rider and his horse were photographed before setting off during minus sixty degree weather.

In 1893 a renowned British explorer and Long Rider, Frederick George Jackson, used these remarkable Russian horses to make a 3,000 mile winter crossing of Siberia. Thanks to the success of this expe­dition, in 1894 Jackson was asked to head an international expedition whose goal was to explore Franz Josef Land, a remote archipelago located north of Russia in the Arctic Ocean.

While Jackson did take dogs, he also brought four Siberian horses with him to explore this inaccessible part of the world, thus setting the stage for a remarkable set of equestrian events which would later conclude in Antarctica.

During Jackson’s journey in Franz Josef Land with his robust horses, it was 30 degrees below zero. Yet he travelled “night and day” for twelve days with a sledge weighing 700 pounds, covering 240 miles along “abominable tracks.”

“And such are the courage and stamina of these hardy little Russian horses that although we had only given them two rests of two hours each during that time they were full of spirit at the end.”

He later writes, “We had travelled 470 miles in seven and a half days; and I think this speaks volumes for the little Russian horses. We had two sledges, and one horse to each sledge; we went at a spanking pace nearly the whole way, yet they trotted into camp as fresh as paint.”

In his book, Jackson recalled how one of these animals, a mare named Brownie, “appears to be doing very well on her miscellaneous diet. In addition to her regular feed of Spratt dog biscuits and hay, she shares the scraps left from our meals with the dogs, and very frequently helps herself to their polar bear meat, and shows a fondness for picking at bird skins lying around the hut.”

(A Thousand Days in the Arctic by Frederick George Jackson, published by Harper & Brothers, New York, 1899.)

Frederick George Jackson traversed Australia on a Brumby, sailed across the Atlantic on a whaler, made a legendary winter crossing of Siberia, then used meat-eating horses to explore the Arctic Circle. This illustration shows his favourite mare, Brownie, who ate polar bear meat.

Further horse journeys were to follow.

In 1901 and 1903 two American expeditions also explored the Arctic Circle, both of which used Siberian horses. The second attempt was led by a talented photographer, Anthony Fiala. The equestrian needs of that expedition were handled by veterans of the United States cavalry. These former Indian fighters “led the expedition in mounted drills and exercise rides on the Arctic ice.”

Once again the horses proved to be of immense help.

“The ponies were less troublesome than the dogs and more powerful, dragging loads that astonished us all,” Fiala reported.

(Fighting the Polar Ice by Anthony Fiala, published by Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1907.)

In 1903 former United States cavalry soldiers were recruited to explore the Arctic Circle on horseback.

Shackleton and Socks

With these equestrian expeditions serving as a background, and thanks to positive personal experiences with his own meat-eating horses, Jackson encouraged Sir Ernest Shackleton to also use horses in the latter’s bid to reach the South Pole. When the Irish explorer set out to explore Antarctica in 1907, he took ten Manchurian horses, thereby creating an exceptional chain of equestrian events which led from Siberia to the Arctic Circle, and then south to Antarctica.

Though it was later learned that horses will eat seal meat, Shackle­ton had no way of knowing this prior to his departure. In need of dietary advice, the sailor turned horse explorer turned to the military for assistance. What he found may surprise modern explorers.

It has now been largely forgotten that when the British War Office published Animal Management, a manual prepared by the veterinarian department for His Majesty’s Cavalry and Artillery, the index had a listing for “meat as horse food.”

(Animal Management, Prepared in the Veterinary Department for General Staff, War Office, London, HMSO, 1913.)

Thus the British military high command was aware that horses could consume meat-based rations under certain circumstances. The grassless ice fields of Antarctica would certainly have qualified.

To overcome the horse’s need for bulk grass based feed, Shackleton arranged to purchase ten tons of compressed fodder consisting of oats, bran and chaff. He also took a large stock of corn. Yet upon the advice of the British military establishment, Shackleton decided to enhance his horses’ normal diet with a special meat-based supplement known as “Maujee Ration.” This was a distinctive type of equine pem­­mican developed at Aldershot, one of England’s most important military establishments.

Sir Ernest recalled, “It consisted of dried beef, carrots, milk, currents and sugar, and was chosen because it provides a large amount of nourishment with comparatively little weight.”

(Heart of the Antarctic by Sir Ernest Shackleton, published by William Heinemann, London, 1909.)

Shackleton set off for the Pole with three comrades and four of the original ten horses. Each of the Manchurian horses pulled a twelve-foot sledge carrying an average of 650 pounds. Like Jackson before him, Shackleton praised his horses.

He wrote, “compared to the dog, the pony is a far more efficient animal, one pony doing the work of at least ten dogs and tra­vel­ling a further distance in a day……It was trying work for the ponies but they all did splendidly in their own particular way.”

The harsh weather and unforgiving terrain caused the men and horses to struggle alike through the cold and snow. Nevertheless, Shackle­ton made a startling observation. The horses preferred to eat the meat-based ration rather than the traditional fodder. They even threw corn out of their nosebags, scattering it on the ground, in anger at being denied the Maujee ration.

On November 6, 1908, Shackleton first noted, “They all like the Maujee ration and eat that up before touching their maize.”

A few days later, both men and horses had begun taking special notice of the meat-filled horse food. On November 9, Shackleton wrote, “Tonight we boiled some Maujee ration for the ponies, and they took this feed well. It has a delicious smell and we ourselves would have enjoyed it.”

Because of the dangers and hardships of the journey, three of the gallant horses had to be put down on the outward journey. Never­the­less, Shackleton, his men and the remaining horse, Socks, pressed ever onward towards the South Pole.

On December 3, 1908, at 7 p.m., Sir Ernest Shackleton, his three human companions and Socks pitched camp – and made history.

Because the four men and the sole surviving horse were “tired and hungry, we made a good dinner which included a cupful of Maujee ration as an extra.”

By sharing the Maujee ration, Shackleton and Socks became the first known horse and human to consume meat together, demonstrating that both species are omnivores.

Socks the Manchurian pony holds a special place in equestrian history for two reasons. No other horse ever came as close to reaching the South Pole and he is the first recorded horse to have shared a meat-based meal with his master.

Sadly, neither Shackleton nor Socks gained the South Pole. On December 7, Socks fell into a “black bottomless pit.” Had Socks not died, a meat-eating horse may well have helped Shackleton reach the South Pole.

Shackleton and his men marched on for an additional month, coming remarkably close to their elusive geographic goal. Never­theless, he had opened the door to a remarkable series of events – a dual equestrian exploration of Antarctica by Great Britain and Ger­many, both of which also employed meat-eating horses.

If you have additional personal or historical evidence, please contact CuChullaine O’Reilly at

longriders@thelongridersguild.com

To learn more about the “Deadly Equines” research project visit -http://www.lrgaf.org/deadly_equines.htm

To participate in the international discussion regarding “Deadly Equines” visit -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deadly-Equines-The-Shocking-True-Story-of-Meat-Eating-Murderous-Horses/226312534070463?sk=photos

To order the book visit – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deadly-equines-cuchullaine-oreilly/1104580837?ean=9781590480038&itm=1&

CuChullaine O’Reilly is an equestrian explorer, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers’ Club, one of the Founders of The Long Riders’ Guild, Director of the LRG-AF, publisher of the LRG Press and author of Khyber Knights.

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The need for Universal Expedition Standards

by

Alex Hibbert

I came up for the idea for Universal Expedition Standards whilst waiting patiently, or at times not so patiently, on the edge of the Greenland icecap this spring for the weather to clear in order to start a speed crossing. It was not to be and had to be postponed to August. However, the basis for UES had been in my mind in its constituent parts for months, if not years. In all areas of outdoor sports and activities, there are both national and international governing bodies. There are also a plethora of qualifications for the budding or professional climber, kayaker, diver and the list goes on. These tend to be controlled by groups or clubs without a vested interest or financial agenda and have grown to garner such respect that their name speaks volumes. For example, you know beyond reasonable doubt that an IFMGA mountain guide will be of the highest quality, should you wish to be guided or instructed.

What struck me, however, was the number of increasingly popular adventurous activities there are now available for those with the time and money to spare. This explosion in popularity may be for better or for worse, but that is a debate for another time. Most of these do not have a governing body, due to their obscurity, and have grown through word of mouth and shared experience, with the internet playing a major role. One example, apart from things like Stand-Up Paddle Boarding and numerous others, is my chosen specialism – polar travel.

As the desire for anyone and everyone to experience the polar regions developed, there became a need for guides from the late 1990s onwards and inevitably, a more than fair share of cowboys became involved in the industry, in order to make a quick buck. To secure insurance and indemnity to guide on icecaps or the Arctic Ocean, guides are still obliged to gain mountaineering qualifications, since it seems like the ‘best match’, despite the fact that many of the skills are irrelevant. It seems absurd that some underwriters require a guide to hold an IFMGA award, the pinnacle of mountain guiding qualifications and one that takes years of dedication, for another activity which bears only a slight resemblance to climbing.

Aside from guiding, which in the polar expedition world is a small slice, there are the independent expeditions. These groups venture onto the ice every year, expecting rescue cover from local authorities or private companies who operate aircraft, despite many having little more than hiking experience in the British hills. There was, until recently, no control over access but some authorities, such as Greenland Home Rule, have begun to crack down on novice expeditions due to the high chance of needing to rescue. Just this season I spoke to the Tasiilaq helicopter pilot, who services Greenland icecap crossing teams, and listened in horror to his stories of plucking bodies off the icecap just days before, following relatively mild icecap conditions. Greenland has borne the brunt of the post-credit crunch rush to undertake polar expeditions, cheaper than to either Poles, but by those without the understanding that Greenland is not ‘Antarctica-lite’. In spring, the temperatures are just as low, winds as fast and crevasses as treacherous. Anyone who sees Greenland as the easy option is either stupid or ignorant.

I use examples from my own area of experience but the principle applies to every remote or challenging endeavor - be it ocean rowing, open-water swimming, caving – the list goes on. It is very hard to apply conditions, control and rules to a group of people who thrive, myself included, on the lack of them.

This situation therefore spawned my vision for the Universal Expedition Standards - UES. I am aware of the plans for International Polar Guiding Association qualifications and other initiatives, but I believe that they have inherent problems. Not least, the fact that anyone who proposes a governing body will have an interest in how it is implemented. The rise in those wanting to ski in the Antarctic and Arctic is increasing and naturally more and more people will therefore offer services as guides. It makes sense that a small group will attempt to include their colleagues and friends, whilst freezing out those considered undesirable and thereby limiting competition for lucrative jobs. Not a healthy state of affairs in my mind for a market that should be dominated by quality and openness.

The UES is not a competitor or alike the proposed IPGA, the climbing IFMGA, MIC or any other example. It is not a guiding qualification. What the UES aims to achieve and become is:

• Non-proprietary - an open standard governed by the community
• Free – no money changes hands and so cowboys or business-interests are excluded
• Voluntary – not being UES approved does not stop you from getting flights, insurance or backing. Having UES approval can show a positive effort has been made, rather than disable those who don’t feel it fits them

The current criteria are:

• Expeditions of any style or discipline can apply, free of charge, to become approved as a UES project. In order to qualify, these criteria must be met:
• Press releases must not contain exaggerated or inaccurate information, nor omit information in order to enhance the impact of the statement.
• Expeditions must carry at least one form of emergency communication system, including VHF radio, EPIRB, EPLB or satellite telephone. The chosen system must have sufficient power sources for the duration of the expedition. In addition, communication must be carried aside from a beacon (e.g. EPIRB/EPLB). This is to allow assistance/advice to be sought for minor and non life-threatening injuries without necessitating use of a beacon (which involves significant expense and commitment from national authorities).
• At least one member of the expedition must hold a recent and valid nationally recognised wilderness first-aid qualification.
• The expedition must have a nominated representative in their home country responsible for coordinating rescue in the event of emergency.
• In order to state an expedition is ‘unsupported’, the team or individual must not receive external assistance which physically aids motion, including dogs, engines or sails. Skis, bicycles etc. are not considered support. An unsupported expedition will also not involve resupplies of any kind originating from a third party.
• Guides employed by a UES expedition must have at least 100 days of relevant experience.
• Approval is based on fixed, objective standards and does not involve subjective decisions.

The 100-day experience criteria for expedition guides, in order to be UES approved, is to combat the rise of companies and individuals who offer dangerous and inadequate services. Whilst not a supporter of open-source, crowd-sourcing or other internet generated movements (I believe in open markets where skills are rewarded with pay, not a credit-line), I do want UES to be self-policing. Criteria such as the one which attempts to rein in outlandish and uncontrolled press releases with exaggerated statistics is not there to make expeditions safer. It is included to try and re-introduce common-standards and honesty into the competitive world of expedition promotion and publicity. Something good for the future of the adventure and expedition community as a whole. At present, many who stick to the truth are out-competed by the claims of others – surely not a positive situation.

So, with the aims and hopes laid out in front of us, I welcome peer-review, amendments and comments to see if we can really make something of UES and the expedition world.

Alex is a world-record holding polar expedition leader and photographer. Only 25 years old, he has spent over one hundred and fifty days unsupported in the Arctic and has crossed the second largest icecap on Earth three times. His highlight to date was leading the 2008 record-breaking Tiso Trans Greenland which, at 1374 miles, is the longest fully unsupported polar journey in history. From 2008 Alex spent a period as a Royal Marines Officer and his first book, The Long Haul, was released in March 2010. He was elected a member of the prestigious Explorers Club shortly after. In the spring of 2010 Alex guided an international team 350 miles across the Greenland icecap. In 2011 he plans to break the world speed record for a Greenland icecap crossing followed by Arctic Ocean plans for 2012.

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I get loads of emails about these issues. It is obviously questions that tends to create debate, opinions and which many in the business talk about right now. In my opinion though, this is kind of an extra class at school, maybe not necessary for most, but important for some. Because I am for all kinds of adventures, no matter what! But since I have received so many emails and thought about it a lot since Ireland, and I have written about it earlier and it is kind of growing by the day on me, well, maybe we in the world of adventure and exploration have to find ways to set up some guidelines to define. It is normal evolution and development. With this article I kind of want to make these issues more clear and possibly more understandable. Let me than first talk about the subject of:

1. Who can call her- or himself an explorer?

The organizers of the 1st Adventure Filmfestival in Killarney made a quite clear distinction between what they see as adventurers and explorers. Basically, if you deal with people, cultures, animals, scientific or un-scientific research and anything else than yourself on an Expedition, you are in the business of exploration. If you, however, either ski to any of the poles or climb a peak like Everest, which basically is a personal thing where the essence of it all is oneself against nature, than you are in the business of adventure. (If you don´t do research in these areas) So, the organizers, the  Explore Foundation, wanted to concentrate on what they see as the exploration part and therefore hardly any of the films dealt with mountaineering or polar skiing.

However, everyone seem to start out as adventurer as a youngster, hoping to get into exploration, where the self is less important and the values of the world and life is a greater pull. This applies to me. I saw myself as a new Indiana Jones, but ended up today, wishing I could be Karen Armstrong (See film below) There´s no doubt that age defines. I guess the older you get, the more you understand, the less important one realizes that one is.

How do you define what is an explorer? Anyone seem to get away calling themselves an adventurer, because at the end of the day, that isn´t a chosen title that appeal to the world as much as calling yourself an explorer. Whatever that is. I have seen, especially in Britain, as quick as you have taken the diapers off and start to travel, you call yourself an explorer. It has a grand appeal in Britain especially. Which is fully understandable, since the UK, in my eyes, is still the worlds biggest exporter of adventure and exploration. But also the main part of the exploring world who use the words record breaking, unsupported and being first more than the rest of the globe.

But how do you define what an explorer is? Well, I call myself an explorer, because I have been doing this job since 1986 and I don´t know any other word which summarizes all I do.  Soon I will take it away.

However, I have talked to a lot of people involved in this business and it seems like if you are a Fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society, have featured somehow with National Geographic, have carried the Flag of any of the clubs, you have a reason. But, things have changed lately. To appeal to the Explorers Club, you need to have done years of work and have a scientific base to your explorations/adventures. Makes sense. The RGS seem to have lowered their standards a lot. Being a Fellow there isn´t as much an honor as ten years back. I think it is due to that explorers/adventurers are not wanted as much as geographers. The debate is still going on, see here. Check here what it takes to get in.  The word explorer is deleted and the high standards dead. Maybe the president Michael Palin can sort things out.

Others, like for example the important ExplorersWeb, who make a living out of the name explorer, has no clear distinction what defines an explorer, but have set up important guidelines on other important issues which deals with this odd world. They do focus primarily on climbers and polar skiers, though. They also go against the stream and Tom and Tina Sjögren have no interest being part of any clubs I mention in this article. Even if they´re more than qualified.

The Long Riders Guild have a long list of guide lines which has to be met to become a member of their guild. See here!

So, is there a definition? Not really. If you see yourself as an explorer, you are one!

This topic has been discussed and commented in this article, The need for debate on Expedition Arabia. And in CuChullaine O´Reilly´s excellent article on Ethical Exploration! And, of course, Arita Baaijens Exploration, an outdoor activity or not?

2. Unsupported.

I have to admit I had no idea really what it meant, when I planned my Arabian Expedition and I called it unsupported. Mainly because I had the idea, if you don´t have air drops or similar, but do all by yourself, it is unsupported. Than I talked to a legend at the RGS, Shane Winser, and she rightfully said:

“Hogwash! If you carry a satellite phone, how can you call that unsupported?”

So right, as always, Shane. ExplorersWeb has set up a great guideline on rules and definitions to be able to claim this and that, see here! It is almost perfect, but again, it deals with people who go for mountains, poles, oceans and nothing with Expeditions dealing with cultures, people and animals first hand. If you do that, it is impossible to call anything unsupported. However, they do think it is ok with a satellite phone and GPS to be able to claim an unsupported. So who is right?

This topic has been discussed in these two articles, Am I a fake and cheat?

3. To claim to be first.

This is a tag that follows many in the field. I have done those mistakes. You think it will give you more attention. You say; This is a first, unsupported and record breaking. Even if your idea is to photograph relatively unknown tribes in Africa or elsewhere, you still throw in those tags because you think it will draw more attention to what you do. Something I fully can understand. But is it needed to get the attention one obviously wants? And can one really claim to be first today in a way that actually makes a difference now when all the major (except the depth of oceans) geographical prizes have been taken?

I think so, if you choose to do something as challenging as Matvey Shparo and Börge Ousland by crossing the whole North Pole from one side to another in winter darkness. I think that is extra ordinary and historical.  So is Ed Stafford´s 2 year walk along the Amazon. Otherwise, to claim that you have been where no other white person has been or you have crossed Greenland in a shopping cart, it is just not true. And it isn´t worth trying to claim it. We live in a world of massive information possibilities and if it isn´t true, it will eventually hit back at you. Look at The Long Walk series.  And this article I wrote earlier called Fakes and Cheats.  And on top of all this, people are exploring and travelling more than ever.

So, do you need to use these massive words like unsupported, record breaking and the first ever to make a living?

Answer:

I hope not. I think that in the future, more interest has to lie in matters dealing with the well being of others, building bridges between cultures and creating understanding globally, and less with being first and unsupported. It has pretty much all been done. However, the world is forever changing, so new knowledge is always needed. And always will be. Do we need self occupied adventurers?

Yes, we do. We all have to be reminded that everything is possible. But, I hope, much less.

Initially, when you start a career in this genre, you do claim this and that, you are so full of yourself, I am talking from my own experience here, and possibly it can be a short time winner, to be able to claim that you have done this unsupported and it is a first. One or two sponsors can buy that.  But in the long run, if you need to live on it for the rest of your life, it needs to involve matters how we look upon this world and what we can do to sort out the problems we have created for futures to come. There´s only a few who can live on being the one who did the first. Whether it is true or not. So for most people, there has to be something more.

As an example, I had a general email from SVT (Swedish television) yesterday that they have absolutely no interest in self promoting adventures.  They get tons of emails from people all over the world who wants to do firsts and unsupported. It is of no interest to them anymore. Just as an example of the changing winds of society.

Maybe Killarney and Explore Foundation could become a hub of exploration and define?

As a final note, see this extra ordinary TED talk with one of my favorite scholars.

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]]> http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2011/04/17/how-important-is-it-to-be-first-andor-unsupported/feed/ 21 http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2011/01/03/voices-of-exploration-basha-o%c2%b4reilly/ http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2011/01/03/voices-of-exploration-basha-o%c2%b4reilly/#comments Mon, 03 Jan 2011 03:14:46 +0000 mikael http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/?p=2910 Voices of Exploration – An ever-expanding database of exclusive monthly interviews with the world’s leading explorers.

Regardless of where we were born, mankind’s urge to explore transcends all differences of nationality and faith. It remains an emblem of universality deserving of a wider global study.

Ironically, though the public has long yearned for fresh voices who could share their hard-won wisdom, in the corporate-dominated world, where finances always come first, meaningful dialogue with the world’s leading explorers has been passed over in preference to slick ads and predictable yearly awards.

That is why I am proud to announce the launching of this valuable new series.

The Voices of Exploration project is designed to be an ever-expanding data bank of interviews and wisdom. My friend, Basha O’Reilly, is one of the Founders of the Long Riders Guild, who has already launched the Voices of Authority equestrian educational program.

Interview with Basha O´Reilly.

Basha O´Reilly

Who do you think was the most influential explorer in history and why?

As a publisher of one of the world’s largest collection of classic travel books, I am in the fortunate position of knowing about so many explorers.  Some are still remembered by the general public, like Columbus and Cook.  However, many fantastic explorers have been forgotten, like Frederick Jackson (1860-1938).  When Jackson led (1894-97) the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition, the world of exploration was focused on reaching the still-inaccessible North Pole, so this Long Rider turned Arctic explorer led an expedition into the Arctic Circle, headquartering in Franz Josef Land.

Because he had explored Siberia, Jackson had witnessed horses being used in Polar travel conditions.  This led him to use horses when he explored Franz Josef Land. One of these horses was the first enthusiastic meat-eating equine recorded in Polar exploration!  It was Jackson who inspired Sir Ernest Shackleton to use Siberian horses on the latter’s attempt to reach the South Pole in 1907.   Likewise, Shackleton fed his horses a meat-based ration.

Jackson was the consummate gentleman explorer and expedition planner, who is best remembered today because he almost certainly saved the life of the first great superstar of Polar exploration, the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen.  In 1896 Nansen was returning from his attempted journey to the North Pole.  Starving and weak, he staggered into Jackson’s camp.  The Englishman revived, fed, clothed and restored his fellow explorer to health, then sent him back to a hero’s welcome while he remained in the Arctic Circle to continue his research.

During his astounding journey “through the heart of Asia”, Gabriel Bonvalot’s courage and resistance overcame all obstacles. On one occasion, as the illustration demonstrates, Bonvalot’s horse stumbled and nearly went hurtling over a 300 foot precipice. Bonvalot is one of the very few Europeans known to have ridden the famous meat-eating horses of Tibet.

I also regret that the English-speaking world seems to have forgotten Gabriel Bonvalot, (1853-1933) the French explorer and Long Rider. In 1889 Bonvalot set out to make an unparalleled journey from France to French Indochina. Accompanying the seasoned equestrian explorer was Prince Henri d’Orléans, a young aristocrat with a craving for adventure and a talent for photography. After crossing Russia, the Frenchmen mounted up in Siberia, then headed south towards Tibet. The resultant equestrian winter journey across the Tibetan plain and the Himalayan mountains is nearly too arduous to believe. The men routinely rode in weather so cold that their Siberian companions begged them to turn back when the mercury in the thermometer froze.  There is more information about Bonvalot in the Historical Long Riders section on the LRG website.

The reason I mention Jackson and Bonvalot is to demonstrate how rich the history of exploration is and how few names and accomplishments are remembered today.  This also explains why I think it is so important that we admire real heroes, not shallow imitators.

Who inspired you to become an explorer and why?

Colonel John Blashford-Snell, founder of the Scientific Exploration Society. I joined one of his expeditions to Mongolia and discovered it is possible to live in a tent. Before that I thought living rough meant staying in a four-star hotel instead of a five-star one!

What is your favourite exploration book and why?

My husband’s book, “Khyber Knights,” for sheer excitement and its amazing insights into Muslim culture.  Also “The Worst Journey in the World” by Apsley Cherry-Garrard because it has the most graphic descriptions I’ve ever read about travelling in extreme cold.

What is your favourite exploration film and why?

Without a doubt the 2002 TV drama about Sir Ernest Shackleton and his ship, the Endurance.  Entitled “Shackleton,” and starring Kenneth Branagh, I watch it every Christmas to remind myself how lucky I am to be warm, fed and with my loved ones, and not marooned on a piece of melting ice.

If you were travelling to the South Pole in the “Heroic Age,” would you prefer to travel with Shackleton or Scott, and why?

It would have to be Shackleton – he is one of my heroes, and I know he would get me out of any tough spot.   In 1914 Shackleton and twenty-seven men set forth on a south polar expedition, only to become trapped in pack ice and stranded for nearly two years in one of the most inhospitable regions of Earth.  Against almost impossible odds Shackleton brought his 27 men home safely.  Shackleton is more than just a paperback role model to me.  His courage in the face of exploration disaster was a beacon during the dark days of my own life in 2010.

Sir Ernest Shackleton’s compass.

This happened when CuChullaine and I were preparing to make the first equestrian journey around the world.  On the strong recommendation of the most trusted Long Rider in France we had entrusted our horses (Count Pompeii and Sikunder) to a woman in Burgundy.  Unfortunately when we rejoined the horses we found Count Pompeii had been starved and Sikunder physically and emotionally abused, so our journey has been delayed.  When we found our hopes shattered and our once-proud expedition struggling to survive, we remembered Shackleton’s courage and his refusal to despair.

Before we left London, his granddaughter, the Honourable Alexandra Shackleton, granted CuChullaine the rare privilege of holding the brass compass used by this greatest of explorers during his journey across Antarctica. We committed to memory Shackleton’s belief that blows which don’t break your back strengthen it.

What was the most dangerous situation you survived?

It may surprise people to learn that it’s bureaucrats, not bandits, that are most to be feared by equestrian travellers!  I rode Count Pompeii 2,500 miles through Russia, Belarus and Poland without any problems.  Then when we arrived at the EU border, he was grabbed by the bureaucrats and slammed into quarantine.  There he was starved for 17 days while an argument arose about whether they should take a blood sample or shoot him. It was only when I appealed to the chief vet of the EU in Brussels that Pompeii’s life was saved and we were able to escape.  More equestrian expeditions have been ruined because of the pen-pushers than for any other reason.

The times they are a’changing. Basha travels with a military grade laptop and a Swiss army knife with a USB key. This photograph shows the first radio ever used in a major equestrian expedition, a 1923 exploration of the Canadian Rockies.

What is the single greatest change you have witnessed in the exploration world since you began?

When I was younger, the famous British explorers – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, Ranulph Fiennes, John Blashford-Snell and Wilfred Thesiger, for example – were all actually exploring.  Today it sometimes seems that the TV adventurers are just performing stunts.  The difference is that, with GPS and Satellite telephones, they are never as out of touch as my contemporaries were thirty or forty years ago.  Technology should be our ally, not our ruler.  You can’t explore your soul if you’re obsessed with posting on Twitter.

What modern technology or techniques do you find most helpful?

Google Earth!  Although one can never entirely avoid nasty surprises, one can plot one’s course very accurately.  Whereas every explorer delights in the element of surprise, when you travel with horses or other animal companions, their welfare becomes a critical need, so being able to avoid motorways and find grazing, for example, is a tremendous help to Long Riders.

What piece of equipment always goes with you?

My Swiss Army penknife with a USB key – an inspired birthday gift from CuChullaine.

Which book would you recommend to would-be explorers today?

Either of my favourites mentioned above, Khyber Knights and The Worst Journey in the World – the first because it shows how dangerous some parts of the world still can be;  the second because it sums up the legendary stiff-upper-lip British courage of the times and the men’s determination never to complain.

But for expert practical advice on a day-to-day basis, I would recommend “An Explorer’s Handbook”.   It is one of the many fantastic books written by my friend, the tremendous British explorer and Long Rider, Christina Dodwell.  After travelling everywhere and surviving enough dangers to curdle the courage of an army, Christina committed all her hard-won knowledge into this unique book.  Need to know how to cook crocodile?  How to buy a camel? How to deal with the head-man of the native village? Christina tells you all this, and much more.  She livens up the instruction with tales of some of her adventures, all told with modesty and a charming dry humour.

For equestrian travel, the book CuChullaine is working on now, The Horse Travel Handbook, will contain more knowledge about how to travel with horses than has ever been assembled before.

What would you tell young explorers to be wary of?

I think there is a danger that huge amounts of publicity can go to young people’s heads.  They should always remember how incredibly fortunate they are to be doing what they love.

It was bureaucrats, not bandits, that almost stopped Basha’s ride from Russia and threatened to kill her mighty Cossack stallion, Count Pompeii.

Why is it important for humans to continue exploring?

Because, even with books, television, photographs and films, I don’t believe you can understand a place unless you’ve been there.  I’ve never forgotten at the very beginning of my ride from Russia, some of the Cossacks joined me for the first few days.  One of them turned to me and said in astonishment, “I’m a Communist and you’re a Capitalist – but we’re just people and we both speak ‘horse’.”  You can’t have a life-changing experience like that by watching a travel show on television.

Which of your achievements do you think will be most remembered?

I think I am most proud of my part in the formation of The Long Riders’ Guild in 2001, which rescued equestrian travel from virtual extinction.  The LRG has now mentored 100 expeditions and equestrian travel is thriving!

Basha O’Reilly was born in Switzerland and has the blood of most of Europe running in her veins – as a result of which she has no nationalistic tendencies.  She attended school in Belgium and speaks five languages.

In 1995 Basha travelled to Mongolia on a scientific expedition led by Colonel John Blashford-Snell.  During this journey she discovered a taste for adventure.

The following year the life-long horsewoman bought a Cossack stallion, Count Pompeii, and rode him 2500 miles from Russia back to England, becoming the only person to complete an equestrian expedition out of the former Soviet Union.

In 1999 Basha made the longest known journey by a woman along Butch Cassidy’s infamous “Outlaw Trail”, riding 1500 miles from the Mexican border to Cassidy’s Hole-in-the-Wall hideout in Wyoming.

She is currently planning to depart on the World Ride, the first equestrian journey around the planet.

Since 2001 she has worked with her husband, CuChullaine, creating The Long Riders’ Guild (LRG), the world’s first international association of equestrian explorers, managing the Guild’s eight associated websites, publishing more than 300 travel books in eight languages and mentoring more than a hundred equestrian expeditions on every continent except Antarctica.

As a director of the LRG Academic Foundation, Basha was instrumental in creating a ground-breaking programme entitled “Voices of Authority,” an ever-expanding database of interviews with the world’s leading equestrian experts, including scientists, professors, authors, researchers, historians, social activists, crusading editors and artists.

A Fellow of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club, Basha has now launched a similar programme entitled “Voices of Exploration,” wherein she will be interviewing the elder statesmen, the rising stars, the famous, the obscure, the forgotten, the knowledgeable and the deserving voices of exploration.

At the request of her host, friend and fellow Long Rider, Mikael Strandberg, the normally very private Basha has agreed to be the first Voice of Exploration featured in the exciting new programme.

The VoE programme will feature a world exclusive interview, hosted by Basha, on Mikael’s blog every month.  The majority of the questions will remain the same, though each interview will focus on that explorer’s speciality.  All of the interviews will be publicly available on Mikael’s blog and the LRG’s Classic Travel Books website, so as to ensure that this valuable open-source collection of exploration oral history is preserved for future generations.

www.thelongridersguild.com

www.lrgaf.org

www.theworldride.org

www.classictravelbooks.com/authors/dodwell.htm (Christina Dodwell)

http://www.thelongridersguild.com/Historical_b2.htm (Bonvalot)

http://www.classictravelbooks.com/authors/cuchullaine.htm (Khyber Knights)

http://www.horsetravelbooks.com

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I just talked to somebody who survived Stalin´s death camps. It felt like I had a unique glimpse into history. If I ever have felt completely humbled by life, this was such an occasion. I felt such an admiration for this extraordinary man. I was, for once, at loss of words and just grunted when he told me a bit about that horrible time. This, the same day, as Peter Weir´s Hollywood film The Way Back hits the UK market.

This film is, according to the cover, based on Slavomir Rawicz book The Long Walk – a true story. Basically it is a story about a Polish officer called Slavomir Rawicz who 1956 caused a sensation with his book “The Long Walk,” his account of a his dramatic escape from the Soviet Gulag and a 4000-mile trek on foot to India. The book was a bestseller and has remained in print for over half a century. But was it based on a true story as both the book and the film cover claims?

Well, as you readers already know after reading first the story about the 3 Poles on ExWeb, followed by Tomasz Grzywaczewski´s hotly debated article about the subject, it is a heavily doubted truth. And since Tomasz wrote this article, by far the most read article I have published on my homepage, things have just rolled on at full speed. I have pretty much spent the last two weeks reading everything on the subject. Everything from Linda Willis´well researched page turner of a book Looking for Mr Smith to listening to Hugh Levinson´s great work at BBC Radio on the subject. And, I am happy to announce that during the research I, together with my helping friend CuChullaine O`Reilly, have come across some unique content to further complicate what is true or not true in this extraordinary story.

No matter, true or not, I am happy that there´s finally a film for the broader audience concerning the GULAG camps. At least 2 million people perished in these terrible camps and, compared to, for example, the Nazi concentration camps, there´s very little knowledge for a broader audience regarding these camps. And I have sort of a personal connection with these camps. And talking with this giant of a survivor today, brought my memories back to the Kolyma.

Before, during and after my Siberian Expedition I spent a lot of time researching the history of the Soviet union and their Gulags. Especially the one´s along the Kolyma River. I have plowed through a lot of books, academic work and newspaper stories. I would say I am well acquainted with the history of the Dalstroy. I am especially well informed when it comes to the two of the camp commanders, Eduard Berzin and the maddest of them all, Karp Pavlov. Extra ordinary stories of two human beings who became mass murderers. I have also visited quite a few of the remaining camps from Kanjon just outside Seimchan to one of the worst at Ambarchik. I am actually more than fascinated by this area. And one of the books I read twice, once during the trip and once afterwards, was Slavomir Rawicz´ book The Long Walk. I really liked it, still do. It is a fantastic story, a great adventure and a profound inspiration, whether it is true or not.

Eduard Berzin - one of the infamous camp commanders at the Dalstroj chain of lagiers.

I didn´t think more about its authenticity at that time. During my time in Siberia I came across so many extra ordinary people and stories, so I thought, everything is possible. Especially if somebody has a bit of the Siberian spirit inside them. And I didn´t know anything about the doubts about its authentication back than. I did, however, come across it a few years ago, when the BBC did a programme about it all after Slavomir Rawicz death 2006.  But not even at that stage, did I think more about it except I remember I thought, these things are not easy to prove. And why would he lie and what good would that do him or his family in the long run? Well, maybe he isn´t the only one bending the truth, regarding great escape stories!

Finally, I just want to add, that I have also received many emails from other explorers who have been greatly inspired by this story. Some have even started a life as an explorer after reading this thrilling book! So, as regards to Peter Weir´s film The Way Back, one can also read the book  for pure entertainment.

The big question is, did the Long Walk even happen? Beginning the 3rd of January unique content will be published on Explorers Web. Stay tuned!

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Woow, I have had such a response on the articles published about Ethical Exploration and Fakes and Cheats. I have received a lot of positive notes, but as usual, a whole bunch of really evil and aggressive abuse over my person. I guess that is a sign that this is an issue which needs to be discussed. The last time I had such an uproar was after writing this piece, about a need to debate what is exploration. I guess these articles belong to the same line of discussion, what is real exploration? Anyway, even if this means I will continue to receive a lot of upset comments, emails -by the way, always anonymous, so far not one, non-anonymous- of attacks on me as a failed human being and explorer, I just have to live with that.

This morning Hanna called me from the UK. She wants to write an article on the subject and wanted my opinions. One of the questions was, why do you want to open up an discussion about something nobody wants to talk about?

Answer: Well, just for that reason, to open up a discussion on the Ethics about Exploration. I think we within this line of work and/or lifestyle need some kind of a guideline to define a properly done Expedition or adventure. For example, ExWeb has done a great guideline to the issue of solo, unsupported polar trips. I think the business in general need these kinds of guidelines. this would help everyone involved, from the person doing it to supporters, media and sponsors. I am not doing it to hang anybody out, but have refered to issues mentioned on The Long Riders Guild website and ExplorersWeb. Some really unfortunate examples. BUT, I am not judging! I think every one is entitled to at least one major mistake, but of course, if it is repetitive, especially when trying to make oneself a real super human, than this should be known.

However, I think it is written in the genes, especially amongst testosterone driven male explorers, namely young ones at the beginning of the game, that one embellishes one self and ones adventures. I know I did! And I think that is something we humans have to live with. Explorers and adventurers overdoing reality a tiny bit. And, to a certain degree, it might well be the truth seen by this person. And history is full of examples of people being hanged out in shame. Like Frederick Cook, but with time, it turns out he and his claims might be right. So, if evidence isn´t really extremely clear, we should leave it at that. My opinion. Story telling is also important and we humans look at reality, individually, very different. and, most important, is to live, explore and enjoy! And spend less time debating like this…..

Hanna asked me another question, of importance:

Have you cheated or not told the whole truth, or embellished?

Answer: Yes I have. Especially when it comes to making myself look much better than I in reality am. For example, after the Siberian journey, I was often introduced as the guy who had done one of the coldest Expeditions in history. Which is kind of funny, if one understands that people have lived over 5000  years along the Kolyma River. And travelling up and down the river was their, and is, their daily life. When realizing, eventually, the stupidity of that claim, I immediately used that to take the mickey out of myself and present reality in my lectures, as for example in the lecture below.

And than, things tend to have their own life. I am in general an extremely sloppy and careless human at times and just go with the flow. Like 15 years ago I was part of a documentary where the producer said that I had cycled more kilometers than any other human being and touring cyclist, which is complete hogwash. But it has stayed there for years and even came up when I did this pilot for the Arabian Expedition, see You Tube clip of the pilot below. I took that first speaker away after the first mistake as I realized it was wrong, we did many try´s, but that was the speaker which got picked by the director when putting the film together. Because it was a flow which suited the pilot. And than it was to late to change it once the production had been done. Too costly. So I had to let it be. Unfortunately.

BUT, at that time I did those bicycle  trips,by the way, it was known that it was one guy called Ian Hibbel and me who had done more or less the same routes. Passed the Darien Gap and the Sahara with the bike for examples. But back in those days, we didn´t have the Internet. Only books or rumors. So it is just a few years back I heard about Heinz Stücke….the tools of discovery are different today!

AND, preparing for the same Expedition, initially I got caught up with the supported and unsupported issue. I was dumb enough to call the Arabian Passage unsupported, mainly to make it more attractive for the broad casting industry, because as I saw it than, we were not having anyone giving us backup. Except us buying food and acquiring water whilst passing through villages. Unsupported in my mind, at this stage. Dumb, I know. It was the legendary Shane Winser at the Royal Geographical Society who put me straight in mind, when she bluntly told me:

“How can u call it unsupported? there´s nothing which can be called unsupported today, if you bring for example a satellite phone, how can it than be called unsupported?”

She was right of course. As in so many other issues regarding Expeditions. She is an enormous source of knowledge and wisdom.

So, yes, I have done mistakes for sure.  But this is important, I have never ever told a lie about the travels I have done. The A to B thing. I haven´t said I have been somewhere where I haven´t, or climbed a peak I haven´t or done unsupported, alone when I haven´t. But, I have done the common human mistake of pretending to be some kind of a world champion. When I am reality am nothing but a sorry human full of errors and faults. A lot due to a very poor self confidence of course. But I stand for my CV.

When did this change?

Answer: I do think most of my Expeditions have been special and unique in many ways. But, that is the great thing with travelling. You learn, realize, grow as a human and get perspective of life. Three things have changed my view of life. Siberia, my partner of life Pamela and our daughter.Siberia, because it was my dream come true. And reality was better than the dream. Pamela, because as a human and an academic, she constantly questions, philosophizes and wants to know how everything works.  Tiring at times, but extremely developing! And Eva? Well, children are so genuine, truthful, free of any type of emotional corruption and you realize how important it is, when being a parent, to be truthful to yourself. You are the role model your child is copying. Tell you one thing though, Eva will have a much better self confidence than her father, and therefore won´t fall into the category of playing up ones own importance. Thank God she has a great mother!

However, I also have to add that certain media -as the tabloids- and unrealistic sponsors helps to over do things, they embellish that this is the greatest ever- and it easily sticks. With everyone involved. (I have to add, in my case, it hasn´t been like that, I have done that all by myself.) And, important, we are after all, mere human beings. Especially me.  And of course, the older you get, the more you understand. Which isn´t easy when you are young, full of life and try to set up a future for oneself. It is easy to make mistakes. And as far as I can see, the mistakes done in Exploration, have come from young people, beginning their journey through life.

Since I published two extremely well read articles about the dire straits of an explorers life, the One meeting Arita, and the one written by CuChullaine O´Reilly, I have literally received 9 emails from people with stories about forgotten heroes. The most amazing one is about a Swede who, before it became as popular today, crossed the oceans in a little boat. His name is Anders Svedlund and he died a kind of a tragic death, when he, disillusioned with life, cornered in a city, far away from open nature, stood up on a chair to change a light bulb in his apartment in Auckland, New Zealand, and fell, hit his head against the table, and….died.

Courtesy of Knut R. Erlund

I know three ocean rowers today, two very brave ladies, Roz Savage and Sarah Outen, and than a personal favorite explorer of mine, Erden Eruc. It is just recently I kind of have been involved in ocean rowing, even if I met Roz back in 2002 at a friends place in London. Since I am born in an area surrounded by forest, lakes, rivers, moors and tarns, the ocean has always been very scary to me. However, my points of this article is three, first, ocean rowing has become a big thing, with big income today within the exploration business, secondly, they really have great boats today and thridly, in the light of this Anders Svedlunds rowing seems extra ordinary! And it is time we other explorers try to highlight the people who did great things, but never got a lot of attention. Basically because that wasn´t such a great interest for them. But what personalities!

Courtesy of Knut R. Erlund

I found this great story about Anders Svedlund on the Internet:

We first met Swedish born, neutralized Anders Svedlund in July 1974, when he quietly stepped ashore from his plastic five-and-a-half-metre boat right in front of our home here at Papehue, on the west coast of Tahiti, during a truly epic trip across the Pacific. The sole reason why Anders repeatedly escaped to the sea was his love of nature, and the peace of mind he experienced when lost in the solitary contemplation of it.

Unlike Peter Bird, he cared very little for records, shunned all publicity, and never kept a log or wrote down the story of his accomplishing the amazing feat of rowing across the Indian to Madagascar in 64 days, he went straight back to Auckland, and, without telling a soul where he had been, resumed his old trade as a house painter.

After three years – the time it took him to save enough money – he set out again on what was to become an even greater adventure. The point of departure was Huasco in Chile, which he left on February 27, 1974, at the oars of the same old plastic boat he had : used for his Indian Ocean trip, but now renamed Waka Moana.

His only aim was to follow the sun for as long as he could. He rowed with such determination, however, that he sighted his first Polynesian island after only two months. Since he had no navigational instruments, and it was uninhabited, he never found out its name. But he didn’t at all mind being alone on land for a change, and managed to pick and open a few green coconuts.
The next island he came across seemed on the contrary to be definitely over-populated, and was full of weird concrete buildings. It was the top-secret Moruroa, a nuclear testing base.

A Tahitian welcome for Anders Svedlund when he came ashore at Papehue, on the west coast of Tahiti, during his 1974 rowing marathon in the Pacific. Marie-Therese Danielsson* is hanging the lei round his neck. This picture was taken shortly before the grapefruit incident, told on this page, which delayed him in Western Samoa.

But the French pilots and navy men patrolling the area never imagined for a moment that people could come all the way from South America in a small boat of the sort they used for fishing and fun. So he rowed all day unnoticed along the northern coast of the island, within shouting distance of the shore. Moruroa is situated at 22 degrees south latitude, and Anders made the mistake of trying to reach the Austral Islands still further south, which involved him in a losing battle against “strong westerlies. Luckily for him, the captain of an inter Island cargo boat, whom he encountered at Rimatara, took pity on him, and brought both him and the Waka Moana to Papeete, whence he rowed on the calm lagoon waters out to our home.

We immediately took a great liking to Anders, whose only fault was his excessive modesty and gentleness. He devoted his first week in Tahiti to mountain-climbing which he considered the best way “to stretch old sealegs.” But we cornered him eventually, and got very straightforward answers to some questions that had long intrigued us.

For example, he had no radio and no books, so we suspected he must have felt mightily bored at times. No, he said, the sea offered a splendid, everchanging spectacle, which he never tired of watching. It actually made him so happy he often burst into song. Mostly he sang old Swedish folksongs he had learnt as a child. He could go on singing for hours. He made up poems, too. Or he discussed philosophical and religious problems with himself.

We were equally interested however in the more practical sides of his spiritual quest, among other things how much sleep he managed to get. Anders assured us that he slept very soundly for 10 hours a night. He slept on a mattress in the forward “cabin” which was so low that he had to crawl in and out of it.

He added that Waka Moana, when left to her own devices, had a most fortunate propensity to turn her nose to the wind, which prevented her from capsizing. The one thing  he regretted was that she heaved and rolled so much that it was absolutely impossible for him to stand on his head for any length of time. To function normally one must stand on one’s head for at least an hour a day, he said.

Courtesy of Knut R. Erlund

During his first rowing adventure in the Indian Ocean, Anders had equipped himself with a kerosene stove. But it didn’t work well, and he soon ran out of kerosene. This time he made all possible space available for the storage of food. When he left Chile he had in his aft cabin 250 kilograms of flour made from roasted South American quinoa wheat. It kept better for having been pre-roasted, he said. Twice a day he mixed this flour with water to make cold porridge. He also carried a good supply of honey which he poured over the porridge. For desserts, he had about 50 kilograms of dried fruit. His water supply did not exceed 300 litres. But he had been able to catch some rain water.

Finally, he took the wise precaution of swallowing a vitamin C tablet every day.  What surprised us most was that Anders had no fishing gear. But the explanation was simple: he was a vegetarian (and a teetotaller, as well).

When, at the end of July, Anders decided to continue his voyage, we gave him what we considered a most appropriate farewell gift: a sackful of green, slow-ripening grapefruit, likely to last him for several weeks.  With this last sack loaded aboard, the weight of the water and food supplies was over 600 kilograms. Since the canoe itself weighed 360 kg, it was more than a ton that Anders had to drag across the ocean with the help of his two tiny oars. It was not without serious apprehension that we watched the heavily loaded Waka Moana confront the choppy seas outside the reef and disappear in a westerly direction – “towards Australia,” as Anders himself in very broad terms had formulated his sailing direction and destination.

As we learned two months later, Anders had kept rowing in his usual style towards the setting sun at an average speed of about 40 miles a day. But he eventually had to give up – because of our grapefruit!

They simply did not agree with his accustomed diet of cold porridge, and before he could bring himself to throw them overboard he was suffering from chronic colic which caused him such severe pain that he had to put into Apia harbour. His date of arrival was September 9, which meant that his whole Pacific trip had lasted six and a half months.

We saw Anders a few years later in Auckland. It was obvious from his dejected air that the sort of urban life he was then leading made him even sicker than our Tahitian grapefruit had.

His solution was, of course, to go to sea again. But before he could do so, quite unexpectedly, he set out on another, much longer, voyage, as related by the following brief item in an Auckland newspaper of April 23, 1979:

OCEAN ROWER DIES !N KITCHEN: Anders Svedlund, who achieved international fame in the early 1970s for two marathon solo rows across thousands of miles of open ocean, died on Friday night after a fall in his kitchen. The police first thought that he might have been shot. But a post-mortem examination established that lie had struck his head on the side a table following a fall.

The last month I have almost doubled my readership. Especially from the UK and USA, but also Spain and Chile. I am really amazed how many genuine readers who find their way to this site! An honor, indeed, and it gives me energy to continue the search for the meaning of life….The article who has had the biggest amount of readers, is the one about Fakes and Cheats.  (See also the comment page following the article, which is full of opinions.) But also the article Thoughts after meeting a female explorer.  An article basically about how difficult life becomes, the one of an explorer, once the lights fade away. This compelled one of the most honest and genuine explorers on earth in my view, CuChullaine O´Reilly, also a very good friend, to write this much sought after article on the subject:

Ethical Exploration

by

CuChullaine O’Reilly FRGS

There have been a number of entries on Mikael’s blog recently which, though apparently unrelated, do in fact share a common thread – namely the theme of ethical exploration.

Mikael first released a very important article which examined the topic of “Fakes and Cheats.” Though the focus was on polar liars, the topic could have just as easily have been laid at the door of any type of exploration. Equestrian exploration and long distance travel, for example, has its share of frauds lurking in the closet.

The most notorious of these charlatans was the Old West impostor, Frank Hopkins. Though the fantasies which make up the Hopkins Hoax are too numerous to list here, his most ridiculous mounted deception involved the fanciful claim that he made a lightning-fast winter time ride from Germany to Mongolia, a journey which the ice-delivery man could not have undertaken as he was in fact living in New Jersey with his wife and four children. Hopkins abandoned his family at the depth of the Great Depression, absconding with a young neighbour woman, and spent the rest of his days lurking on New York’s Long Island. From there he peddled wild stories to an American press already addicted to lurid tales involving off-beat countries and phoney claims of resounding bravery.

Frank Wild, left, standing beside Sir Ernest Shackleton, after their first attempt to reach the South Pole.Born in Yorkshire, Wild is one those quiet heroes of Antarctic exploration whom we would do well to remember in this day of exploration chicanery. In 1901 this modest man accompanied Captain Robert Scott to Antarctica on the Discovery expedition. In 1908 he travelled with Sir Ernest Shackleton when that champion nearly bagged the South Pole. In 1911 Douglas Mawson placed Wild in charge of his Antarctic base camp. Between 1914 and 1916 Wild barely managed to survive the horrific series of accidents that crippled the Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

Hopkins might have been a pathetic footnote to equestrian travel history, if the Walt Disney studio had not decided to release the movie, “Hidalgo,” which they perpetrated as having been based on Hopkins’ “true story.” In reality, the man couldn’t spell “truth”.

Hopkins lied, not by accident, nor to appease sponsors, but to fuel his maniacal desire to aggrandize himself at the expense of authentic heroes. Yet anyone who follows the exploration news released by ExWeb will have seen far too many current examples of people who have sold their souls in order to attain fame and fortune. For example, recently there was a well documented case involving a fraudulent mountain-climbing claim. As Mikael rightly noted in one of his introspective articles, people do make genuine mistakes, in which case, as our host suggests, they should apologize.

But what if it wasn’t a mistake? What if the so-called explorer was, like Hopkins, throwing out the rules, riding rough shod over the truth, chasing a buck, prostituting their personal integrity in exchange for a quick roll in the hay with that whore “fame”?

As Mikael’s sleepless night recently demonstrated, it’s easy to announce that you’re an explorer, yet how do you pay the bills without selling your soul? In an age of electronic media, instant news and the cancerous onslaught of reality-based television, how do individuals maintain their personal integrity in the face of a world who is willing, nay even eager, to wink at exploration exploitation? How can the public trust the media which aggrandises a liar like Hopkins?

The answer, if I may suggest it, is always a personal one. It is a concept which goes by various names, including ethics, morality, principles, standards, ideals.  Few men offer us a more dignified example of those rosy words than the Antarctic explorer, Frank Wild.

Born in Yorkshire, Wild is one those quiet heroes of Antarctic exploration whom we would do well to remember in this day of exploration chicanery. In 1901 this modest man accompanied Captain Robert Scott to Antarctica on the Discovery expedition. In 1908 he travelled with Sir Ernest Shackleton when that champion nearly bagged the South Pole. In 1911 Douglas Mawson placed Wild in charge of his Antarctic base camp. Between 1914 and 1916 Wild barely managed to survive the horrific series of accidents that crippled the Trans-Antarctic Expedition. This included being marooned on Elephant Island, where he survived on a diet of penguins and seaweed. Finally, in 1921 Wild returned to Antarctica for the last time. During that journey Sir Ernest died of a heart attack, yet his loyal lieutenant assumed command and completed the expedition.

What we mustn’t lose sight of, nor encourage to occur, is the base betrayal of exploration’s higher goals. As Frank Wild proves, and Mikael Strandberg recently learned, no matter how many medals a king hangs about your neck, when the fanfare fades you are still left with a host of unpaid bills and a crowd of vindictive enemies who will envy your success and even steal your dog.

Because he was a genuine hero of exploration, Wild was awarded the Polar Medal with four bars by the British government. The Royal Geographical Society awarded him their Patron’s Medal. The diminutive explorer was made a Freeman of the city of London and honoured with a CBE by Britain’s monarch. Cape Wild on Elephant Island and Mount Wild in Antarctica both bear his name.

So, I ask you then to ponder how cruel was Wild’s ultimate fate, as before he died in 1939, virtually penniless and largely forgotten, this brave explorer had been reduced to taking jobs as a storekeeper, cotton farmer, hotel barman, mine manager and railway worker? And what does it say for the true value of the man when I reveal that Wild’s Polar medal recently sold for £132,000 !

What we mustn’t lose sight of, nor encourage to occur, is the base betrayal of exploration’s higher goals. As Frank Wild proves, and Mikael Strandberg recently learned, no matter how many medals a king hangs about your neck, when the fanfare fades you are still left with a host of unpaid bills and a crowd of vindictive enemies who will envy your success and even steal your dog.

One should never be tempted to pawn exploration’s greater glories for a dose of fizzy, transitory, cheap fame. A recent case of exploration exploitation was revealed in Nepal, where a Sherpa announced that he is planning on taking his ten-year-old son to the top of Everest. Why? So that the child can beat the already dubious record set this year, when a 13-year-old California boy became the youngest person to climb that sadly soiled peak. This isn’t the act of a reasonable father. These are the actions of a money-hungry sperm donor.

What are we to make of the startling dichotomy between Wild’s genuine bravery and the Nepalese parent’s aggressive ambition? Why should we care? Because our frail planet is in desperate need of genuine exploration heroes. Allow me to explain.

In the summer of 2008 an area of the Arctic sea ice twice the size of Great Britain disappeared over a couple of weeks. Nor is our globe’s trouble confined to the Poles.

Five hundred miles off the coast of California a rotating oceanic current called the North Pacific Gyro is acting like an oceanic toilet bowl. Lodged within this plastic vortex, which is nearly six times the size of Great Britain, is an estimated 100 million tonnes of man-made waste and debris, including plastic bottles, tyres and chemical sludge.

Of equal worry are two other recently discovered facts. For the first time in the history of our planet, a single species, humanity, has become the dominant ecological force, and scientists predict that fifty per cent of all known species currently inhabiting the Earth will be extinct within the next fifty years.

In the face of what appears to be an on-coming climatic catastrophe, why do the wanderings of Arita Baaijens and Mikael Strandberg matter? Who cares if she disappears into the Sahara with her camels or if he ventures back into the frozen wastes of Siberia again? If their journeys don’t make a buck, pull in an audience or promote a product what good are they?

In the face of what appears to be an on-coming climatic catastrophe, why do the wanderings of Arita Baaijens and Mikael Strandberg matter? Who cares if she disappears into the Sahara with her camels or if he ventures back into the frozen wastes of Siberia again? If their journeys don’t make a buck, pull in an audience or promote a product what good are they?

This isn’t a new message. It is the cynical philosophy of transitory greed. It’s the siren song which every explorer confronts, in the dead of the night, when they awake, in a cold sweat and wonder, like Frank Wild, Mikael Strandberg, Arita Baaijens and others have done, why they’ve made such a difficult personal decision. This is the late-night soul-chilling moment when they wonder why they forsook a normal job, a dependable emotional relationship, a pension, in fact all the things that their peers sought, and found, embracing instead the explorer’s constant companions, personal confusion, emotional despair and financial loneliness.

As Wild proves, you don’t become an explorer because of the pay. That’s why in this day of celebrity authors, lying politicians, venial television stars and common day crooks, the handful of true explorers shine like bright stars in a world full of transitory mediocrities.

Ethical exploration has always been one of humanity’s sterling accomplishments, because lodged within that tiny cadre have always been a handful of men and women, like Mikael and Arita, who throughout the long march of our species, have summoned the courage to march away from the safety and taboos of their hereditary village, and set off into the unknown in search of scientific and personal knowledge.

Our species will always need ethical explorers who continue to seek the outer edges of knowledge. As Frank Wild proves, television can’t make you a hero of exploration. Only your own rock hard grip on personal ethical behaviour will steer you through the shoals of deceit and onto the shore of true spiritual bravery.

CuChullaine O’Reilly is the Founder of the Long Riders’ Guild, the world’s international association of equestrian explorers and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers’ Club. He is currently completing the “Horse Travel Handbook,” the most comprehensive equestrian exploration guide ever written. This is his second article as a guest writer. Read his first here!