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&

How in earth do i get the money to make it to the North Pole?

by

Matt George

I think we all enjoy reading a good adventure story. From the tales of the earliest explorers in the Age of Discovery, to Amundsen and Scott, Hilary and Norgay, right up to the present day, with remarkable people like Ed Stafford and Karl Bushby (to pick a few names out of a hat). We all agree that the struggles of these people are truly inspiring. But then most of us settle back into our armchairs and quickly re-focus our attention to the television. But for some a fire is awakened. The imagination is sent racing, and dreams of travelling to remote and inaccessible places, seeking adventures, and lifting life above the norms of the 9 to 5 rat race follow fast. And once these ideas enter one’s consciousness, they are almost impossible to dismiss.

The ‘fire’ can take hold in different ways, and come at different times. With some, it seems they were born with this fire already raging. With others, the fire can be a slow burning flame, which only makes itself apparent much later in life. Environment certainly has a factor- those who spend a lot of time in the wilderness, places of extreme climate, and so on, and those who simply have the opportunity to experience an ‘adventurous’ life from a young age are of course pre-disposed to later in life becoming interested in pursuing this form of ‘career’. Similarly, people have a major influence. A mentor figure can awaken the adventuring spirit like nothing else. Would Mallory have become a mountaineer if he had not met Robert Irving (his master at Winchester College, whom he subsequently accompanied on many expeditions to the Alps)?

For me, the ‘fire’ came much later in life. I grew up in the far west of Cornwall, England. It is a beautiful area- a small peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, and English Channel, with stunning granite cliffs and golden beaches. But, for whatever reason, apart from surfing, which I did all the time, I was not a very outdoors-y person in my youth. For example, I never took advantage of climbing opportunities, which are some of the best in the British Isles. Partly, I never had a mentor- no one said to me, Matt, let’s go climbing. Also, partly, I was not ready for this. I was, and still am musician and chose to spend my hours indoors, banging my drums and wailing on my guitar.

What changed? It is difficult for me to put my finger on, and I struggle to say why and when this happened. But in my late twenties I found myself reading tales of adventurers with great interest. I think the great chord that was struck in me, was the desire to challenge myself. To be put out there, somewhere remote, and see just what I could achieve. I guess it was also seeking the opportunity to go to places where few people have had the privilege to tread- a response to a desire I had always had to not fit in with the crowd and to do things differently.

Also, I had become dissatisfied with my chosen career path as a musician. I didn’t want to be like guys I saw playing in pub bands at the age of 45, still refusing to cut their hair, and still thinking they’re going to make it. And so many of my musician friends were miserable, because they were not getting the success they wanted, and they would continue to be miserable until they found it. I realised there is a whole world out there that MUST be experienced! I had had many years, and many great experiences as a musician, but the time had come to change tack.

I became obsessively interested in adventure travel. I discovered a kind of mentor figure too, and all from the comfort of my armchair! He gets much criticism, but I have supreme respect for him. He was making TV shows, being dropped off into the middle of nowhere and surviving by drinking from elephant dung and sleeping in dead animal carcasses. This man was Bear Grylls. Whatever you think of Mr. Grylls, he was a catalyst for me, firing my imagination towards what was possible in the natural world. He provided the mentor figure I had never had in my youth.

I also read Karl Bushby’s ‘Giant Steps’- the account of his truly legendary journey, walking all the way on foot from the bottom of South America, back to England in an unbroken journey, with no gaps. The words that he wrote in the preface, describing his feelings, were the same for me- he was dissatisfied with his career, and felt that he had much more to prove. And to prove it to no one but himself.

At the same I began reading about the North Pole. I found this challenge to be the most inspiring of them all. To journey across the frozen Arctic Ocean was, for me, about as far away from the 9 to 5 rat race as you could get. I started looking into it. There were a few options for a first Polar adventure. Some companies will simply fly you to the Pole. I was disgusted at the thought of this. It would be the same as taking a helicopter to the top of Everest (if it were possible). For me, reaching these places is ALL about the challenge and the struggle. Indeed, the North Pole looks exactly like the rest of the Arctic Ocean! It is never more true to say, it is not about the destination, but about the journey.

Another idea looked more promising. I found a company that runs an event, a race to the North Pole. It seemed perfect, by far one of the cheaper ways I could find of getting involved in a Polar Expedition, with the added benefit of training and support during the race. Let’s be honest, I don’t yet have the experience to head out on a solo mission to the Pole. I had found the one thing in the World I wanted to do above all others. But the price tag, although cheaper than many Polar expeditions, was still fantasy for me- £18000GBP. I decided it was only ever to be a pipe-dream, and put it out of my head.

Or at least I tried. I don’t not think a day has passed in the three years since, where I have not thought of the Pole. I decided a smaller, more realistic challenge was a better outlet for my adventurous inclinations. So on the morning of 21^st July, August 2008, I found myself on a bus from Thurso to John O’ Groats. I had an approximately 20kg pack full of everything I would need to make a journey on foot ‘end to end’, as it’s known in the UK. That is a journey from John O’ Groats to Lands End. These are the two furthest points apart on the mainland British Isles, and a journey of about 900 miles (1400kms).

I completed the challenge in 42 days, walking all day on foot, and wild-camping at night wherever my weary feet decided it was finally time to stop. I had some choice campsites, such as a thin strip of ground to the south of Glasgow, about 20 metres wide, and between an ‘A’ road and a motorway, with brambles and stinging nettles providing my campground. And I was sorely mistaken by thinking that doing the challenge in the summer would give me the best chance of good weather. Indeed, the sun was shining brightly on my first day, and I was very pleased with myself. And that was the last day I saw it I think until I reached Devon, about 35 days later. I got very used to walking, with my waterproofs long since being compromised, with a sopping wet tent waiting for me. One funny experience was being confined to the shelter of the front the town hall in Lancaster during a thunderstorm. There was no sign of this one passing quickly, so rather than waste time I broke out my camping stove. I must have looked quite a sight calmly cooking my dried pasta meal right in front of the huge door of the town hall as the rain poured and the thunder and lightning rumbled and flashed around me.

I was proud of what I had achieved. I had walked undeniably a long way, walking an average of about 22 miles a day (35km), whilst carrying a load. But let’s face it; it was quite lightweight in the world of adventuring. I was never very far from civilisation, and apart from the section over the West highland Way in Scotland, I passed a shop or pub every day. In one correspondence with Karl Bushby, he cheekily said it was a good ‘warm up’. And he was right. I still craved the Pole. But the money was simply not there. One thing was clear to me- I was not going to borrow the money and go into debt to do the challenge, so that again, seemed to be that.

I decided to travel. I had always wanted to see Russia, and I decided to incorporate it into an overland journey from England to…well as far as I could get, I was thinking maybe Australia. A year later I had had some great little adventures. I had successfully traversed Yakutia, in Far Eastern Russia, along the infamous ‘Road of Bones’, via the village of Oymyakon aka the ‘Pole of Cold’. This tiny village holds the record for the coldest inhabited place on Earth. The record stands at -71.2°C. I was lucky enough for it to be -54°C during my visit. After that I went to Kamchatka, and indulged in some ski-touring and volcano ascents, all of which I thought would stand me in good stead for my future adventures.

I didn’t make it to Australia, and I returned home from Cambodia. But I did manage to fit in another nice adventure in Laos- after much searching, I purchased a kayak, and took it to the far north of Laos, near the Chinese border. And I journeyed solo down the remote Nam Ou River, finally joining the Mekong and reaching the town of Luang Prabang, some 200kms later. I was paddling 8 to 10 hours a day, and camping wild on beaches on the riverbank. The journey was not uneventful. The local Laos must have the shock of their lives as they lazed by the riverbank of their isolated village, when next minute a bright orange kayak comes round the corner, piles over the waterfall (that had not been seen by the Falang kayaker), and promptly sinks, soaking the kayaker and all his accoutrements. There were three other sinkings, insect infestations, and a visit to my campsite by a tiger (which turned out to be some cows, what tricks ones imagination can play!).

I was back in England in August 2010. Polar Challenge was again at the forefront of my mind. My desire to go to the Pole had not lessened one bit. On the contrary. I decided I had to act on these feelings, and try to raise the money by seeking corporate sponsorship. It was late in the season, Extreme World Races needed a £1000 non-refundable deposit by September, and half of the now £22500 entrance fee by November. I knew it was a risky move. Friends and family said wait until next year. Taking advice from various sources I thought, “It is better to try this, and to fail, than to not even try”. And, “The first step in achieving any goal is making a definite decision that you are going to do it, whatever happens.”

So, I set out to dive into the world of corporate sponsorship and convince some companies, that I, an unknown quantity, with no previous track record of exploits north of the Arctic Circle, was worthy of investing a small fortune in. I am certainly not unique. And I am certainly not alone. How many people like me are there, who given the chance, would be flooding to the Poles, and all the other rarely visited places of the World? Maybe the North Pole would look as crowded as the Queensway ice rink on a bank holiday weekend? And maybe the route to the summit of Everest would be as busy as the Watkins Path up Snowdon on a sunny day in August? Sadly, it all boils down to the same old thing- money! And certainly adventure and exploration have never been cheap. Do you think it was a cakewalk for Christopher Columbus to get three ships to sail off into the Atlantic, maybe never to be seen again? It was not easy then, and it is certainly no easier today, with more and more people wanting to do things like this, and unique challenges becoming ever harder to find.

So where to start? What did I know about corporate sponsorship? I started scouring the net for some advice on strategies. And I bought the mostly highly recommended book I could find on the topic- The Sponsorship Seekers Toolkit. And I put together a sponsorship proposal, describing myself in the most glowing terms that were plausible, and describing my previous minor adventuring feats in terms that made the trials of Hercules seem like short walks to the corner shop for some groceries.

Next I put together, really quite at random, a list of companies I would contact. So I had a list of several hundred companies that myself and a few friends helped create. My ‘toolkit’ advised to select only companies that you knew had a good fit with your ‘event’ and their ‘target market’. Fair enough, I thought, but in practice that would leave me with maybe only about ten companies at best. So I scrapped that advice and thought it was simply better to adopt the ‘throw enough mud at a wall, and some of it will stick’ approach.

Then my frustrations began. I set entire days off, lunch breaks, and spare half hours, to getting contact information and phoning and emailing companies. I quickly discovered a kind of quantum feedback effect that exists in the customer service departments of almost all, but the smallest companies- you ring a customer service line, asking to be put through to the company’s marketing department. But instead you are re-directed to an answer machine, that I came to realise no one ever checks. This is what I call the customer service ‘Black Hole’. Alternatively you can email customer service lines, but I also realised that these emails simply are sent through a wormhole to some parallel universe, and only there is it ever read, let alone replied to. And of course we all know that wormholes only work one-way. At least customer service ones do.

There is an impenetrable wall at the first point of contact, specifically to screen undesirables like myself. “We have simply too many random people calling us every day asking for money to listen to any of them!” You have to answer a riddle, a bit like the chicken and the egg. You want to speak to the marketing department, but if you don’t know a name of a person working in this department you will not be connected. And of course, they will not tell you the name! A few times when I was lucky enough to find a gap in this first line of defence, a few people said that due to the ever-increasing number of people asking for sponsorship and handouts, they had simply stopped sponsoring anybody, preferring to work closely with some carefully chosen organisations.

Of course, a few people genuinely said that my event simply didn’t fit with how they saw the image of their product. I couldn’t argue with that, but couldn’t help wondering if what they were really saying was, “Who are you? Why on Earth should we give you this sum of money to go to the North Pole?” I also couldn’t help wondering myself, despite the benefits of sponsorship I was touting, whether there were really any tangible ones to offer at all. Apparently Polar Challenge is televised in over 100 countries, but have YOU ever seen it? Maybe, but did you go on to buy any of the products you might have happened to glimpse advertised on one of the contestants pulks? Almost certainly not! I guess I have always been cynical about the effects of advertising anyway, so I must, for my own sake, remain faithful.

A few times, I had a positive reply. “This will be the one!” I told myself, excitedly, working myself into a frenzy, imagining myself already feeling the crunch of snow beneath my feet. But they came back to me, saying that their superiors didn’t feel that it fit with their projected image for the coming year, or that they had spent their budget for that year. Indeed, I knew it was late in the day to be trying to get the cash together- November was looming fast. I suppose anyone who has ever succeeded in raising large sums of money for an expedition by corporate sponsorship will tell you it’s a full-time job. I can confirm this. Indeed, it seemed like a much greater ordeal than the 320 nautical mile trek to the Pole. That would simply be a breeze compared to this. And a lot more fun!

One lesson was learnt above all others. In all my efforts to gain sponsorship from a company, in maybe 1% of cases I was actually able to speak to the relevant person who actually had some influence on how the marketing budget was spent. It is the same with almost anything in this World- it is about who you know. Contacts, contacts, contacts. 99% of my efforts to approach a company were a total waste of time, simply because the relevant person or department never even knew I existed. I experienced similar frustrations as a musician. The actual playing of the music I wanted to play was only possible after negotiating a maze of networks, schmoozing the right people and scratching the right backs. Mastering these things is a necessary to skill to allow one to advance in any chosen path, and sadly they have nothing to do with the actual thing you really want to do. And sadder still, they seem to be things I’m not very good at!

Eventually I had to admit defeat. November came and went, and I had not raised a single penny towards my trip northward. I had lost my £1000 deposit though. I retreated to Siberia for a few months, licking my wounds, disappointed that I wasn’t going to be taking advantage of the Siberian winter to train like a madman for my race to the Pole.

It’s a new year, and a new season of fundraising can begin. I want to go to the Pole, the first of many adventures I planned, more than ever. I have been spending the winter in Siberia, Nordic skiing and ice-climbing, and have some small adventures planned for the summer, all to keep the ball rolling, and to improve my experience and credibility. The global economic crisis continues, which makes it as bad a time as ever to try and coax money out of people, but what can I do but try again? All I can do is dust myself off and start banging my head against that brick wall once again.

Please visit my sponsors Termo who are making it possible for me to write 2 blog reports per week. Just click the logo to find the best underwear on earth!

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.

There was nothing in George Patterson´s early life to indicate that this son of a Scottish minister would go on to lead a life of adventure, travel and intrigue. Yet George turned his back on all that he knew and journeyed into remote Tibet at the conclusion of the Second World War. He not only underwent a great spiritual awakening there, but George also became involved with the Tibetan resistance to the invading Chinese Communist army.

The Scottish Long Rider’s subsequent equestrian journey across the Himalayas in the winter of 1949, to deliver a plea for help from Tibet to the outside world, is now the stuff of legend. Because of his lifelong support for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, the Chinese government imposed a death sentence on George which has never been lifted. George was recently (March 2011) awarded the Light of Truth Award, which honours individuals and institutions that have made significant contributions to the public understanding of Tibet.

Hailed as “Patterson of Tibet,” the 90-year-old is the spiritual guide of the Long Riders’ Guild, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, who is still writing and recently lectured at Cambridge about his travels.

George’s late wife, universally known as “Dr. Meg,” discovered a scientific means of helping addicts recover completely from drug-addiction.

George amputates gangrene toes in Tibet

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

In my opinion, Marco Polo. I was fascinated with the mystery and discoveries in his writings, and with his courage to travel towards the East and spend time in Peking.

Who inspired you to become an explorer and why?

Was I ever inspired to be an explorer? Most of the time, I acted out of compulsion and necessity.

What is your favourite exploration book and why?

Regarding the secular aspects of exploration, I found the writings of Aurel Stein to provide a fascinating view on exploration into Asia. The terrain of spiritual exploration, however, is travelled wonderfully by Mildred Cable and Francesca French, both famous women missionary explorers.

George Patterson and Loshay

What is your favourite exploration film and why?

Lawrence of Arabia; strictly speaking it was not an exploration film, but T.E. Lawrence was the explorer’s ideal in identifying with the people rather than with the geography.

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

I’d travel in the company of Scott. With the exploration party in distress, one of his men (Oates) sacrificed himself for the sake of his fellow explorers, walking out of the tent with its limited food supply towards his certain death.

How would you describe the various types of courage needed – physical, emotional and spiritual – for your visit to Tibet and your amazing equestrian journey across the Himalayas?

My journey across Tibet, challenging in mid-winter, appears courageous when looking back on it. At the time, I was simply driven by the necessity to obtain needed medical supplies and to request military assistance for the anticipated battle with China.

You were a success as an international journalist, specialising in Tibet. Was your decision give it up in order to take care of the children and let your wife, Dr. Meg, continue her medical research into addiction the greatest sacrifice you have made?

Yes. To say more requires a book…

2011 George receives Light of Truth Award

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

It is no longer possible to arrive on the borders of a strange country with little more than a suitcase.

What modern technology or techniques would you find most helpful?

On one occasion, I nearly lost my life when my compass and binoculars were left with the animals. I’d choose GPS over a compass today, but there is still no substitute for good binoculars.

What piece of equipment always went with you?

Other than a compass, and whenever possible, toilet paper!

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

David Livingstone’s Diaries, or T.E. Lawrence’s 7 Pillars of Wisdom

What would you tell young explorers to be wary of?

Amorous Tibetan women . . .

Why is it important for humans to continue exploring?

Someone, somewhere, will always want to know what is on the other side of the hill.

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

My newspaper writings about the battle against the Chinese invasion of Tibet

What’s your greatest concern for the future of exploration?

Curiosity about other sides of hills is part of human nature, and will never be snuffed out.

Links of interest:

http://www.georgepatterson.net/

www.classictravelbooks.com/authors/patterson.htm

www.drmeg.net

www.thelongridersguild.com

http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-press-releases/light-truth-award-presented-legendary-%E2%80%98bearded-khampa%E2%80%99-george-patterson

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]]> http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2011/04/01/4472/feed/ 1 http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2011/02/01/voices-of-exploration-john-blashford-snell/ http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2011/02/01/voices-of-exploration-john-blashford-snell/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:56:14 +0000 mikael http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/?p=3233 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 John Blashford-Snell

Colonel John Blashford-Snell started his remarkable exploration career on underwater expeditions and in the Sahara then in 1968 he led the first descent of the Blue Nile .  JBS, as he is always known, went on to lead the first vehicle crossing of the complete Darien Gap jungle.  In 1974/75 his team navigated almost all the Congo River.  Since then he has organized and led more than 100 expeditions.

But JBS is far from being the average explorer.  With a group of friends he set up the Scientific Exploration Society, to foster and encourage scientific exploration worldwide.

Indeed, these expeditions have resulted in hundreds of thousands of people, rich and poor, being given an opportunity for travel and adventure.

I am one of these people.

My name is Basha O’Reilly and I am one of the Founders of The Long Riders’ Guild, the world’s first international association of equestrian explorers.

Rafting a range rover during the crossing of the Darien Gap, Panama 1972

I am a Fellow of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers’ Club, because I rode my Cossack stallion from Russia to England, then journeyed on horseback from Mexico to Canada along Butch Cassidy’s infamous Outlaw Trail.

But, although I had ridden all my life, my travels in the saddle came about quite unexpectedly.

As a middle-aged woman I thought “living rough” meant staying in a four-star hotel instead of a five-star one. Then I joined an expedition led by JBS to Mongolia.

Four weeks of living in a tent in the High Altai mountains changed my life. Like thousands of others, Colonel Blashford-Snell opened the doors to a world of adventure which I had never imagined.

I was lucky enough to catch JBS at the headquarters of the Scientific Exploration Society which he founded, where he kindly agreed to answer these questions.

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

There are many, but I suspect Zheng He, the Admiral of the Chinese fleet that set out to discover much of the world in 1421 may prove the most influential in due course.

The successful flotilla at the end of the epic voyage 1968

Who inspired you to become an explorer and why?

My parents with their travels and adventures especially in New Zealand and the Pacific and my regiment, The Royal Engineers.

What is your favorite exploration book and why?

The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W. E. Bowman

What is your favorite exploration film and why?

I love the Indiana Jones films.  Although a little exaggerated they reflect many of the problems we face and are great entertainment.

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

I’d prefer to go with Shackleton because I feel he was really seeking the answers to many scientific questions.

carrying the grand piano to the Wai Wai in Guyana 2000

After leading more than a hundred expeditions, including a crossing of the Darien Gap jungle, what was the most dangerous situation you survived?

Probably on the Blue Nile in 1968 when we tackled massive rapids with no previous experience and the prototype raft, battled with bandits and faced some hungry crocodiles.

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

Space travel and on this planet undersea research

What modern technology or techniques do you find most helpful?

Goretex, GPS, inflatable rafts, paramotors and modern medicine

What piece of equipment always goes with you?

Swiss Army knife and a bottle of scotch!

The Airship ‘Europa’ and the SES brigantine ‘Eye of the wind’ on pollution studies in the Mediterranean 1980

Please tell us what prompted you to start the Scientific Exploration Society.

The concept of bringing together the Armed Forces expertise in field administration and the ability to conquer obstacles with civilian scientists

Why was it important to invite women and disadvantaged youth to take part in these explorations?

Women are very determined, have quick wits and intelligence and can be almost as tough as men.  They can also be very caring and good company.

What made Operations Drake and Raleigh unique?

Letting young people tackle physical and mental challenges under expert guidance and discover their strengths and weaknesses at a time when they can build on them or correct them.  At the same time doing much to make the world a better place.

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

The Springs of Adventure by Wilfred Noyce

Crossing the Kavaeli on the Great Elephant Quest, Nepal 1996

What would you tell young explorers to be wary of?

Greed …. And never believe your own PR.

Why is it important for humans to continue exploring?

If man is not to become a robot he must face challenges and seek to save the earth from self destruction.

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

I hope it will be the launching of Operations Drake and Raleigh which have done so much to develop young leaders and future explorers who care about people, environment, fauna and flora.

What ethical, intellectual or technical advances would you like to see in the exploration world?

The most exciting technical advance at present is the development of the paramotor.  This really gives explorers a most valuable birds eye view of their area and way ahead.  Hopefully engines will become lighter and more powerful and pilots more skilful.  We have used them successfully in South America.  I’d love to fly one!

Why are you anxious to help others via the SES and the many charities you support to help disadvantaged youths?

SES is a great organisation bringing together people of all nations in the cause of science and community aid.  I believe if one can redirect the energy of disadvantaged young they can become far better citizens.  Stanley and Livingstone are great examples of this.

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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!

A small note regarding the choice of equipment during Arctic Travel

3 Jan, 05 – 21:35
GPS-pos: N67°28´ | E153°42´ | Alt: 11 M
It´s the 3rd of January in a grey and overcast Srednekolymsk. It´s terribly cold out there, -55°F, but there´s no wind. The New Year Celebrations is continuing with the same unhampered joy. The bar´s and disco´s in the settlement are alive.

We continue to get mails from readers all over the western world, full of interesting opinions, heaps of advice and encouragement. Inspiring, fun and thought-provoking. Many of them has to do with our choice of equipment. Quite a few are of the opinion that we´ve picked the wrong choice of clothes and equipment for an extremely cold climate like this.

´´Why´´ , they ask, ´´haven´t you learned anything from the native people you´re living among, who´s knowledge how to dress and what equipment to choose in an extremely cold climate like the Siberian, has to be superior to any other. They have thousands of years of amassed knowledge!´´

One reader from Moscow even pointed out, that natives of this region probably have lived here for more than 300 000 years! (A Russian scientist, Yuri Mochanov, have found proof of this amazing fact along the northern part of river Lena, at an excavation site called Diring Yuriakh. That means, if it´s true, that there was a small pocket of life surrounded by the immense continental ice long before the dates we´re being taught in Scandinavian schools today!) Anyhow, I was of exactly the same opinion before leaving Sweden, namely that we would as fast as possible, get our hands on proper fur clothes before setting off on skis. And copy the natives way to dress. However, that was before I did any serious thinking. Especially regarding polar history. And, I changed my mind completely once Johan and I had a chance to try out these ancient and well-tested outfits.

Anyhow, I was of exactly the same opinion before leaving Sweden, namely that we would as fast as possible, get our hands on proper fur clothes before setting off on skis. And copy the natives way to dress. However, that was before I did any serious thinking. Especially regarding polar history. And, I changed my mind completely once Johan and I had a chance to try out these ancient and well-tested outfits.

Every single piece of equipment that we´re using on this Expedition, is the result of an ongoing development, which has taken place since the father of all polar travel, Frithjof Nansen, in the late 19th Century, started looking for the optimal equipment to use during physical travels in cold climates. Every single piece from the stove to the clothes we use. All the other knowledge we carry with us today as well, regarding how to travel and how to survive in this extreme cold, is also a development from this era. Arctic legends like Nansen, Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, Knud Rasmusen, A.E Nordenskiold and Robert Falcon Scott have tried and used pretty much all existing materials like fur, canvas, leather, wool, cotton, felt to nylon. Tested under circumstances far more demanding than we´re experiencing at the moment.

The technical development has taken a big step since this epoch. We also understand the importance of what food to eat, what training and what type of preparations are needed, the full potential of the human body and the mental aspect much more. This also applies to the choice of equipment and clothes. Which is a certainty, since we´ve learned from the wide experience and mistakes of all those earlier travelers. Or at least it should be a certainty, but since we do continue to get questions and opinions about this, and since we´ve had doubts ourselves, maybe not! There´s also a fact that every single hunter, trapper and fisherman we´ve come across since leaving Zyryanka, have been utterly shocked and worried when they´ve seen how we´re dressed. They just shake their fur clad heads, look us in the eye´s and say:

´´This is no good at all. This is what you should have!´´

Then they point out, as we would be utterly mislead, what clothes and boots should be worn. What they don´t understand, and everybody else with the same opinion, including ourselves before we realized properly, is that when the native Siberians head outdoors in this extreme climate, every single step and thought they have, has to do with either getting food, do as little mistakes as possible, they never stress or overwork themselves and they try to preserve as much heat as possible. They´re not outdoors to do any sporting adventures which involves sleeping in a tent with no heating and physically abusing yourself. They travel either by snowmobile, slowly walking or, not that often, ski. They´re dressed from top to toe in a variety of fur clothes. Thin and thick garments in layers. By far the best choice of clothes if you ain´t moving too fast and you want to keep the cold at bay. And if you have a warm log cabin to return to in the evening. But if you´re out there, pulling a 100 kg heavy pulka/sledge behind you, going through rough terrain and sleeping in a tent, fur clothes are on the verge of being dangerous. They make you sweat enormously and sweat is no good at all. And not sweating is almost impossible if you do any hard work. And, anyone, who´s been sweating in fur garments, knows that it turns to ice in no time. And, for example, getting a fur glove on when it is frozen to ice, is a lot of unnecessary hard work. And it adds on to the risk of getting a nasty frostbite. By the way, even in our light wool underwear we sweat tremendously even in temperatures like -58°F and at times we have woken up in the morning, after freezing all night, having to thaw out the ice of the long underwear. That is a reality I don´t wish anyone to have to experience.

Nevertheless, there´s no doubt that we´ve been freezing too much lately. Dangerously much. And we will freeze even more once we start skiing again, the 1st of February. The reason for this is due to the fact, that temperatures will continue to be low plus that there will be more snow and, worst of all, February and March are a time of blizzards and snowstorms. Therefore, we´ve realized, some parts of our modern clothes are just not sufficient below - 58°F.

The human body is a phenomenal heat source as long as you´re moving. Which we do all the time, except when we´re inside the tent. Therefore, we dress to avoid sweating too much. Therefore a light set of underwear, a shirt, a pair of trousers and a Gore-Tex jacket with a hood is more than adequate to travel in. Even at these low temperatures. Plus a thin balaclava with a facemask and a pair of wind proofed gloves. And two pairs of light socks inside the boots. But, as quick as we stop, say just for a dump, we immediately whip out the thick down Jacket, the thickest down gloves and the thickest hood out of the pulka. Otherwise we would get serious problems. And when it is time to camp, boots off immediately as well and on with the down boots (bivvy boots), quickly inside the tent, get the stove going, get inside the sleeping bag and hope for a relatively warm night. Furthermore, these modern clothes dry much faster, the seems are better and more comfortable, they´re windproof, but they still breathe and they´re much lighter. Fur clothes are really heavy, the seems are uncomfortable after awhile and they´re clumsy to handle. And once they freeze to ice, they´re hard to handle. But, this should be said, the modern clothes and boots are nothing for someone who´s hunting, working in the forest and chopping wood. The normal life of a Siberian hunter.

Nevertheless, there´s no doubt that we´ve been freezing too much lately. Dangerously much. And we will freeze even more once we start skiing again, the 1st of February. The reason for this is due to the fact, that temperatures will continue to be low plus that there will be more snow and, worst of all, February and March are a time of blizzards and snowstorms. Therefore, we´ve realized, some parts of our modern clothes are just not sufficient below – 58°F. We need to add on some sort of solution involving fur. As additional protection. Especially on our hands since they´ve taken too much damage already. We´re presently working on a pair of big wolf skin gloves, with fur on the upper hand but only normal leather in the grip of the hand, to pull on quickly over the other gloves when needed. We´ll see how they will turn out.

What, than, can the modern developers of polar equipment and clothes learn from the Siberians? First of all, I think it is, once again, important for them to properly understand how extremely inept, slow and awkward all movements become in this extreme cold. The longer the time, the worse. (I have a feeling that most gear to day are made to last a normal modern polar trip. Maximum 2 months.) Gloves shouldn´t be too tight, arm sleeves neither, no unnecessary and complicated solutions as for example to many zippers. The pocket openings have to be wider and longer, more space and more back up solutions if the gear brakes. Which it will sooner or later in extreme climates. Siberians also always have a quick backup. As an example, our ski bindings, who´s weak points broke immediately when temperatures went below -58°F. Luckily, there wasn´t too much snow at this moment, so we could walk. If this hadn´t been the case, we would have faced serious problems. It wouldn´t have been a problem at all if the manufacturer had added two simple square holes on the sides of the bindings, where we could have slipped through a piece of string, to keep the boot in the binding. This backup solution would also have made the binding lighter. A Siberian binding is just a piece of leather which is tied over the front part of the boot. If it brakes, there´s a spare at hand immediately. This solution is no doubt much weaker, more uncomfortable and is made only for shorter trips, but, there´s always a backup possibility.

We´ve definitely progressed a lot since the day of Nansen, but there´s still some distance to go to complete perfection!

This article and many others can be found in the dispatch compartment at www.siberia.nu! Or, if you speak Swedish, you can watch as below….

1. Annapurna by Maurice Herzog. This is the way real climbs, real exploration should be done. Before you had set routes and ropes fixed to the mountain. This book presents the enthralling account, by the leader of the French expedition, of the first conquest of Annapurna – at that time, and at more than 8000 metres, the highest mountain ever climbed. It is a story of breathtaking courage and determination against appalling odds. In records of mountaineering, in tales of human endeavour, there is nothing so unforgettable as the account of the descent by the triumphant but frost-bitten men, after the monsoon had broken, through the flooded valleys of Nepal.

Many think this is the best adventure book ever written.....

2. The worst journey in the world by Aspley Cherry-Garrard. This book gave me and Johan Ivarsson great insights into the cold during our Siberian Expedition. One of the youngest members of Scott’s team, Apsley Cherry-Garrard was later part of the rescue party that eventually found the frozen bodies of Scott and three men who had accompanied him on the final push to the Pole. This is his account of an expedition that had gone disastrously wrong. No episode in the history of human endeavour reads more harrowingly than Scott’s last expedition to Antarctica. Scott reached the South Pole in January 1911 to find Roald Amundsen had beaten him to it; then perished with his companions on the way home. ‘Yet, “tragedy”‘, Apsley Cherry-Garrard was to write a decade later, ‘was not our business.’ Cherry-Garrard was just 24, the youngest but one of the team when he joined Scott. Left behind for the final leg, in accordance with Scott’s original plan for a four-man advance, it fell to Cherry-Garrard eight months later to be a member of the search party which discovered their frozen bodies. The experience permanently damaged his mental health. For the rest of his life he was haunted by the fear that, but for what he perceived as an error of judgement on his part, they might have survived. Yet this book, his story of that and earlier expeditions, is in no way self-indulgent or sensationalist. Despite his name, aristocratic birth and classics degree from Oxford, Cherry-Garrard was no arrogant nobleman. Rather, this not especially robust but intelligent man well understood that polar exploration requires a singular fortitude pushing beyond brute strength to what Ranulph Fiennes was later to term mind over matter. Cherry-Garrard’s descriptions of the conditions suffered are rendered all the more diabolical by prose as stark as the landscape traversed. As for hyperbole, the ‘Worst Journey’ of the title in fact refers to an earlier expedition investigating nesting sites of the Emperor penguin. A work of supreme dimension, this masterpiece remains as compelling today as when it was first published 80 years ago.

3. The Heart of the Hunter by Laurens Van der Post. A beautiful book about travels among the Bushmen. In this stirring sequel to “The Lost World” of the Kalahari Laurens van der Post records everything he has learned of the life and lore of Africa’s first inhabitants. He explores the very sources of the Bushmen’s spirit and imagination – their dreams and stories, the legends that guide them and inspire them in their daily battles with that harshest of environments, the Kalahari.

CuChullaine O´Reilly on his famous ride!

4. Arctic dreams by Barry Lopez. An amazingly inspiring account from the northern part of the globe. The European picture of the Arctic is usually of snow and ice: the inhospitability of the terrain and the frigid wastes of the tundra contribute to our incapacity to imagine ordinary life there. In this magisterial book Barry Lopez draws on this hazy understanding of the far north to provide a compelling account of the land and its hold upon the psyche.It is a book which could be compared to Chatwin for its combination of travelogue and poetic vision. Yet the beauty of the prose and the thought-provoking evocations of modern culture’s shifting relationship with the environment are in a league of their own. Here are sparkling descriptions of the lives of caribou, muskoxen, polar bears and narwhals, and extraordinarily moving passages which meditate on the nature of our relationship with the world, the inter-dependence of ideas, desire and science and the possibility of dignity and compassion in the contemporary world.It is a measure of the respect which Lopez has for his subject that his book exemplifies the supreme importance which he ascribes to the ethics of respect in the face of all existential paradox:”There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of a leaning into the light”.

5. Khyber Knights by CuChullaine O´Reilly. A very good friend of mine. It is an account of perilous adventure and forbidden romance in the depths of mystic Asia. A real modern day tale! It is also a book of insights to the human soul. It has everything an adventure book should have!

6. Scott and Amundsen by Roland Huntford. The best book about the race to the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott. It is not much liked by many British, but as somebody who is brought up in snow and cold, and know a bit about polar exploration, I think it is very accurate. Roald Amundsen should have been give much more acclaim for his fantastic life and discoveries. It is a very dramatic book,but gives a very good background on both of them.

Courtesy Robin Davidson. Probably the best account of an adventure I have read written by a female explorer.

7. Tracks by Robyn Davidson. Even though most of my recommended books are about males, most likely because they are described and written in a way that appeals to me and my way to explore, I think that books about adventure and exploration written by women, generally are better as a whole. Women are more honest, lie and brag about themselves much less and are much more emotional. This book as excellent. In every way and should be read by everyone who is thinking about doing adventures and Expeditions. It is a bout her 1700 mile trek with camels across the Western desert of Australia.

8. The voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin. I had no idea that Charles Darwin was such a good writer. The book is a must in many ways, since quite a few of his ideas regarding the evolution of mankind began developing here, but it is also a great travel book full of adventures and insights into all these countries that the Beagle passed on its 5 years journey.

Annapurna - Maurice Herzog classical account of the first 8000 meter mountain to be climbed.

9. The incredible voyage by Tristan Jones. Amazing book by an amazing fella. His passage with his boat through South-America is just unbelievable. He is a very good writer and this will be a classic in the future. With a singleness of purpose as ferocious as any hazard he encountered, Tristan Jones would not give up – even after dodging snipers on the Red Sea, capsizing off the Cape of Good Hope, starving on the Amazon, struggling for 3,000 miles against the mightiest sea current in the world, and hauling his boat over the rugged Andes three miles above sea level to find at last the legendary Island of the Sun. And beyond lay the most awesome challenge of all – the tortuous trek through 6,000 miles of uncharted rivers to find his way back to the ocean.

10  Arabian Sands by Wilfried Thesiger. By now, I have read the book many times. It is part poetry, part the meaning of life, but most a great read about his amazing explorations in the Arabian desert, and most of all, in Rub Al-Khali. Thesiger himself sums it up himself, by saying in his foreword:

No man can live this life and emerge unchanged. He will carry, however faint, the imprint of the desert, the brand which marks the nomad; and he will have within him the yearning to return, weak or insistent according to his nature. For this cruel land can cast a spell which no temperate clime can hope to match.

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