the world's toughest charity trek
April 2007
I've just returned from
Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, where I was
invited to assist with the Mitchemp
Trust's annual expedition in the Auyuittuq
National Park. This is a treeless land of desolate
yet ethereally beautiful tundra, polar bears, and
jagged peaks. Auyuittuq's mountains include the famed
Mount
Asgard, which is popular with big wall climbers
and base
jumpers.
Strong headwinds and consistently low temperatures prevented the team from completing the planned journey from the Inuit community at Qikiqtarjuaq to the settlement at Pangnirtung, but they did spend a total of seven nights under canvas in the park. For the majority of the team, this was their first cold-weather expedition, and for some it was their first extended stay in the great outdoors. I was really impressed by their spirit, enthusiasm and willingness to help each other out when the going got tough. I’ve read about a lot of charity treks around the world, but to my knowledge none come close to the type of conditions which this team dealt with.
Even getting to the start line was no picnic. Bad weather was to be our nemesis right from the outset. The rest of the team flew in to Canada from the UK. I was supposed to have a relatively easy ride as I was already on the east coast of the USA. Ho, ho, ho. After enduring a 27 hour delay at Philadelphia airport, an eight hour taxi ride to Ottawa, and a total of five cancelled flights, I finally flew from Iqaluit to Qikiqtarjuaq five days late. To my amazement I found myself just a few hours behind the rest of the expedition party which had also been embroiled in the raging storms that had thwarted all my attempts to reach Baffin. As I stepped out of the tiny office that doubles as an arrivals hall, I was greeted by an ambient temperature of minus 27 degrees Celsius and the news that all my kit had been left behind by the airline in Iqaluit. Not ideal when one is dressed in just thermals, a windsuit, and a duvet jacket.
The next day I hitched a lift on a skidoo for a bumpy three hour ride to catch the team up. En route I met the acclaimed polar explorer Will Steger and his Global Warming 101 team who are traversing Baffin Island to raise awareness about climate change. A number of guest members will be joining Will’s party during the four month expedition. They include Ed Viesturs, the first American to climb all fourteen 8000 metre peaks, and Virgin boss Richard Branson.
Of course, our expedition turned out all right in the end, and I’m typing this with only the slightest hint of frostnip on the ends of a couple of my fingers (which have been susceptible to frost damage since the early 1990s when I experienced windchill temperatures of minus 95 degrees Celsius on an Alaskan expedition). Although several members of the team contracted waxy-white patches of frostnip on their noses and cheeks during the journey, everyone checked each other regularly in order to rectify this unwelcome condition before any permanent damage was done.
Most impressively, AJ, Andrew, Ben, James, Jamie, Jason, Lydia, Mark and Nick have to date managed to raise a staggering £140,000 for the Trust. This amount of money is going to help revolutionise the amount of work that the organisation does for young people. If you’re inspired by what the team has achieved and would like to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children, please visit the team’s Justgiving page.
Rumour has it that expedition leader and all-round top bloke Mark Davey is planning a similar expedition in 2008, so if you fancy a crack at the world’s toughest charity trek, drop him a line.
As you are reading this, expedition photographer Martin Hartley (who took all the © pics you see here) is packing his bags for his next assignment, which is taking place in South America for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Well, they do say that variety is the spice of life…
On a personal note, I’d like to send out a big ‘Chibougamau’ to Paul, Rick and Paul for helping to keep me sane during our 48 hour delay at Ottawa airport. And ‘Hello’ to Mark, Travis, Sharlyn, Kimberley and everyone else who was trapped at F26 in Philly airport during the storm. Special thanks go to Christopher and his colleagues at the Lord Elgin Hotel, the saint-like Candice and her team at Philadelphia airport’s lost luggage department, Tia and Leslie in Qikiqtarjuaq, the staff at the Discovery Lodge in Iqaluit, marathon taxi driver Geni, and everyone else I met during my six day odyssey to the start-line.
Strong headwinds and consistently low temperatures prevented the team from completing the planned journey from the Inuit community at Qikiqtarjuaq to the settlement at Pangnirtung, but they did spend a total of seven nights under canvas in the park. For the majority of the team, this was their first cold-weather expedition, and for some it was their first extended stay in the great outdoors. I was really impressed by their spirit, enthusiasm and willingness to help each other out when the going got tough. I’ve read about a lot of charity treks around the world, but to my knowledge none come close to the type of conditions which this team dealt with.
Even getting to the start line was no picnic. Bad weather was to be our nemesis right from the outset. The rest of the team flew in to Canada from the UK. I was supposed to have a relatively easy ride as I was already on the east coast of the USA. Ho, ho, ho. After enduring a 27 hour delay at Philadelphia airport, an eight hour taxi ride to Ottawa, and a total of five cancelled flights, I finally flew from Iqaluit to Qikiqtarjuaq five days late. To my amazement I found myself just a few hours behind the rest of the expedition party which had also been embroiled in the raging storms that had thwarted all my attempts to reach Baffin. As I stepped out of the tiny office that doubles as an arrivals hall, I was greeted by an ambient temperature of minus 27 degrees Celsius and the news that all my kit had been left behind by the airline in Iqaluit. Not ideal when one is dressed in just thermals, a windsuit, and a duvet jacket.
The next day I hitched a lift on a skidoo for a bumpy three hour ride to catch the team up. En route I met the acclaimed polar explorer Will Steger and his Global Warming 101 team who are traversing Baffin Island to raise awareness about climate change. A number of guest members will be joining Will’s party during the four month expedition. They include Ed Viesturs, the first American to climb all fourteen 8000 metre peaks, and Virgin boss Richard Branson.
Of course, our expedition turned out all right in the end, and I’m typing this with only the slightest hint of frostnip on the ends of a couple of my fingers (which have been susceptible to frost damage since the early 1990s when I experienced windchill temperatures of minus 95 degrees Celsius on an Alaskan expedition). Although several members of the team contracted waxy-white patches of frostnip on their noses and cheeks during the journey, everyone checked each other regularly in order to rectify this unwelcome condition before any permanent damage was done.
Most impressively, AJ, Andrew, Ben, James, Jamie, Jason, Lydia, Mark and Nick have to date managed to raise a staggering £140,000 for the Trust. This amount of money is going to help revolutionise the amount of work that the organisation does for young people. If you’re inspired by what the team has achieved and would like to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children, please visit the team’s Justgiving page.
Rumour has it that expedition leader and all-round top bloke Mark Davey is planning a similar expedition in 2008, so if you fancy a crack at the world’s toughest charity trek, drop him a line.
As you are reading this, expedition photographer Martin Hartley (who took all the © pics you see here) is packing his bags for his next assignment, which is taking place in South America for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Well, they do say that variety is the spice of life…
On a personal note, I’d like to send out a big ‘Chibougamau’ to Paul, Rick and Paul for helping to keep me sane during our 48 hour delay at Ottawa airport. And ‘Hello’ to Mark, Travis, Sharlyn, Kimberley and everyone else who was trapped at F26 in Philly airport during the storm. Special thanks go to Christopher and his colleagues at the Lord Elgin Hotel, the saint-like Candice and her team at Philadelphia airport’s lost luggage department, Tia and Leslie in Qikiqtarjuaq, the staff at the Discovery Lodge in Iqaluit, marathon taxi driver Geni, and everyone else I met during my six day odyssey to the start-line.