Scott’s ExpeditionTERRA NOVA ANTARCTICA IS BEATEN

BY DONNIE RUST

Imagine the cold. Minus fifty degrees, cold enough to freeze boiling

water instantly. Picture the environment, a white, alien landscape

shocking in its beauty and its icy indifference to life. Imagine, if you

can, the blinding white landscape, inhospitable to anything but the

most ardent creatures and then imagine having 1800 miles to walk

knowing that this very journey has never been completed successfully

and has killed everyone who has tried. Imagine knowing all of this and

still doing it.

Make no mistake. When Ben Saunders, accompanied by Tarka

L’Herpiniere left for the expedition that cost the lives of Captain

Robert Falcon Scott and his entire team in 1913, he knew all the

facts and went in completely prepared physically, spiritually and

psychologically and certain that the chances of his success were

stacked against him. He knew that there was every potential to fail

and that failure could very well mean cost him his life.

But, Ben Saunders was made for this.

Born in 1977, Ben is a record setting polar explorer and a record-

breaking-long-distance skier, with five North Pole expeditions behind

him and is the youngest man to solo ski to the North Pole and he still

holds the record for the longest Arctic journey by a Briton. Since

2001, he has skied 1,860miles (3000km) across the high Arctic which

equates to about 2% of his entire life living in a tent!

“I’ve always had a passion for the outdoors,” he relates fondly,

“Although I didn’t have the best start as an athlete. I was the podgy kid

who was picked last for the football team.”

However he discovered mountain biking in his teens and that led

him to compete on and off road, this took him to run seven marathons

including New York and London and three ultamarathons. It would

appear that his main competitor has always been himself, something

defined very early when he spent four months walking and climbing in

the Nepalese Himalayas when he was nineteen.

Yet, his latest adventure, perhaps an opportunity to prove that

nature is not the master of man, was to retrace the route taken by

Captain Scott a hundred years ago. Leaving October 2013, the two

British men, Ben Saunders and

Tarka L’Herpiniere set off to walk

from the Coast of Antarctica to

the South Pole and back. The

1795 mile Terra Nova route was

completed in 105 days.

PreparationThanks to a lifestyle that

has demanded so much of him

physically, Ben strikes as a man

who knows exactly what he

is capable of and his personal

worth. That’s the sort of prize

you win after conquering the

world’s harshest environment.

But Ben is quick to point out that

even his usual level of endurance,

developed after so much time

training and skiing in the North

Pole, was not enough for this

expedition:

“In terms of physical

preparation the really key piece

was a training expedition we

went on in Greenland in early

2013,” Ben explains, “We set

across Iceland in our trusty Land

Rover before flying to Greenland

for three weeks last May and it

was a unique chance for Tarka

and I to experience similar

conditions, to trial gear, clothing,

food and strategies.”

Crucially this also gave them

the opportunity to see how the

pair got on as a team under a

bit of pressure in some harsh

conditions. Ben relates that

the physical training, which had

included a 12 month cardio and

strengthening regime leading up

to their departure was also really

important.

“You have to have the

strength, in particular at the

beginning to haul our 200kg

loads,” Ben says, “But by the

end our bodies were so frail our

minds took over.”

(200kg is like dragging the

deadweight of two Rugby props

lying on a sled.)

Mental preparation is

something that Ben takes very

seriously. To help develop his

mental strength and his powers

of visualization to deal with the

lack of stimulus over the four

months in Antarctica he dabbled

in meditation as a potential

resource, but says frankly, “There

is nothing like the real thing.

Nothing could have prepared

me for the full extent of what

Antarctica threw at us or the

mental depths we had to reach

to.”

there onwards they walked to

the South Pole, on foot.

Walking is hardly a suitable

word. Firstly walking 900 miles

straight, then turning around

and walking is gruelling enough

before even considering having

to drag a 200kg sleigh behind

you. The sleighs are particularly

important in this because it

means you have to always walk

at bent over angle, with every

step being a push. You’re wearing

skis and although the ice looks

smooth, at that altitude and

temperature it’s not.

Ben was adamant on

capturing the entirety of his

preparation online through his

Youtube Channel, opening up the

experience to the entire world. In

this he’s able to expand on certain

subjects like the best clothing to

wear in Antarctica, which skies

and sleds are the best and the

training required.

“…these are the biggest sleds

I have ever seen,” he says in one

of the videos where he has a look

at the custom designed sleds for

the first time and you can see the

nervous excitement in his eyes.

“We had to take everything

needed to survive for the 105

day journey, from start to finish

and a lot of effort was put into

ensuring that our kit was as

lightweight as possible,” he tells

us, “But the sled starting weight

was still 200kg.”

The AdventureAn important aspect of their

expedition was being able to

share their journey on a live,

realtime manner. Not only the

preparation but the actual

journey itself.

“We worked very closely

with Intel to develop a system

that allowed us to do just this,”

he explains, “This meant taking

a Sony VAIO® Pro Ultrabook

and a Panasonic Toughbook AX2

2-in-1 Ultrabook connected to

a modified Iridium Pilot satellite

system to provide a new level

of internet connection. This

allowed us to share images and

video regularly throughout the

expedition making this a truly

21st Century expedition.”

There is a looming

difference between preparing

for something and actually

What Motivates A Person To Do This?

Inspired from a young age

by stories of explorers and

adventurers testing their mettle

against nature Ben began

planning his first expedition in his

late teens when he was working

for John Ridgway in the Scottish

Highlands. As far as inspiration is

concerned, John Ridgway proved

to be a fantastic role model.

“John having rowed across

the Atlantic in a wooden boat

with Chay Blythe in 1966 and he

also broke records in non-stop,

round-the-world sailing,” Ben

says, “So I blame him for a lot of

it.”

Captain Scott is an iconic

British explorer whose exciting

life story is often represented

to the public by his last failed

expedition with not much

knowledge about what came

before, “Scott’s childhood hero

of mine and completing his

expedition is a lifelong ambition.”

Scott’s ExpeditionRetracing Scott’s original

1911-12 route, Ben Saunders

started at Scott’s Hut on the

north shore of Cape Evans on

Ross Island, from here they

traversed the Ross Ice Shelf,

before climbing nearly 8000ft

on one of the world’s largest

glaciers, the Beardmore Glacier,

on to the Antarctic Plateau. From

“Antarctica, where the hurricane and the blizzard are born” Captain Scott.

finding yourself standing on the

Antarctic shelf, Ben continues

to explain. Physically the trek

itself was a moment to moment

slog through aching legs, lack

of breath and the never-ending

white with occasional breaks

for filming and “vlogging” and

frequently extreme weather of

a likes few of us could appreciate

to keep things interesting.

“It was just two of us on

the ice, Tarka and I,” Ben says,

speaking about the people he

was in contact with, “We were in

daily contact with our expedition

manager, Andy, who was

managing things on the ground

back in London.”

When Captain Scott was

planning the expedition in 1910

he was quoted on saying that

Hurricanes and Blizzards were

born in Antarctica, but it was

a century later that scientists

discovered that the Antarctic

cold was so fierce it created a

different kind of ice never seen

before.

All of this and more must

have been swirling around in his

head during the long hours of

walking, which one of the videos,

simply entitled “Hauling Extreme

Weight Across Ice” illustrates

better than any amount of words.

“I found music really helped

to keep me going,” Ben tells

us, “Usually electronic music

that got more frenetic as the

conditions got worse.”

“However, sometimes all

I could muster was to get one

foot in front of the other,” he

adds, “At other times I spent the

day taking myself on journeys to

some of my favourite places, for

example cycling in Majorca or

walking in Scotland, wandering

through the streets of London

and thinking about family and

friends. Wondering what else

was going on in the world beyond

our vast white expanse…”

SuccessCaptain Scott would be proud

of Ben and Tarka for completing

this expedition, accomplishing

something that nobody else has

ever done.

The expedition’s Patron,

Captain Scott’s grandson, Falcon

Scott was quoted on saying, “…

Expeditions to Antarctica are

important to keep alive a sense

of adventure and to inspire our

young people today to achieve.

The Scott Expedition is a

magnificent tribute to Scott and

his men...’

Having successfully

completed what sceptics

believed to be an impossible

journey, Ben Saunders and Tarka

L’Herpiniere have returned

home as heroes to the millions

of people around the globe

who they have given a taste of

adventure and probably do not

fully comprehend the manner in

which they have inspired people

to do something great.

Beyond The Bottom Of The World

Having started 2014 in such

a fashion, what is on the horizon

for Ben Saunders, how is he ever

going to top this?

“Good question!” he exclaims,

“I’m going to let completing this

expedition sink in first… and am

looking forward to spending

some time with friends and

family. There are a few exciting

things on the horizon though

that I’ll be talking about before

too long on @polarben on

Twitter and I have some emails to

catch up with that landed on my

website www.scottexpedition.

com. So a lot of catching up to do.”

Ben also revealed that he

would like to write a book and

maybe be involved on a film

about what he and Tarka have

just accomplished. Both of which

his many admirers will be eager

to get their hands on.

And what advice does Ben

have for the next generation of

budding adventurers?

“Get out there and

follow your dreams but don’t

underestimate the challenges

you will face along the way but

stick with it,” he says, “It’s worth

it in the end.”

and thinking about family and friends.” “I spent the day taking myself on journeys to some of my favourite places

Photo credits: 1-3: Andy Ward, 4-5: www.scottexpedition.com