My suitability for this undertaking

Being active in the outdoors.  Fun but a far cry from what
lies ahead I'm sure.

AND SO, with a phone call due today to kick-off our undertaking I thought it would be good to first explain a bit more about me and why I am the right man for this adventure (though I can think of far more reasons why I am not right for it, at least on paper!)

I'm 32 years of age and I suspect by a lot of peoples measures I have done nothing exceptional in my life.  I say that as I would consider the undertaking of crossing an Arctic icecap as exceptional - so why this and why now?  Well I have perhaps taken a little longer than most to mature and find the confidence required to begin living the life I want (without being dependant on the support of others).  I had already started this process of re-engineering what I am and have spent the last couple of years gradually living a life alternative to that which I did through my twenties.  I no longer smoke or drink as often as I did, I have begun indulging my true passions again having neglected them for so long in favour of socialising or working (or being run down from one of these two) and the biggest single change was to leave a 9-to-5 job I'd long lost my passion for.

So why an Arctic Crossing?  Well, my friend - who has just introduced me to my expedition buddy - had spent a lot of time listening to me wax lyrical about life and it's beauties: the adventures, the wonder of nature and how frustrated I was that I hadn't had full access to such things growing up and how hard I thought it was to seek such opportunities as an adult without either a foot in the door, knowing the right people or simply having lots of money.  She also often found me with my head in the National Geographic musing a life so privileged that you got to see amazing nature at its best, better still be able to capture it with photography and share some of that experience (one of the passions I have recently taken up for the first time as an adult is photography).  So I guess she got bored of listening to me and thought she could kill three birds with one stone - Do me a favour by introducing me to her friend, possibly help her friend by giving him a team mate to call on for trips and most importantly shut me up for a bit!

So why would I enjoy this trip?

• I am always walking, running or cycling out in the natural world somewhere.
• I have always been in awe of nature (a walk in the woods with me is never just a walk in the woods but a lesson in how to muse how fantastic everything is!)
• I am keen to increase my cold weather experience (so far it runs as far as a snowboarding trip in the Spring and snowfall in Surrey!)
• An opportunity to experience first hand the kind of scenes I have to date only been able to admire in magazines and on TV.
• As I've grown older and pushed my outdoor pursuits a farther I have become very aware of the importance of having solid outdoor first aid experience and I am very keen to increase this to a be a field medic.

I am very (very, very, very) aware of many reasons as to why I might not enjoy the trip: frostbite, exhaustion, extreme cold, polar bear attacks, psychological dysfunction, inability and lack of confidence etc.

And what makes me suitable?

• I am fit, young(ish), active and strong
• I naturally find navigation easy and enjoy it
• I have played rugby for years at a competitive level so have experience of physical hard work, determination, team work etc
• I have on/off been training for a half Ironman then Ironman event (as my first two triathlons) and so I was beginning to get a good understanding of and improve my ability in endurance feats
• I believe I have a strong mind and psychology - this is one of the things I am most interested in testing
• My heart is in this - I have no interest (well, very little) in the glory or bragging rights of such an expedition, just the desire to indulge in what I feel makes me tick as the person I am

I was going to cover what makes me unsuitable for this but I think that could go on for a long time.  I think all I can do is be aware of my shortfalls without letting them drag me down and work hard to improve these areas - and be grateful that I have been introduced to an explorer who can see the potential in people, or at least who is happy to take an apprentice for a month.  Cheers Roan!

I do have in the back of my mind that this is the kind of feat that no matter how well versed I might be prior to arriving in Greenland, nothing will substitute for good old experience and at some point that is going to cost me in pain, sweat, blood and tears I'm sure.  Hopefully though, none of those will cost me too much and in anyway which is irrecoverable.

Here's to healthy optimism and stretching yourself a bit more each day.

Cheers!

Andy.

P.S.  I considered including in this 'suitability' post details about my financial suitability (or complete lack of).  However, I don't feel I should shroud things with talk of money.  Perhaps I will go into detail at sometime in the future if there is interest from people to know such things.

THE EXPEDITION

To cross the Greenland Ice Cap, east to west.

Operating as part of a two man team we will be covering approximately 700 unsupported, unassisted kilometres.

As this is my first Arctic trip - indeed it will be my first ever cold weather expedition - we are allowing ourselves up to one month to complete the journey.  A month cross country skiing with nothing to look at except a distant white horizon (if we're lucky) or a blizzard of snow (if we're not).

We will begin in March 2012, by taking a flight out of London to the east of Greenland, via Iceland.  From there we will wait for the right conditions and availability to take our heli lift to the ice cap.

Once we are safely on the ice cap we will wave goodbye the the helicopter and will not see much of any civilisation again until we have safely crossed the ice cap possibly a month later.

Arriving on the west coast of Greenland we will no doubt share a beer and a few tales, then hop back on a flight home via Iceland again.  My birthday will be on the 20th April so it will be a nice present to myself and my family if I'm back home for then with a nice new string to my bow :)

It all sounds so simple.  It's just the month in the middle that I think might be a challenge.

Could I really get involved in an Arctic Expedition? Apparently, YES!

On Tuesday this week (9th August 2011) I was introduced by a friend of mine to one of their oldest school friends.  This meeting had been talked about for 6 months but due to busy schedules has only just happened.  You see the person I was meeting tends to be quite busy on extreme cold weather expeditions.  The reason for the meeting was that this mutual friend believed that he would be just the sort of person to offer me the kind of adventure that I've always craved.

So to the topic at hand and what I thought may be a tentative sounding out exercise by both of us.  I could not have been more wrong and what was soon laid out in front of me was a very simple proposal.  This guy wants to cross the Greenland ice cap (again) in spring 2012 and if I'm keen to be on the team then I'm in.  The team as I write is just the two of us, though another pair may be added as I write this.

Apart from my very genuine concerns around the dangers of such a trip this was really quite a simple decision for me to arrive at.  The dangers are real as are my fears, however, a lifetime of desiring adventure meant that anything other than an assertive "yes" would leave me full of regret.  A huge debt of gratitude must go to my mutual friend as it was her recommendation that I would be a good person for the trip that carried so much weight with my now expedition teammate.

I have a huge learning curve ahead of me and it's already begun with the significant challenge of raising funds for the trip.  However, I feel my mindset is right at the moment and if I can stay positive, open and enthusiastic I think there's a very real chance that I could be updating this blog in 9 months as one of the few people lucky enough to have crossed the Greenland ice cap unsupported and unassisted.