Hi all,

As some of you may know,  myself, Harry (33) and Sam (24) are setting
off to walk the last degree of the North Pole on 11^th April.

The trip will take an estimated 10 days covering roughly 90 miles although there are many obstacles along the way that can change this! Once of those being that the ice is constantly moving meaning you can travel miles backwards overnight!

I first mentioned this trip to the boys about 7 years ago but a number of fitness issues have got in the way so we’re thrilled we’re finally doing it!

We’ve been training hard since before December, (some harder than others). On 24^th January we went to Minnesota on a 4 day training camp where we did a mini expedition to familiarise ourselves with all the kit and learn what we’ll be up against for the real thing. On the plane over there we were thrilled to hear reports of the Northern Vortex in the US bringing temperatures of -40!

It was definitely a bonding experience having to camp head to toe with my two sons in a tent on a frozen lake in the middle of nowhere at -46. And as if that wasn’t enough, we were asked to ‘gradually lower ourselves into the ice water and then roll in the snow’ so we know what to do in case we fall in!

On the 11th April we set off to Oslo and then on to Svalbard for 2 more days training. We then fly to the Russian Ice Station Barnio and finally helicopter to the start of the trip. Our team is the 3 of us, 1 America, 1 Canadian and our guide, Keith.

Besides the cold there are a number of other obstacles we face such as ‘Pressure Ridges’ (collided ice), ‘Ice Leads’ (open water), seals, arctic fox and of course the Polar Bears! We’ll be sure to put up protection each night!

The John Radcliffe Hospital.

I have never done any sporting activity to raise money for a good cause (except a charity walk when I was at school). So I have decided to use our trip to raise anything we can for The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The JR has been good to me, our family and many others close to us on many occasions. If it wasn’t for their fantastic
work throughout both my heart bypass (2004) and brain surgery (2012), this trip may not have been possible. So I am extremely grateful to them and will be splitting anything raised between The Oxford Heart Centre Fund 007 and The Neurology Trust Fund. We’d be incredibly grateful for anything you can give to help us raise money. 

The Blog

There is a blog being set up where people can track our progress and get all the action from the day through, messages, photos, videos and voice notes. I’ll send out the link to it when it’s up and running

The three of us can’t wait for the adventure to begin, it’s been a long time coming and although it will undoubtedly be a huge test, it will hopefully be worth the wait! Once again, thank you for anything donated.

Tom