Harry's Arctic Heroes

Back in April this year four wounded servicemen undertook an unsupported trek to the North Pole in a bid to help raise £2 million for Britain's injured service men and women. They were joined for part of their training and expedition by Prince Harry. Himself a serving Soldier.

Harry's Arctic Heroes is a two part documentary covering the Arctic expedition which was organised by the charity Walking with the Wounded, an organisation which raises money for injured servicemen and women. The two part series, which was filmed over a year, follows the soldiers as they train and prepare for their extraordinary challenge in both the UK and Norway and their trek across the frozen Arctic Ocean.

The first part of Harry's Arctic Heroes will be shown on BBC One on Tuesday 23rd August at 9pm. The second part will be broadcast the following week on August 30th.

Everst - 'The Wildest Dream'

The film documentary 'The Wildest Dream - The Conquest of Everest', which was originally shown on the big screen at selected cinemas, was broadcast on BBC2 on Wednesday 17th August. The programme can now be seen on BBC iPlayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b013pr15/The_Wildest_Dream_Conquest...

The programme profiles American high altitude climber Conrad Anker, who discovered George Mallory's body in 1999, and the young british rock climber Leo Holding as they recreate Mallory's and Sandy Irvine's 1924 fatefull expedition, to discover if it is possible that they were indeed the first people to set foot on the summit of Mount Everest

British professional high altitude climber, Kevin Thaw, who was part of this expedition, can also be seen in the film.

A book of the same title, writen by Mark MacKenzie, is available in paperback and further explores the possibility that Mallory and Irvin could have reached the highest point on earth.

Crossing the Ice - In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Amundsen-Scott race

 

James Castrission and Justin Jones, two Australian adventurers, are planning to ski, unsupported, from the coast of the antartic continent to the South Pole and back.  They are currently in training for this epic challenge, which is to start later this year, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the famous Amundsen-Scott race to the South Pole.

The pair plan to begin their estimated three month expedition, Crossing The Ice, in October. They will make the 1367 miles (2200km) crossing on foot, while pulling 352 pound (160 kilogram) sleds, which will contain all of their food, clothing and equipment.

Castrission and Jones, who already hold the title for being the first people to row 2021 miles (3318km) from Australia to New Zealand, are undertaking the expedition to raise funds and awareness for the You Can foundation. The You-Can Foundation builds special cancer centers for children across Australia.

With 2011 being the 100th year celebration of the Amundsen-Scott race, for the South Pole, there are going to be several expeditions taking place as part of the celebrations.

Row to the Pole

A team of six ocean rowers, led by polar explorer and ocean rower Jock Wishart, have set off from Resolute Bay, Canada on the Row to the Pole expedition. The team are attempting the six week crossing of the Artic Ocean in an attempt to complete the first journey to the Magnetic North Pole, by rowingboat.

In addition to Wishart the team is made up of experienced sailors and explorers Mark Delstanche, Billy Gammon, Rob Sleep, David Mans, and Mark Beaumont. The team will row in three-hour shifts in their bid to complete the 450-mile open ocean crossing.

The Mongol Rally

The annual Mongol Rally, started this week, with 311 teams setting out on the ultimate road trip adventure. They'll drive across Europe and Asia, on the 10,000 miles adventure, in everyday vehicles, before crossing the finish line in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

224 teams set off from the U.K. on Saturday, while another 86 set off from the Czech Republic. All of the teams will have to tackle grueling deserts, snow capped mountains, and remote unsurfaced tracks and roads as they race to be the first to reach the Mongolian capitol.

Whilst everyone taking part in the event will be experiencing some fantastic adventures they will also be raising money for this year's charity  Christina Noble Children's Foundation, which is based in Mongolia. The CNCF is dedicated to helping improve the lives of underprivileged children living in developing countries, and are hoping that years rally will raise more than £400,000 pounds for their cause.

Ray Goodwin - Free Canoeing Talk/Presentation

Ray Goodwin has paddled extensively in Europe and throughout the world. Amongst his many trips he has completed the Circumnavigation of Wales and the Irish Sea Crossing, he has canoed the Rio Grande in North America, canoed as far north as the Arctic Circle and has successfully completed two kayak descents of the Grand Canyon, on the Colorado river. In July 2004 Ray was part of the BBC's Ray Mears’ Bushcraft series. As part of the series the two of them undertook a canoe journey on the Missinaibi river, in Ontario, Canada. In addition to being a British Canoe Union, Level 5, Canoe, Sea and Inland Kayak Coach, Ray holds a Mountain Instructor’s Certificate and has led ice climbs on Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and in the Atlas Mountains. He run's his own coaching and guiding business in North Wales, where he delivers training courses to all levels of paddlers from novices to the top BCU leadership and coaching qualifications. Ray will be giving his pictorial presentation and talking about his new book on Monday 8th August at 7.45pm at the Conference Suite, Liverpool Marina. For further details or to reserve a place go to http://www.liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk/ray/  Event Poster.......... www.raygoodwin.com

Dervla Murphy - Fundraising Talk

Dervla Murphy is an intrepid cyclist come author with many interesting and exciting stories to tell.
http://www.dhttp://www.dervlamurphy.com/index.

Dervla's first book, "Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle," was published in 1965. Since then she has written over twenty other books. Dervla's writing has won her worldwide aclaim and she has been described as a "travel legend" and "the first lady of Irish cycling." Although in her late-70s, she continues to travel world-wide and remains passionate about her love of politics, conservation, bicycling and beer.

Dervla will be talking about her travels and the subsequent books at the
Sustrans London office on Thursday 15th September at 6.00pm.

Venue:
70 Cowcross Street, Farringdon, EC1M 6EJ.
Doors open at 6.00pm 

Limited tickets are available from Sustrans priced: £10.00 (delivery information)