by Ian | Feb 18, 2016 | Antarctica 2018
February saw the Antarctica team assemble at Badaguish near Aviemore. Joe, fresh from his Winter Mountain Leader training down the road at Glenmore Lodge, joined the rest of the team who had made the long journey up from the South.
The team planned to spend most of the week on a ski mountaineering course, building upon the success of the recent Alps ski trip in December. Making the most of the glorious conditions and fresh snowfall, the team got up bright and early on Monday morning and headed into Aviemore to collect kit and meet instructor Graham. On the hill, the group learnt how to apply ‘skins’ (strips of carpet-like material attached under the ski to provide grip when going up-hill) and headed into and Coire Laogh Mor.
On the way in, Graham coached the group on the different style of ascending steep slopes, and taught us about the different settings on our ‘risers’ allowing us to keep our feet at 900 to the slopes and ski more efficiently. Being able to lift our heels out of our bindings took a bit of getting used to, as this was totally different to downhill skiing experienced in Alpine ski resorts previously.
Expecting an easy day with lots of learning, we were soon shocked when we arrived at the tops of the Ski Tows and Graham showed us the rest of the route he had planned for us; a ‘quick’ ascent of around the side of Cairngorm, followed by Stob Corie an t’Sneachda and Cairn Lochan, before a decent down Lurcher’s Gulley. Being seasoned Scotland veterans we’d walked these routes numerous times. Never one to shirk away from a challenge, we relished the opportunity to push ourselves and skis.
Given the heavy snowfall over the weekend there was lots of powder to be found, which made for some interesting descents and our first attempt at skiing downhill saw most of the group wipe-out in deep snow. Inevitably, this was followed by much laughter from Graham who finally gave us some top tips with how to deal with deep powder… maybe we weren’t as expert as we thought! Enjoying the most of the good weather, we covered a total of 20km and enjoyed stunning blue sky views.
Our second day with Graham was a total contrast, with +100mph mile an hour winds predicted on the Cairngorm Plateau, we headed around to the Lecht Ski area an hour north of Aviemore where winds were a bit more manageable. After a bit of coaxing and digging the van out of ice, we headed out into the scrawl, Gor-Tex’d up to the eyebrows.
With lots of spindrift whipping around, the team spent the day focusing on perfecting our technique and managing our kit; an extremely useful taster for those infamous Antarctic storms! Overall, the team preformed much better and Graham was pleasantly surprised with how quickly the team picked up the skills needed to move quickly and efficiently in the mountains.
With the winds dropping and the cloud base rising, Wednesday and Thursdays saw the team heading back out into the Cairngorms in order to reinforce what we’d learnt over the previous couple of days. With the mercury heading back below freezing, the snow pack firmed up and the skiing changed, with much larger patches of ice and nevee forming; definitely a test of the team’s limits which required digging the ski’s edges into the hard-packed snow.
Overall it has been a great week in the Cairngorms learning another vital skill required for the long slog to the pole… and back.
by Ian | Feb 1, 2016 | Antarctica 2018
Image this… you’ve just walked 15km up a 900m mountain, battling 40-50mph winds, in temperatures barely above freezing and a wind-chill of -5oC. Now picture the heavens opening and contents of your tent is slowly filling with rain…
… You’d probably think that things couldn’t get much worse! Well as Joe and Ollie were about to experience, you’d be wrong!
This was not what the start of the HSX January weekend had been like, far from it in fact.
The purpose of the roaming weekend is to visit a new upland area every year, testing our wild camping skills in deepest, darkest January. This year Joe happened to suggest visiting the Cadair Idris range of mid-Wales, an area he knows well from his work with The Outward Bound. Given its proximity to the Snowdon and Glyderau range, this part of Wales is a hidden jewel not frequently visited by hoards of tourists, giving the team the perfect opportunity to get away from it all!
It was for this reason that Joe suggested bringing HSX up to this region to get some quality mountain day logged for the aspiring mountain leaders and introduce members of the Cambodia expedition into typical HSX terrain. Joe and his house mate, Dobby, had stupidly suggested that all 30 people stay at their house on Friday night, which proved to be a tight squeeze leaving elbow room only for breakfast the following morning.
The group was split into three teams comprising of a Cambodia team, a team with the younger HSX members, supported by Antarctica member Chris and Dave, lastly a mixed experienced team with Joe and Ollie. The Cambodia team would be doing a walk on the south side of Cadair Idris and latter two teams where doing a linear route along ridge that flanked Cadar’s east and west flanks, swapping van keys at the half way point, before camping out that night and driving home in the morning.
Conditions were great throughout the early morning with sunshine but a strong southerly wind, insisting that softshell jackets be worn by all. All of the teams walked across each other paths where stories of how the smallest member of the team had been blown around were exchanged, as the thick clouds sprouted up all around them, darkening the sky and adding to the brooding backdrop. However this did not curb anyone’s enthusiasm as the Antarctica team members helped teach the importance of confident navigation skills to the younger members of HSX.
Everyone made it to their campsites just as darkness was descending and the rain was beginning to hammer down. Utilising what shelter was available the teams sheltered in the ruins of sheep folds or huddled around Llyns’ (welsh for lakes) seeking protection from the wind.
This is where our story re-joins Joe and Ollie. Just as Joe was settling into his sleeping bag, looking forward to a goodnights sleep, a strong gust of wind caused the tent poles to snap, resulting in the tent collapsing all around him, fabric flapping in the wind. With Joe’s resolve weakening, so did the teams enthusiasm for sleeping out on the Cadair Idris, with no space for the extra bodies in the already packed tents. The team, after being wrapped up in their warm sleeping bags, regrettably had no choice but to get up and trudge back to the van, heading for the sanctuary of Joe’s house.
However, with the keys to the house with Dobby, some 4km back up the mountain, Joe and Ollie had to dig deep and jog up the mountain in the horizontal rain to get the keys for the house. After what felt like an eternity, Joe and the rest of his team finally reached the relative warmth and comfort of home.
The other two teams, more protected from the wind, soldiered on through the howling gales and rains. Emerging into the clag the following morning less than impressed about how the weather had treated them, but well pleased by how HSX’s new Vango tents had stood up to their first test. The younger members of HSX were strangely smug about having survived their first “mini-epic” and looking back on the experience as a great learning curve of how to cope with long hikes, minimal sleeps and floating roll mats, the members of the Antarctica team took it all in their stride, having done this countless times!
by Ian | Jan 25, 2016 | Antarctica 2018, Belize 2011/12
“Don’t forget the basics!” reminded our ski instructor Ludo, as we peered tentatively over the edge of the steep icy black run Clocher de macle.
Rewind the clock back four days and we were being rudely awoken by the piercing sound of our early morning alarm call. “Why on earth did we book onto the 05:30 flight!?” exclaimed Dave, “it’s not even 02:00 yet!” replied Chris as we began to stir from our all too short sleep. “Well, look at it this way, at least we’ll be on the slopes by lunchtime!” chirped Adrian, trying to extenuate the positives of being on one of the first flights of the day.
It’s surprising how a short hop from Gatwick can take you to the best alpine skiing in mainland Europe. Even better, was the stunning sunrise above the blanket of cloud covering France on the way and the relative ease with which we got booked into to our apartment in the Les Bergers area of l’Alpe d’huez (after a chaotic game of shotgun to secure the best bed, that is). Shortly after arriving, we were getting kitted up, picking up our lift passes, and hitting the slopes. The aim of the week was to practice what we had learnt on our visits to the Snozone in Milton Keynes and sure up our technique; pretty easy when your bed is 50 metres from snow!
For Ollie, Joe and Matt, each morning began with ski tuition with instructor Ludo. Ludo was a veteran ski and snowboard instructor in winter, sailing instructor in summer and the coolest Frenchman you’ll ever hope to meet, with a penchant for the ladies. With over 20 years’ experience, the team knew he’d be perfect in helping to develop their skills on skis. Ludo kept hammering home the “the first basic” of skiing, however, little did they realise this was to be the first of seven “first basics” introduced over the week! The individual aims of the three guys (and Besty from HSX by whom they were accompanied) were to graduate from the basic snowplough turns, to a more complex parallel turn. In the meantime, Chris, Dave and Adrian, all competent downhill skiers, spent the time exploring and pushing themselves hard on red and black runs.
We were treated to uninterrupted blue sky, bright sunshine and well-above average temperatures throughout the week. Combined with below average snow-fall, it felt more like late alpine spring than mid-winter and as a result, the 35 runs that were open (instead of 130) were pretty busy, whilst the best skiing to be had was in the morning. In order to get to the best conditions, on day two, the team headed to the higher slopes at the top of the mountain, where freshly made artificial snow was waiting. Making the most of this, Chris and Adrian attempted some easy off-piste skiing and the others refined their skills on the blues. Unfortunately, even the best laid plans don’t go smoothly and losing track of time, we discovered that the lift to the top of the mountain was closed on our return. This left us with no option but to head down La Sarenne; one of the longest Black runs in Europe and reciting Ludo’s advice “don’t forget the basics!”
Midweek, we decided to treat ourselves and headed into town for a traditional Alpine Raclette. Simply put, this involves eating your own body weight in melted cheese and bread, which for some, resulted in some serious stomach issues afterwards and arguing about who was going to use the single toilet first! Besides eating a lot of dairy and meat, we tried to eat as healthily and cheaply as possible and often favoured heading back to the apartment at lunchtime to gorge on freshly baked baguette and lots of tasty fillings and cooking for ourselves at dinner; it was Christmas after all…
On Christmas eve, Ludo invited the team to join in with celebrations organised by the ski school. We were treated to a spectacular (if not slightly odd) interpretive dance story of French Father Christmas, complete with neon lights and fireworks and the whole event was topped off by an impressive precession of lights down the mountain slopes by the ski instructors (and of course, the complementary glass of Vin Chaud).
In our minds, we knew that the Psychology of waking up on Christmas day away from our families was always going to be difficult to get used to, however it was great to spend the following day skiing with great friends in such a spectacular setting. On Christmas morning we gathered around the breakfast table to open our ‘not so secret’ secret Santa gifts and headed out for the last ski of the week, with a secret intention we had successfully kept from Matt. Heading over to L’Alpette in the afternoon, we gave him the surprise of investing him as an official Scout right there on the slope after some good fake-acting on Ollie’s part to cause a distraction whilst the team got their uniforms on and the flag at the ready. Matt recited his promise and finally became a fully-fledged Scout, despite having being in HSX for three years!
Keep an eye out for Matt’s investiture video and more photos of our week on the Slopes!
by Ian | Jan 13, 2016 | Antarctica 2018
Happy New Year!
So the New Year has well and truly began and the festive celebrations now seem like a distant memory. The team have been working hard behind the scenes over the last few weeks and thought it was high time to bring you up to speed with our latest developments and exciting new challenges and events for 2016!
Updates
Firstly, 2015 was an immensely successful year for the HSX Antarctica team. Not only did the team compete in four truly arduous challenges, but made some positive steps towards our ultimate goal, getting to the South Pole, none of which would be possible without the support from you all.
As the team look back over the past 12 months of our training, we’ve really racked up the miles, taking part in weekends across the UK, including the Cairngorms, Lake District and North Wales. The culmination of our training was our trip to the French Alps, spending our first Christmas away together as team, as we spent a sun-drench week in Alpe d’Huez honing our ski skills. We’ve got to meet lots of people attending numerous events at Schools and Scout Groups across Hampshire, inspiring the next generation of adventurers.
The team have been actively pursuing sponsorship opportunities, contacting companies across the length and breadth of the country. In October we were pleased to partner with 3 Men and a Marquee, Hampshire’s premier wedding marquee company.
In December, the team joined up with Osprey Europe. We will shortly be taking stock of our new Osprey Variant 37 packs, which we will be putting through their paces on our Ski Touring course in the Cairngorms in February. The team is really excited to be joined by such a well-known brand, and look forward to working with them over the next few years.
Whilst the team is in discussions with a number of other companies, we’re still working hard to explore all avenues of potential sponsorship. If you think you can help, please check out our sponsorship page for more details on how to get in contact with the team.
Challenges for 2016
Building upon the success of last year, the Antarctica team will be participating in two tough challenges this year.
Following the resounding success of the Clarendon Way ultra-marathon and our half Iron-man, the first event will be the Jurassic Coast Challenge! Over the weekend of 6th-8th May, the team will be completing three marathons in three days, in the stunning scenery of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. In addition to covering the gruelling 26.2 miles each day, the team will be averaging 900m of accent along the undulating coast between Charmouth and Studland. Staying at local Scout huts along the way, the team will be giving inspirational talks to the young people in the local villages in the evenings.
Our second challenge of the year will see the team competing against HSX members for previous expeditions, in HSX v HSX Antarctica! Featuring members from our pervious expeditions, including Everest summiteers and Kilimanjaro veterans, the team will compete in a tyre dragging race, completing laps of the Hampshire countryside. Similar to physiology tests the team faced on the 200 climbs and Welsh 3,000’s, this challenge will test the team’s stamina and mental resilience, pushing us to our physical limits. Taking place over the weekend of 20th-21st August the exact location will be revealed closer to the time, so make sure to stay tuned for future updates.
Events
If you like your events a little less strenuous, the team have that covered too!
On Saturday 18th June the team will be will be hosting a Summer Gala. This event will include inspirational talks from an external adventure speaker, hog roast, professional DJ and inside a luxury marquee kindly donated to us by 3 Men and a Marquee. We are busy making arrangements for the event, with the exact line-up announced over the coming months.
So hopefully now you have plenty to fill your diary with, the team would love to see you at these events and really appreciate your ongoing support on their quest to the South Pole.
by Ian | Nov 15, 2015 | Antarctica 2018
“How much further have we got Joe” Matt asked whilst struggling for breath after the battle up Tryfan.
“At least another 14km and then another 1000m of ascent up the next 7 mountains” Joe replied, struggling to make light of their current situation.
On the morning of our final challenge of the year it is fair to say we were all nervous, this was to be the toughest challenge of a busy year, which has seen the team complete an ultra-marathon dragging tyres, conquer 200 climbs in under 15 hours and complete two-thirds of a half iron-man!
The Welsh 3,000’s is one of the most daunting mountaineering prospects in the UK, with over 26 miles of running across 3000 metres of ascent and is a big challenge for anyone to walk in under 24 hours, but to attempt to run it in under nine hours… utter madness!
Setting off from Aber Falls car park at 9am; Joe, Chris, Ollie and Matt headed into the Carneddau to the true start of the challenge, the summit of Foel Fras. Traditionally, most teams spend the night before biviing out under the stars on the summit of the first peak, ensuring an early start on fresh legs, but we decided to add the first 4.5 miles and 700m of assent to the overall day, which seemed like a great idea in the comfort of Joe’s dining room on the Friday night!
Progress into the mountains was slow, with the team cutting a route through thick grass and, at times, scrabbling up 70 degree slopes of moss and grass, climbing on all fours to prevent sliding back down the slippery slopes. We all had demons in our head early on while going up these first mountains as it a small leg in grand scheme of things… and we weren’t even at the start line of the Welsh 3,000’s proper! However, after navigating up to the summit of Foel Fras in the mist, we soon reached the ridge of the Carneddau and the clouds lifted, where merciful the terrain eased and everything looked much more promising!
We made great progress over Foel Fras, Carnedd Llewelyn, Carnedd Dafydd and Pen Yr Ole Wen and started to head down into the Ogwen valley, lying at a mere 200 metres above sea level. Running down 800 metres is great fun, but for Joe and Matt, in the back of their minds they knew that an accent of Tryfan was literally looming large in the background. Reaching the car park the team were greeted by Ollie’s parents and Dave and Adrian. It was great to see them and they mentally psyched us up for the next section on the Glyder’s which was the hardest section to run.
After a quick pit stop to refill their water bottles and stock up on supplies, Matt and Joe soon set off for the next part in silence, both knowing what they were heading up, having led many groups up these mountains in the past. This, if anything, made it mentally harder for them as they knew exactly how high they had to go and precisely how much they had left to conquer. The demons soon started coming back, however they knew what to do and that was plodding up the mountains, one foot after the other.
It took Joe & Matt, around 40mins to scale the height of Tryfan and as quickly as they got up the mountain, there was to be no rest at the top as they headed down to start the ascent of Glyder Fach. The terrain was proving challenging & dangerous for them. Whilst both experienced mountaineers, they found running shoes different and more difficult to manage on the wet, lichen covered rocks of the Glyder’s then their normal mountain boots. With hearts beating out of their chests they made their way up the climb onto the top of Glyer Fach, legs bursting and screaming for rest… all the while in silent contemplation, battling the demons and trying to conquer their battle of with their minds and keep going.
It was almost as if someone had heard their pain as the moment they both reach the top of Glyder Fach the skies cleared and they were treated to the most sensational sunset imaginable. There’s a famous saying “You only remember the first hour & last hour. Everything in between is a blur” and it was true, all the pain and suffering of Tryfan and Glyder Fach was forgotten as they ran across the flat, awestruck by the sunset.
With the remainder of the route stretched out across the horizon in front of them, Matt and Joe chuckled to themselves. When you are tired, cold, wet & hungry, you can’t help but doubt yourself and the situations you find yourself in and it’s safe to say, a few times throughout our challenge we’ve asked the question, “why on earth are we here”?…. In situations like this, one thing always stuck out for Matt. He remembers watching ‘Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels’ and recites the line at the start of the film “left leg, right leg, your body will follow”.
It really is as simple as that, just keep moving. Before they knew it we were heading down the steep descent of Glyder Fawr, progress proving painfully slow due to the steep wet rock, but with light desperately fading they both knew they couldn’t afford to be too slow.
Safely down into the saddle, they took the opportunity to grabbed some much needed food and water before making a speedy ascent of Y Garn topping out as the light faded. All of a sudden the situation became more serious, senses heightening in the dying light, brains became more alert. Strapping on head torches on, they started to traverse round to Elidir Fawr, enjoying view all the way down into LLanberis, where fireworks shot into the sky, imagining people with the family & friends enjoying the festivities. Matt and Joe’s situation was slightly different, as they stopped for a second to watch the fireworks, the realisation of what they had done and what they still had left to do suddenly started to sink it. The rollercoaster of emotions from the day had all bulldozed into them as they stood on the summit of Elidir Fawr, battered by the wind and rain, standing in shorts & MNDA vests.
Joe let out a scream, “ARRRGGHHH…. Let’s just get off the hill mate”.
From down in the valley, the support team were tracking Matt and Joe’s progress, watching the distant head torches slowing cut a path across the mountain side from Y Garn, eventually losing them behind a spur on their descent off Elidir Fawr. At around 19:30, after more than 10 and a half hours on the go, Matt and Joe eventually made it down to safely off to Nant Peris, to a waiting support crew, who greeted them with tea, much to Matt’s approval.
This challenge rounds off a year of hard physical and mental tests, building us as individuals but just as importantly bonding us as a team. We come out of it, mentally stronger and a step closer to the South Pole. You can find all of our blogs on the website and videos on YouTube. See you next year for more……
by Ian | Oct 27, 2015 | Antarctica 2018
Over the weekend Ollie and Chris took part in The Original Mountain Marathon (The OMM) a 2-day mountain event, combining endurance, navigation and mountain survival skills:
This year’s event was held in the Tweedmuir Hills in the Scottish Borders, and began with a torrential downpour, ensuring we were soaked from the start. To ensure that no team has an unfair advantage over fellow competitors, route maps are handed out on the start line, with each team being given a minute to plan their route to the first checkpoint. Competing in the C-Class this year, we had to visit a mix of compulsory checkpoints, before being given free rein to choose a series of optional points to really test our route planning skills. For much of Saturday the terrain under foot was terrible, consisting of shin deep heather, peat hags and ankle deep bogs; none of which are conducive with running!
After covering around 34km, and with darkness rapidly descending, we still had two checkpoints to find. We certainly hadn’t intended to be out for this long, but were happy to find them relatively easily before sprinting into the overnight camp. We were surprised at the number of head torches still out on the hills after-dark and thought that maybe we hadn’t done so bad after all! Having spent well over 10 hours out in the hills, we found ourselves sitting 39th out of 44 finishers; it was a good morale boost to know that 31 teams had already retired. At the overnight camp we soon discovered why two men really shouldn’t share a one-man tent (especially when one of them is over 6ft5!), however, enjoyed being warm and dry and sharing a ‘wee dram’ before bed.
06:00 seemed to roll around far too quickly, even with the extra hour gained from the clock change, and we were woken up in traditional OMM style – with a rendition of “Scotland the Brave” on the bagpipes! Having secured an early start time we were packed up and on the start line by 07:44. Mercifully, day 2 had been slightly shortened by the race organisers; in recognition that day 1 was much longer than it should have been due to land access issues. Starting with stiff legs, the organisers naturally eased us into the course by placing the first checkpoint of the day 250m uphill! We soon warmed up and found ourselves traipsing over an all too familiar mix of heather, peat and bog; just what our battered legs wanted! But before we knew it, we were visiting the penultimate checkpoint, meeting the first proper track of the weekend (thank God for engineering!) and were finally able to move quicker than a slow trudge! On our decent from Glenheurie Rig, we passed Chris Laws and Richard Batstone, who were also representing Team HSX, and successfully crossed the finish line at a jog after a 7 hour day.
One of the key points we took away from the weekend was the importance of accurate navigation. Rather than worrying about pace, good navigation can allow much more time and ground to be made up. For us, this meant we managed to find all of the checkpoints straightaway, whilst lots of other teams, having initially overtaken us, spent ages trying to find the markers and losing significant amounts of time (on day 1 we were 20 minutes out from checkpoint three when we passed one team still looking for the marker – a mistake which was likely to cost them around 30-40 minutes!).
Overall we came 35th out of 39 finishers in C-Class, with a further 5 teams dropping out on day 2. We were both particularly proud of this result, considering that half the field retired. Although enjoyment of the OMM is always retrospective, for now it’s time to rest up and get ready for the Welsh 3,000’s this weekend… No rest for the wicked!
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