Having gained Royal Patronage from HRH Prince of Wales for our school outreach workshops, ETE really feels that the Polar Fun Days are a great ‘hands on’, enjoyable, educational day. The PFD are led by either Antony Jinman or Oli Milroy who both have first-hand experience of the very different climate, culture, and the fascinating nature and animals of the cold and frozen arctic environment.

Receiving such great feedback from teachers and even the parents, they thought it was great having an arctic explorer visit their school and meet their children, the ETE team feel that their work is tried and tested, with each workshop full of fun educational facts.

Oli Milroy, who was described by one parent as a role model for young pupils, wants to encourage and inspire pupils to learn outside the classroom and learn from everything around them. “who would you rather your children saw as a role model: a young explorer who engages them and encourages them to work hard, follow their dreams, and contribute to understanding the world and making it a better place, or a random ‘celebrity’ eating kangaroo genitals in a sanitised rainforest?”

ETE’s aim is to spread the knowledge further and inspire even more pupils by giving ideas towards different lesson plans, and to help and encourage students to achieve their dreams. Through education about the Polar Regions and the very different arctic climate, arctic animals and arctic culture, for example the Inuit- students can learn about their language and the basic principles of Igloos.

After a short keynote policy address by Dr. Palle Christiansen, Minister of Education, Research and Nordic Cooperation in Greenland it was time for one of the most remarkable keynotes of the week, Dr. Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies and Director of the Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As well as member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and as President of the Society for Social Studies of Science. Humbly presenting herself as someone who simply teaches and writes about knowledge, she let  the audience know that she saw herself in group that could be summarized, using the words of H. L. Mencken, by “Those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach.” She talked in length about the failures of the Linear Model and its unfortunate results, “minilateralism not multilateralism seems to be the discord of the day” she says.

Yet in spite of this unproductive system, the science world is quick to claim and hold tight to its presumed benefits. Dr. Jasanoff goes on identifying presumed assumptions and presenting a different perspective and what that perspective should entail. She also talks about the politics of science and the complexity of knowledge making, leading unfortunately to many faulty courses of action. What is missing, Dr. Jasanoff points out, is the human factor – how people understand science and how culture shapes understanding. She goes as far as to ask the audience “Why should we believe scientists?” Is it because they are close to nature – a questionable statement. Is it because of science integrity, which is hard to prove. Or is it because of a strength of consensus, which they often don’t have. She even wonders if Rio+20 is actually an admission to failure, recognizing a global environmental exhaustion on the matter and the lack of international treaties and consensus. But she finishes hoping that the summit will present a chance to move away from business as usual and act on today’s challenges by building a bridge to the future. I strongly recommend that you listen to her speech and read each slide of her presentation on the webcast by clicking here.

In the afternoon, I attended a session given by Dr. Elizabeth White, director of BBC’s Frozen Planet series, titled “Behind the scenes: Broadcasters and Scientists Working Together” White spent an hour showing us scenes from the show and telling us how the filming team had only succeeded because of a strong partnership with field scientists. She also demonstrated how new filming technology and science knowledge had created never filmed before opportunities.

Next stop was the Martin Bergmann Medal Award ceremony, hosted by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Bergmann was director of the Natural Resources Canada’s Polar Continental Shelf Program and personal friend of Mr. Peter Harrison, President of IPY 2012. Sadly, in August 2011, Bergmann was part of the victims in a plane crash in Resolute Bay. Martin’s wife was to receive the first honorary medal. In what was an highly emotional event, Harrison spoke of his friend with honor, pride and nostalgia. “I want to celebrate an Arctic hero, I want to celebrate Marty” he said, “He embodied knowledge to action!” Several of his dear friends came to tell the audience a story that epitomized the good nature of this Arctic legend. In fact, everyone in the room had himself or herself, at one point or another, experienced the magic of Bergmann. Not only was he a master at connecting people, but he excelled at making things happened.

That evening, being the last one before the closing day, it was time for the conference’s big banquet featuring a performance by the prestigious Cirque du Soleil. Sold out and without one single seat left, the packed room dined together for the last time before being treated to an absolute fascinating show. The small troupe demonstrated physical feats that none of us thought even possible. Rolling and spinning in a giant metal ring, bouncing on a trampoline in ways that flouted gravity, and finally human sculptures that were, well scientifically defying the laws of physics! At the table with me was British educational hero Antony Jinman from ETE (Education Through Exploration)

Day 5, the final day, was time to close the conference in the same way it had started, with the educators. The last keynote speaker was Dr. Jose Xavier, a marine biologist with the Institute of Marine Research, University of Coimbra, Portugal and the British Antarctic Survey, U.K. In addition to his work on a number of science projects, he lead a highly successful educational program called LATITUDE60!, which reached thousands of students, educators, and politicians, helping to raise awareness of the polar regions. In 2011, he was awarded the prestigious Martha T. Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica. Before starting his speech, Xavier invited the public to watch on the big screen behind him a video honoring the incredible work of APECS’s (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists) founder Jenny Baeseman.

For the closing speech, Harrison summarized what had been accomplished over the last 5 days. While the conference in Olso was specifically focused on science, this year’s IPY 2012, which took 3 years to prepare, was to go beyond the science and move from knowledge to action. By involving the youth, the educators, the indigenous, and the politicians, the goal was to bridge all these parties with the science community. On another level, the green aspect of the conference was acclaimed as goals established prior to the event, were actually greatly surpassed.

What impact will have the conference? No one knows, time will tell. One thing is for sure, up to 4,000 people per day showed up and worked relentlessly at laying the foundations, and the framework on which to build a global partnership, an international momentum involving everyone and working together on a single mission – to preserve and protect the Poles, with their unique environment and their priceless biodiversity. Congratulations to the Steering Committee, the Program Committee, the Secretariat, the Volunteers, the Green Committee and everyone else  involved in the making of this incredible conference!

Nick Gibb’s Ministerial visit

For full article please see here: http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Minister-praises-explorer-Scott-city-visit/story-15373302-detail/story.html

Antony’s work within Inuit Communities

For full article please see here: http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/warm-welcome-explorer/story-14267447-detail/story.htm

Children having fun with ETE

Education Through Expeditions inspiring future generations

ETE’s work continues

For the full article please see here: http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Polar-explorer-Antony-meets-challenge/story-12746699-detail/story.html

Expedition:
Penny Ice Cap Crossing

Mission:
Arctic team expedition to explore remote ice cap on Baffin Island

Explorers:
Antony Jinman
Vijay Shah
Duncan Eadie

Location:
Auyuittuq National Park of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada.

Geographical location:
Penny Ice Cap is a vast, 6000 km2 (2300 sq mi) ice cap

Expedition mode:
Journey on skis, (pulk) sled-hauling.

Self-supported method:
All provisions essential for duration of the arctic expedition

Website:

http://www.antonyjinman.com

http://www.etenews.org/wp/

If anyone remembers the Vengaboys, they will know how catchy their cheesy pop songs were. In fact, the might be shrugged off as an advent of careless pop with Eurotrash arrangement, but not many bands can say they came up with catchier hooks than this group. We don’t know if they have enough to fill a whole disc, and we are guessing there will be many remixes and half-hits of this one. But, their big hits are still as infectious as they were before. Now, the cover art, that’s a different story. 1/10.

Further on the expedition front expanding the horizons of education, HimalayasX 2011 Expedition partners with ETE Education Through Expedition, UK  while advancing the global exploration world into the classrooms. Where students can interact with explorers and learn about environmental and ecological changes at the front of an explorers viewpoint.

With great sense of adventure, curiosity and a chance for new discovery – this expedition is setting off this Summer 2011 from a remote area of northwestern China. Follow updates, enjoy the expedition, comment and send messages, they will be returned.

If you wish to make a donation to a great cause, contribute to the expedition in any special way – we are here, welcome to the Himalayas X 2011 Expedition.

They also talk about the importance of the International Scott Centenary Expedition and our work in schools, teaching children about Antarctica and communities in the Polar Regions.

Get ready for an innovative website from the Real Fusion Web team. The above logo created by our branding team is just a taster of something very exciting!

Nic,

I am super-happy for you on accomplishing 50,000Km already, more to come no doubt down your OPEN road. You needed an Xtracycle to bring a woman with you http://www.xtracycle.com/cargo-utility-bicycles.html

I’ve got 1 important question for you about sizing a Koga-Miyata, I am finally through riding Made-In-China, and ready to make the move into bigger touring when I leave Korea in 2012. I’m in contact with Kogausa and want to order a KM-World Traveller, since locating a late-model @ discount, I need to guess the correct frame SIZE. Hmmmm. They are not available in Korea, so I will not SEE THIS BIKE until it is shipped. I sat on a Surly Long Haul Trucker in Seoul, Korea…a 60cm and it was way too big for me, then a 56cm seemed ok. The Koga Miyata being offered to me is a 54cm. I have an Italian racer friend, also 175cm tall, he said the 54cm would be alright ^^.

I’m 5’9″ or 5 feet 9 inches, 175.26cm HEIGHT. Would a 54cm Koga be the right fit, this is a tough question, curious what size you ride & it must be comfortable fit, seeing 50K already gone by…incredible job!!!

I share your stories with my Korean ESL students, we’ve been discussing becoming “Nomads” and a few are interested in this subject, as I continue to push the Dream of Cycling (transamerican) with them every Saturday morning when we meet for our 3-hour lesson. Discussions usually include stories about you, Alastair Humphreys [ LINK: Hitlist on right--->], Antony Jinman [LINK: Hitlist on right---->], …all the adventure heroes currently doing expedition work that I use as my virtual classroom, outside the ESL classroom. I’ve learned a lot about freedom, planning, equipment, determination, and finding satisfaction from reading your blog (and my own Hitlist on blogger^^). It’s been amazing following your journey live, just hope you fix that XP problem soon, my Canadian friend [Brian Sully, arrival to Korea, photos above] asked about you, he thought you might be almost in NYC right about now, funny how your world is getting all over the world, amazing inspiration to all of us common people!!! Can’t wait for your sequel (next stage) and a book at the end of this, I want to sponsor my son to follow in your Legendary Moves on the bike, for this work(out) and dedication , you’ll be always remembered as a great cyclist at this time of your life. Bravo, bravo, bravo & Live Strong!

I can’t believe a week has gone by since I finished my polar training program. My apologies to those I had worried by my silence–I came home with a wicked case of carpal tunnel that makes typing a challenge and a busy week that had me on the other side of the province for two days. But alas, it’s a glorious Sunday morning, I’ve had my cup of tea, and I can know reflect on that what I learned and experienced north of sixty!

The morning we were packing our sleds, I was in no way, shape or form prepared for what Matty prescribed for our sled weights. We’d training the week before with two bags of dog food (20 kg each-close to 90 pounds total). I’d been figuring when it came to expedition time, we’d ditch the dog food and replace with our expedition gear, food, and fuel. I was wrong. Instead of ditching the bags, we added a bag and with our gear, essentially doubled our sled weights in a heartbeat.

As we set out and my sled dragged so heavily behind me, I was miserable. I couldn’t believe we were carrying more weight just to carry weight. I couldn’t find a smooth rhythm so my sleds jerked and bobbed like a dying fish and I instantly wanted to quit. The first hour I had quite the dialogue with myself about how hard pulling this amount was feeling and how I hadn’t trained my body enough, and how it was “stupid” to haul for the sake of hauling. My mood did not improve when Matty skied easily by with her dog food-free sled and said I was hauling more than I would need to on a supported North or South Pole trip. I wanted to sit in the snow and cry.

After our first break, we traveled into “North Pole terrain.” Traveling to the North Pole involves pulling sleds over miles and miles of jumbled ice pushed up by pressure into a wave after wave of obstacles. We started with our skis on but quickly abandoned them to the greater pulling power of our boots and/or snowshoes. The work was intense and we were all quickly doing the evil deed of sweating. Some of the ridges were so steep it required two or three of us pulling and pushing together to get the sleds through.

Traversing this terrain took every once of mental and physical power I had and soon all extraneous thoughts and self-pity fell away. I was consumed by the task of straining against my harness and lifting my teammates sleds. At one point, I connected with my chi and uttered a guttural “ah” aloud when I mustered the force to free a huge sled. I loved traversing the terrain, the sense of teamwork, and the absolute focus required. We got through to clear ice and set up our first camp. I was tired and happy.

John Huston and Tyler Fish are skiing to the North Pole unsupported this spring–we met them at Matty’s. You can follow their expedition at http://www.forwardexpeditions.com/

The next morning the packing went pretty well and we were underway again-this time through easy North Pole terrain. I found pulling through the gentle undulations challenging and instantly hated my load once again. I was slipping on my skis and quickly falling to the back of the group. I put my head down and gritted my teeth and kept trying to find a good way to pull. Matty skied by and suggested I put snowshoes on again. I agreed through felt the sting of being the only one on (on what felt like remedial) snowshoes. As it turned out, a few others ended up using them as well.

After a few hours of frustration, the terrain moderated even more and I changed back to skis. I could now get the sled to move decently but the going was some hard. I was icing up all over from breathing so hard and I wondered how long I could keep exerting at that level. Soon after that, Eric skied up and noticed that my harness was not fitting well and had me pulling way too much from my shoulders and not nearly enough from my hips. We worked together to adjust it better and voila, my misery was abated. I could suddenly stand up straight and get the sled to move with pulling jerkily against my lower bag. I could move the load more easily and everything eased. It didn’t need to be as hard as it was being. Phew! The constant thoughts of wanting to stop and quit stopped flowing with every step. (Take home lesson…when something is significantly harder than I expect, perhaps asking a few questions about it earlier might save some work and frustration).

Much of the second night I was awake with my hands on fire. The intensive pulling and gripping of ski poles over the previous two days had tweaked my carpal tunnel. The range of sensation than bothered nerves can pump out is truly amazing but does make sleep nearly impossible. I was also still coughing lots from my cold. I wandered over to Matty’s tent to let her know that I was worried about how to keep my hands safe in the cold since I was having periods of numbness. She suggested I give up a bag of dog food to ease my load so I wouldn’t have to have such variations in body temperature (to help the cough) and I was happy to ease the load on my wrists. Eric received the first of many bags of dog food he would rescue from us. Eric is preparing for a big year where he will attempt to go to the North Pole, South Pole, and summit of Mount Everest in one year. His website is www.savethepoles.com.

Losing the 45 pounds was a gift and suddenly my load was very manageable. I could now lift up my head and soak in the beauty of my surroundings. I could notice the wispy clouds painting the sky with streaks of white, the subtle contours of snow placed in waves by the wind, and the kiss of rosy skin on the cheek closest to the buffeting wind. My thoughts could shift from survival mode into daydreaming mode and the experience began to have some elements of fun. As sled weights went up and down for team members, we learned of what I’ll call the “tipping point.” The point at which a sled’s weight becomes unmanageable and sometimes it can be a matter of five pounds either way. I worked hard through the rest of the trips to keep my wrists in neutral position and hardly pull with them when I could avoid it. Every night my hands visited Hades and I grew more tired each day from the lack of sleep.

I had stupidly not brought my wrist splints on the expedition because they had not acted up at all in the first week. One night of the trip ranked in the “Top Three” most miserable nights of my life when I had to leave the tent twice during a minus 35 degree night to take dumps, when I could barely get my hands to function enough to unzip and zip my sleeping bags, and where I pied myself because I couldn’t get out of the tent fast enough because of my hands. I was also pretty worried about them since the symptoms seemed to be escalating and spreading into the daytime hours. I started taking anti-inflammatories and tried to stay positive despite the great discomfort and lack of sleep.

By the third day, we were getting very efficient with our group travel. We would ski for an hour and then break for ten minutes. While pulling, you can’t wait to stop. While stopped you can’t wait to start pulling again. Kinda funny. It’s so cold that you can’t stay stopped long. If you’re efficient, ten minutes is enough to put your parka on, pee, drink, eat, drink, eat, adjust, put on sunscreen, eat, drink, take parka off, fasten sled, and be ready to start skiing at the ten-minute mark. In minus 30-degree weather, you cool off so quickly and your hands start to go that the first 15 minutes after a break are consumed with getting your hands to have some circulation back.

It’s called core-shell shunt. Your brain is selfish. It takes care of itself. When it perceives a lowering of the body core temperature, the brain shunts blood away from the extremities into the core resulting in cold hands and feet. That’s why the old adage, when your feet are cold, put on a hat. So for us, after a break, we had to use centrifugal force (big arm swings) to drive blood back to our hands and to start skiing to generate more heat overall. In the kinds of temps we experienced on the expedition, you don’t get warm by accident. You both generate and maintain heat through deliberate, mindful systems that enable you to get a delicate line ahead of the cold.

Over the seven days, I came to trust that I could always get my hands back and gained greater confidence in my ability to manage severe cold using multiple strategies. This was my number one goal for attending the program and one I’ll take with me into all future expeditions. At the end of our third day, we camped beside a polyna. “Polyna” is a Russian word meaning “an enclosed area of unfrozen water surrounded by ice.” We saw it from long away because of the steam arising from the “warm” water. The air temperature was minus 31 and the water temp just above 0 so the water was truly warmer than the air. We would experience this the next day as we went “swimming.”

As explorers head to the North Pole, they often have to cross “leads.” These are areas of open water or recently frozen water. Sometimes they can provide highways to ski on amid the jumbled ice if they happen to run North/South. More often, however, they provide a terrifying obstacle that threatens to swallow/dunk/submerge the wary traveler. Some expeditions carry “swim suits” that allow them to swim across leads and then pull the pulks across saving miles of skiing around them. The suits are waterproof and fit over bulky boots and clothing. On the coldest day of the expedition, with temperatures nearing minus 42, we each got a chance to go for a swim and try to climb out of the water on thin ice.

The swimming went quicker than anticipated (who wanted to spend too much time standing out in those cold temperatures) so had to decide what to do with the rest of the day. Matty and Eric were leaving us later that afternoon. Eric was leaving because he’d gotten some frostbite and Dong decided he’d had enough polar experiences to last a lifetime so we had some tent rearranging to do, equipment to divvy up, and so decided to stay put for the day. None of us minded missing being out for the coldest day (though in retrospect it might have been good to really experience that level of cold).

The snow machines came in around four to pick up folks and extra dog food. Simulating how sleds get lighter as an expedition progresses, people could send home a bag. A former student of mine who’d moved to Iqaluit drove one of the skidoos. Small world. Once Eric and Matty drove off, the team gathered in the large group tent, the Emerald Igloo, to discuss the next day’s plans. We were alone together. We now had to look after each other since our instructors were gone. Matty wanted us to do one hard travel day of at least 10 nautical miles (18 kilometres) so we elected to take that on after our rest day.

Our big day dawned sunny, calm, and warm (minus 18). We put everything we’d learned into action and managed to covered our distance in 8 hours. We kept our breaks on track and everybody healthy. We were thrilled with the accomplishment. Another 8 nautical miles brought us within shouting distance of Iqaluit and we skied triumphantly “home” the next morning. We quickly unpacked, repacked, enjoyed one last lunch at Matty’s and headed to the hotel. Here hot showers waited as well as a grand celebration that evening. Now, a week later, the team is scattered back around globe and I’m sure are telling stories and showing pictures. For me, the training provided an excellent confidence building experience, some new ideas about clothing and gear, a new commitment to shakedown before expeditions, and some new avenues for polar dreams (and mountainous ones as well).

One teammate Antony is still up exploring in Baffin Island-you can follow his travels at
http://www.antonyjinman.com/index.php?s=special and another teammate, Pinar, has posted a wonderful photo journal of the trip at http://picasaweb.google.com/pinar.ayata/BaffinIsland#

So, my hands are numb so I should stop typing and give them a break. I’m off to Alberta tomorrow and a great excitement for the week is getting to present at my niece Rayne’s school. Thanks for coming along!

TA