8 amazing expeditions around the world
- Published
So just how did Capt Lou Rudd become the first Briton to trek solo across Antarctica? Well, he said that 1980s music, a Winston Churchill audio book, nuts, chocolate, cheese and salami helped him to complete the 921-mile (1,482km) journey after 56 days. He finished the journey just two days behind Colin O'Brady, an American explorer who has become the first person ever to complete this mission.
Reflecting on his epic feat, he said that it was a "huge relief" to finish after he had to go through some "pretty brutal" conditions. Lou said it was "absolutely fantastic" to have completed it during the same season as Mr O'Brady, who is an endurance athlete. "I've finished it within a couple of days of a professional athlete, and I'm delighted with that," he said.
In January 2016, a group of women called The Coxless Crew became the first all-female team and the first team of four to row across the Pacific Ocean. The crew was made up of three permanent members and three others, who each rowed a section. Their boat crossed the finish line of the the 9,200-mile (14,800km) expedition after a gruelling 257 days at sea. We'd be smiling too after completing that!
In August 2015, Tom Rainey and Lawrence Walters - both aged 23 - became the world's youngest pair to row across the Atlantic Ocean from the US to the UK. They landed in Salcombe in Devon after rowing for about 3,800 miles, having left New York on 3 May. It was reported that the first thing they did after getting of their boat Yves was...eat a bacon sandwich. We bet that tasted good!
Plenty of amazing expedition records have been set away from the water too. In May 2018, Kami Rita took the record for climbing Everest the greatest number of times, when he climbed the mountain for a record 22nd time! He did it while guiding 13 other people up the 8,850m summit. At the time, he said he was hoping to ascend the mountain at least 25 times, so it looks like that record will be growing.
Meanwhile, in October 2018, Corinne Hutton (on the right) is believed to have become the first female quadruple amputee to reach the summit of Tanzania's 16,100ft (4,900m) Mount Kilimanjaro. She lost her limbs after suffering from acute pneumonia and septicaemia. "I hope I encourage other people to get out there and climb their own mountains, whatever they may be," she said. "I said after I lost my hands and legs below the knee that I never wanted to be considered "disabled" and I think I've proved that this weekend."
In the same month, Scottish adventurer Jenny Graham set a new world record by becoming the fastest woman to cycle around the world in 125 days. She took almost three weeks off the previous record of 144 days, set by Italy's Paola Gianotti in 2014. The expedition saw Jenny cycle 18,000 miles across four continents and through 16 countries. Mark Beaumont, who is also Scottish, is the current male record-holder, which he completed in September 2017.
A slightly more unusual expedition was carried out by conservationist Sacha Dench - nicknamed the Human Swan - who used a motorised paraglider to follow the 7,000km (4,500 miles) journey of migrating Bewick's swans from Russia to the UK. She started the journey in September 2016 and finished it the following December, flying across 11 countries in the process. She carried out the expedition to highlight the falling number of the birds as part of her conservation work.
Finally, just last month, adventurer Ross Edgley from Grantham became the first person to swim 1,780-miles around the coastline of Great Britain. In order to achieve this goal, he had to swim for up to 12 hours a day and eat more than 500 bananas! It isn't the first time Ross has set a record for an impressive expedition like this. He was already in the Guinness Book of World Records for completing a rope climb the equivalent height of Mount Everest in 19 hours in April 2016. Two months before that, he completed a marathon while pulling a car. Does he ever rest?!
- Published5 November 2018
- Published25 January 2016
- Published18 September 2017
