Tom Avery • Polar Explorer • Mountaineer • Author • Speaker

Cordon Rouge Club Annual Gathering

Back on the mainland after an action packed 24-hours of high-octane RIB racing, sea kayaking and, er, croquet, with fellow members of the Champagne G.H.Mumm Cordon Rouge Club on a windswept Isle of Wight.

Tackling a choppy Solent with Round-the-World yachtsman Mike Golding

Great to catch up with old friends from the exploration world again, and a real treat to spend an evening sipping champagne with the Club's latest, and probably most distinguished member, Sir Chris Bonington.  

Sir Chris, along with Sir Ranulph Fiennes, was one of my all-time heroes when I was growing up, and was patron of our Bristol University Inca Mountains Expedition back in 1997.  

There's almost no mountain range where he hasn't made first ascents, and Sir Chris is still leading pioneering expeditions to the remotest corners of the Himalayas at the age of 74.  And one of the most down-to-earth, modest men you will even meet.

Members of the Cordon Rouge Club.  From left to right, Neil Laughton, Brian Thompson, Ben Saunders, Patrick Woodhead, me, Mike Golding, Sir Chris Bonington, Ben Fogle, Rune Gjeldnes and David Hempleman-Adams

Royal Geographical Society Debate

Last week I went to a very lively debate at the RGS about the future direction of the Society.  A group of 70 so-called rebel fellows (of which I was one, and proud to be!) signed a petition to demand that the Society should start organising its own expeditions again, something which has fallen by the wayside as the Society has not done for more than a decade.  The proposed resolution by the Beagle Campaign was as follows:

The Royal Geographical Society with IBG should, in keeping with the express wording and the clear spirit of the Royal Charter of Incorporation, carry out its own expeditions which will contribute to the progress of geographical knowledge; and that it should resume the regular organization of its own sponsored multidisciplinary research projects, in geography and related disciplines in cooperation with scientists in host countries, to study different terrains and objectives to a high standard. 

The three-hour long special general meeting at RGS HQ in Kensington came down to a battle between the academics and those with a lust for adventure.  Sadly the academics won the day, taking 60% of the votes.  However, a significant majority voted for the campaign's proposal so there is hope that a compromise will be found.

I leave it to the excellent AA Gill, and fellow RGS fellow, to explain in far more eloquent terms than I why expeditions are so vital to mankind's relationship with Planet Earth - click here to read his Sunday TImes article.  He hits the nail on the head.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes - a living legend

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, reached the summit of Mount Everest, his third attempt on the mountain in the last 4 years.  Fewer than one in four climbers attempting Everest reach the top, and people still die up there every year.  So an Everest summiter deserves all the praise they receive.

But when you think Sir Ranulph is old enough to claim his free bus pass, had a tripple heart bypass 5 years ago, suffers from chronic vertigo, lost the fingers on one hand to frostbite in 2000, and only took up climbing in his sixties, his achievement is nothing short of extraordinary.

I ran out of words to describe this great man a long time ago, but Ran's drive and determination is as inspiring to me now as it was when I was a schooboy.  He is quite simply, a living legend.

A special mention too to my old mate Kenton Cool, who reached the summit with Ran.  It's the seventh time he's conquered Everest - more than any other European which is an incredible effort.  He told me recently he might call it a day after ten successful summits - any more and he'll start running out of brain cells!

North Pole Ceremony, Arlington

Yesterday's ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was a fitting, emotional tribute to the conquerors of the North Pole, Robert Peary and Matthew Henson. 

(from left) Rear Admiral Robert E Peary's grandson, Robert E Peary III, Rear Admiral Greg Sheer, and Matthew Henson's great-great-niece Diane Savoy salute the conquerors of the North Pole 

The US Navy did an incredible job in putting the ceremony together, although sadly they weren't able to keep the bad weather away - I'm sure Peary and Henson wouldn't have had it any other way!

To be standing at their gravesites with almost 30 members of both families, US Navy Admirals, members of my 2005 North Pole team and the great and the good of the exploration community was something I will remember for the rest of my life. 

Some of the 2005 Ultimate North team at Peary's gravesite with his two grandsons.  From left, George Wells, Hugh Dale-Harris, Commander Edward Peary Stafford, Robert E Peary III and me

Click here to see the Navy's report on the ceremony. 

The Conquest of the North Pole - 100 years on

Today marks one of the most significant days in human history - the 100th anniversary of the moment when mankind first reached the summit of Planet Earth, the North Pole.

Much has been been written about Peary and Henson's conquest of the Pole down the years, a great deal of it by academics who have never set foot in the Arctic or driven a dog team, but have been hell-bent on discrediting their extraordinary achievement.

Having travelled in their footsteps for 37 awe-inspiring days across the shifting ice floes of the Arctic Ocean in the spring of 2005, along with my four team mates, George Wells, Hugh Dale-Harris, Matty McNair and Andrew Gerber, I am totally convinced that Peary and Henson, and their four Inuit companions Ootah, Seegloo, Egingwah and Ooqueah, reached the Pole on April 6th 1909, just as they always maintained.

And that is why we are making the long journey to Arlington National Cemetery today, where Peary and Henson are buried, to pay our respects to these incredibly brave and inspirational men.

An Englishman (and a polar bear) in New York

I'm over in the US and Canada at the moment promoting To The End of the Earth and taking part in the various festivities to celebrate the centenary of Peary and Henson's conquest of the North Pole on April 6th.

I gave a lecture on Monday night at the Explorers Club in Manhattan, a place full of character and steeped in exploration history.  It was incredible to have one of Peary's original North Pole sleds alongside me during the talk, although the stuffed polar bear by the door (see right) was pretty distracting.

This morning I was interviewed for America's number one breakast show, Good Morning America, which has been broadcast daily from Times Square for years.  You can see the interview here.

I'm giving another lecture at the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C. tomorrow (Friday) night.  There are still a handful of tickets left and so if you're in the area and fancy coming along, please do.  It would be lovely to see you.  Ticket information can be found here.