Friend of Trek & Mountain and founder of expedition company Adventure Alternative, Gavin Bate, has recently completed a gruelling journey to the North Pole in aid of his Moving Mountains charity. At 03:30 GMT (9:30pm local time) on 29th May, Gavin and the rest of the team made it there after a mammoth 35km push over the course of more than 13 hours. Not long after arriving at the pole and setting up camp, a tired and emotional Gavin called in to leave the message they had been looking forward to uttering for weeks, “We are at the Pole!”.
Throughout Gavin’s time on the ice, his organisation managed to raise a fantastic £16,655 for the Moving Mountains Trust and the proceeds will benefit individuals, families and communities in Kenya, Nepal and Borneo where the charity operates.
Upon reaching the Pole, Gavin sent the following message, reflecting on his time out there and the emotions felt upon completion of such as epic trip:
“Back from my expedition to the magnetic north pole, successfully got there with the whole team. Feeling happy and proud, it was a hard journey in really bad weather conditions almost the entire way. Enough of frozen sleeping bags, frozen boots and frozen meat sticks for lunch, it’s extremely nice to be back in London with all the greenery and sunshine!
“Raised a good amount for Moving Mountains too, many thanks to everyone who donated and helped this great charity. All the interest and encouragement certainly kept me going!”
“We endured awful weather nearly every day, and my sleeping bag and boots have been wet for weeks, frozen solid at the end of every day. Yet the team showed great spirit, stamina and humour and we did it! We made it to the magnetic north Pole as defined by the last certified positioning back in 1996. Seldom in my years of expeditions, including six times on Everest, have I felt the need to dig so deep to keep myself and the team safe, secure and motivated.
“To be fair the team are all motivated strong people already, but after the second resupply morale was low and we were only half way. It was after that when we suddenly had to make 30km and 35km days, at a time when our bodies were going into a calorie deficit mode. Our hourly distance halved. Feet and joints suffered, some of the many blisters suppurated and some people had five or six.
“Pain and anti-inflammatory medications were helping keep us going with ever stronger pain killers, we carried on, ending up exhausted and hollow-eyed after 12-hour days. The ice was unforgiving and the temperature never rose above minus 15.
“On the last day to the disused weather station at Isachsen for the air pick up, we were walking into a headwind of 30 knots and it was so cold our whole bodies juddered with the cold. The dramas were not over as our small pickup plane was grounded by bad weather in Resolute. It was another 24hrs, and much debate by satellite phone, before the plane was able to get in and pick up us and our kit. Sitting at the back of the Twin Otter now, surrounded by all the expedition equipment, I can at last let go of a little bit of the responsibility. Soon I will have a shower and a meal and already the hardships will be distilled into glorious memories of another expedition safely completed.
“And the Pole? Just a point on the ice, of no great significance really. It was the getting there that mattered.
“For me the added challenge of raising money for Moving Mountains has been enormously motivating, and not just for the good work that the money will do. It’s because when somebody gives a pound or more, it’s a show of belief and support, and everybody needs that in life. Over many years now, many people have shown me that support and belief on my mountain trips. On this polar one, I am once again humbled and happy.
“As we now bank towards the tiny hamlet of Resolute Bay, one of the most northerly settlements in the world, I have a satisfied mind. Most of all though I can’t wait to head back to my wife and home, remembering that nothing is as important as that.
Over and out, Gavin.”
RELATED LINKS
www.movingmountainstrust.com