by Frank | Dec 8, 2009 | explore, How to Drive a Tank..., Journalism, Travel
Over the last few weeks readers of both my book and blog have been asking me how they can get involved in some of the adventurous activities that I like to get up to in my own life. So over the next few weeks I’ll be writing a series of short articles that give you ideas on how you can join expeditions to the ends of the earth or learn how to jump out of planes, drive cars sideways or shoot guns.
To start let’s have a quick update from this year’s Explore at the Royal Geographical Society. Did you know there are more than 90 organisations on the RGS’s books looking for volunteers or staff to join their expeditions?
To give you a prime example, the gates have just closed for gap-year students with a lust for adventure and a passion for environmental science on The British Schools Exploring Society’s Extreme Arctic expedition to Svalbard this spring.
To find out more and search the database of organisations looking for people just like you, go here.
In the next two articles I’ll be profiling some of the opportunities available and giving you ideas for two years of space exploration, driving skills and tactical firearms on British soil.
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by Frank | Oct 15, 2009 | Journalism, Travel
Because time off doesn’t have to be spent lying down.
Originally appeared in the Friday Magazine in Gulf News
Skiing to the Pole | Gallery
The true geographic pole of 90 degrees north is one of the most inaccessible places on the planet. It’s where temperatures of -20 to -30 degrees C are considered balmy. The only life you’re likely to see there are seals, bearded scientists, or possibly the polar bear that’s been silently stalking you for its supper.
Unlike the South Pole it’s not even on dry land. It lies beneath a shifting sheet of ice that stretches from the shores of Russia to the glacial plains of Canada and Greenland. But now thanks to the enterprising Russian agency VICAAR the North Pole is becoming more accessible. In addition to ice breaker tours in summer they also operate the floating ice camp Barneo during the month of April. A time of year when the daylight lasts all night and the ice is still solid enough to support you.
From there it’s just a short helicopter ride to the last degree of latitude before you hit the pole. So what used to cost a small fortune – a North Pole expedition – now costs about as much as a new sensible family car, still not cheap, but then who wants to be sensible anyway? (more…)
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