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Diary |
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APRIL - MAY 2007
Apologies for the radio silence of late. I was up in the Arctic with our North Pole dogs for a few weeks and have only just got home. Without giving too much away I was helping the BBC who were up in Canada’s Far North filming the latest race for Top Gear. It was great to be reunited with the dogs again, who will be the stars of the show when the programme is aired later this summer. They were all on fantastic form, as badly behaved as ever, with Bartlett having a great time peeing on Richard Hammond’s leg whenever his back was turned.
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| Bartlett: never turn your back on this dog |
I also managed to squeeze in a bit of ski touring in the French Alps this spring. Having sworn that I would never take part in the biennial trans-Alpine Patrouille des Glaciers race again, there is talk of George, Andrew and me going back for more punishment in 2008. Bring on those blisters!
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MARCH 2007
March saw the launch of the 2007 Talikser Trek. I will be teaming up with endurance swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh to lead this fantastic trek across the breathtaking Isle of Skye in aid of the Woodland Trust. The 2006 event (scroll down for more details) was a huge success and there are still places available to take part in this year’s Talisker Trek from 1-3 June. All the details can be found on the official website. Rugby legends Dean Richards and Martin Bayfield will also be joining us so it promises to be another really fun weekend. Deano will definitely be going into the tyre-dragging race as odds-on favourite!
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| With Lewis Gordon Pugh at the launch of the 2007 Talisker Trek |
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FEBRUARY 2007
As a thank you for all their help with the wedding, Mary and I took her parents dog sledging in Swedish Lapland. We were two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle and as the photos show, the conditions were pretty polar with temperatures not getting much warmer than minus twenty!
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JANUARY 2007
It’s every schoolboy’s dream to feature in the Guinness Book of Records. So imagine my excitement when this certificate arrived through my letter box. For those with a copy of the 2007 Guinness Book of Records, we’re on Page 79, alongside a bloke who drove 14,594 miles across America on a sit-on lawnmower, which some might argue is far more impressive.
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DECEMBER 2006
Mary and I got married in Lancashire on December 16th! It was such a special, magical day, the happiest of my life. And what better way to leave our wedding than by dog sledge.
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NOVEMBER 2006
November saw the launch of the Smythson Mountain Journal. It has been a huge privilege to work with the luxury stationer Smythson to design the ultimate mountain log book. It’s the perfect place to record a lifetime of climbs, treks and ski tours and would make the perfect Christmas present for any budding adventurer!
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| Smythson Mountain Journal |
| Thank you for all your messages of concern about my dodgy eye. It is definitely better than it was but things are still a bit on the blurred side and the doctors have warned that it might never fully recover. Nevertheless, you can’t let these things stop you doing what you love and I am hoping to return to the mountains again in the New Year! |
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SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2006
As you will have probably gathered by now, the expedition to Cho Oyu did not turn out as I had hoped. The unique low-pressure, low-oxygen high altitude environment led to the formation of a retinal haemorrhage in my right eye and I was forced to turn back at 21,000 feet. I could hardly see and out of my bad eye and carrying on would have been far too dangerous – particularly when it came to the ski descent.
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| The view of Everest (the big one in the middle!), Lhotse and Nuptse from the summit of Cho Oyu |
The good news is that both Kenton and Nick made it to the summit and Kenton completed the first British ski descent of an 8,000-metre peak – although not without a few scares along the way! Massive congratulations to them both – a truly phenomenal effort. Click here for my Cho Oyu blog.
But their success was tempered by reports of Tibetan pilgrims being shot in cold blood by the Chinese Army within a few hundred yards of Cho Oyu’s Base Camp. A 17-year old nun was among the victims who were ambushed as they tried to cross the Nangpa La pass into Nepal en route to a meeting with the Dalai Lama. The whole horrific incident took place in broad daylight in front of other western climbing expeditions and has shown just how desperate life has become for Tibetans under Chinese occupation. Click here for video footage and first-hand accounts of the shootings. |
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JULY - AUGUST 2006
The last two months have been frantic gearing up for the next big expedition. In late August, I am teaming up with fellow Brit and Mountain Hardwear ambassador Kenton Cool and Aussie mountaineer Nick Farr in an attempt to climb the world's sixth highest mountain, Cho Oyu (8,201m) in Tibet. What makes this adventure particularly exciting is that we are aiming to ski from the summit back to Base Camp. If successful, we would become the first Brits and first Australian to ski down an 8,000m mountain.
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| Cho Oyu (8,201m), Tibet |
| To read more about the nitty gritty of the trip, click here Barclays Capital and Mountain Hardwear are sponsoring the expedition, which you can follow live on this website by clicking here |
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JUNE 2006
After popular demand, George Wells, Andrew Gerber and I will be giving another lecture and champagne evening at the Royal Geographical Society later this month on the evening of Thursday 29th June. We will be telling the story of the 2005 Barclays Capital Ultimate North Expedition, which set out to retrace Commander Robert E Peary's disputed journey to the North Pole in 1909. For those that came along to our pre-expedition talk at the RGS last year, this will give you an opportunity to see how much, or how little, went according to plan on the Arctic Ocean.
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| En Route To the North Pole |
Tickets cost £15 (with proceeds going to The Prince's Trust) and are available by calling the Snow & Rock Ticket Hotline on 0845 100 1000. Champagne Mumm are very kindly supporting the event so make sure you get there early to make the most of the free champagne! Doors open at 6pm and the talk starts at 7.15pm.
Please note that last year's event sold out so we would strongly recommend that tickets are purchased well in advance of the lecture date to avoid disappointment. We cannot guarantee that you will get in if you turn up on the evening without a ticket! |
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MAY 2006
A few days after returning home from Switzerland, I joined up with Sir Ranulph Fiennes and England rugby legend Dean Richards for the Talisker Trek on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The trek involved 50 teams of four people trekking amongst some of this magical and rugged island's most spectacular scenery, with a few Highland, rugby, orienteering and polar challenges thrown in.
The final challenge was to race down a 100-yard course on the beach, whilst dragging a couple of minibus tyres behind you - the preferred training method amongst polar explorers who don't live in Norway. As the photo below shows, the retired rugby player left the two of us who do this for a living trailing in his wake. So next time I head for the Ice, I'm putting a call in to Deano.
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| Dean Richards shows the polar explorers how it's done |
| Over £80,000 was raised for the Woodland Trust which will go towards Talisker's aim of planting 250,000 new trees in the British Isles over the next three years. To read The Guardian's report on the Talikser Trek, click here. |
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APRIL 2006
After the most exhausting 16 hours and 22 minutes of my life, it gives me great pleasure to say that just after 2pm on April 29th we finished the Patrouille des Glaciers ski race! Albeit a mind-boggling ten hours behind the winners. 60 miles of high-mountain terrain from Zermatt to Verbier, 13,000 feet of ascent, 13,000 feet of descent, mostly in the dark. Less than half the field (of which the majority were mountain divisions of the Swiss, French, German and Austrian armies) completed the course. Say no more.
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| The start of the 2006 PDG in Zermatt. It's ten o'clock at night |
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| The final climb - the never-ending Mur de Rosablanche |
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| Another waste of good champagne. With George and Andrew at the finish in Verbier |
| A huge thank you to Champagne GH Mumm for being a fantastic team sponsor. To read the Daily Telegraph's report on the race, click here to read the Daily Telegraph's article about the 2006 PDG. |
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MARCH 2006
Preparations for the Patrouille des Glaciers ski mountaineering race have been going well with George and Andrew joining me in Verbier for a couple of intensive training weekends. To read more about our training, click here
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| The only way is up. PDG training with George Wells and Andrew Gerber in Switzerland |
After a slow start to the season, conditions in the Alps have picked up dramatically with nearly three metres of fresh snow falling in the first two weeks of March. Most of the big crevasses are filled with snow, making the glaciers much safer for ski touring. And the off-piste skiing is out of this world!
I have some very sad news to report though and that is that Ootah, one of the 16 dogs who helped us reach the North Pole last year, died peacefully in his sleep at the end of March. Immensely powerful and always eager to get the sled moving, this giant furball was without doubt the friendliest dog in the team and was a key part of the expedition's success. He will be sorely missed.
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| Ootah, king of sled dogs |
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FEBRUARY 2006
I'm officially the luckiest guy in the world - Mary has agreed to become the future Mrs Avery!
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JANUARY 2006
A new year, a new home. I've hidden myself away for the winter in the Alpine resort of Verbier to climb, train for the 2006 Patrouille des Glaciers ski mountaineering race and start work on my second book. Located amongst some of the most spectacular high mountain scenery in the Swiss Alps, Verbier is the perfect base for single or multi-day ski tours. Having narrowly failed in our attempt to become the first British civilian team to complete the PDG after an avalanche led to the aborting of the 2004 race (see April 2004 diary entry below), George Wells and Andrew Gerber will be joining me for a fresh attempt in three months time.
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| Over the top celebrations on the 3,084-metre summit of Mont Rogneux, Val De Bagnes |
| This month's other big excitement is that I am now the proud owner of the most famous key in television after appearing on Through the Keyhole on BBC2 with Sir David Frost.
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DECEMBER 2005
The very exciting news to report this month is that I have joined forces with the Offshore Challenges Adventure Team who are helping me plan, train and source funding for all my future expeditions. The OC Group has achieved phenomenal success in their partnership with Ellen MacArthur over the past eight years and it is a huge honour for me to be represented by a team that has consistently been the most professional and highly respected sports management organisation in the business.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, my little brother Leo has just completed a gruelling 5-month 5,000-mile cycling odyssey from Panama City to Los Angeles, surviving mosquito-infested swamps, ten punctures and being chased by a very big snake to raise over £10,000 for the Casa Alianza street kids project. To find out more about his epic journey, or to make a donation, visit www.bicyclediaries.co.uk.
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n August, Team Avery will be competing in the London Triathlon together. Our channel-swimming sister Jessy will be doing the 1.5km swim, Leo the 40km bike ride and me the 10km run - the easy bit. |
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NOVEMBER 2005
A busy month promoting Pole Dance, presenting Gold Awards at the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at St James’s Palace and giving talks but I did manage to escape to northern France for a few days to wave Ellen off at the start of the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre. The race is one of ocean sailing’s “Big Three” and follows the old trans-Atlantic coffee route from Le Havre to Salvador in Brazil.
The event attracts a world-class field and Ellen teamed up with Roland “Bilou” Jourdain on board Sill et Veolia for the twin-crewed race. I joined Ellen’s shore team on a launch for the first seven or so miles of the race. The 40-knot winds made for some pretty dramatic sailing! At the time of writing, Ellen and Bilou are lying in second place with less than 400 miles to the finish line.
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| The start of the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre |
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OCTOBER 2005
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October marked the launch of Pole Dance in paperback. No glamorous launch party at Stringfellows this time, but the book can be found in all good bookshops and online at Amazon. At £7.99, it’s an absolute bargain and the perfect stocking-filler for Christmas!
The hardback edition of Pole Dance has now sold out in the shops but signed copies can still be bought online by clicking here. |
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SEPTEMBER 2005
It was a huge honour for me when the outdoor clothing specialists Rohan asked me to be part of the launch of their 30th anniversary 1975 range. The idea behind the 1975 range is to celebrate their heritage by combining the original seventies designs with the latest fabric technologies. It’s an exciting and innovative idea and to mark the launch I flew off to Iceland to test the new gear with the Rohan team and a load of journalists.
It was an action-packed three days of skidooing on the world’s third largest ice cap, trekking across volcanic landscapes, off-road driving, boating through iceberg-filled lakes and bathing in mouthwash-coloured thermal springs, whilst being photographed for Rohan’s 1975 brochure. Iceland is an absolutely stunning country and I can’t wait to go back.
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| Skidooing on the Vatnajökull Ice Cap, Iceland |
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JULY - AUGUST 2005
Much of the summer has been taken up giving presentations to businesses about our expedition to the North Pole. The coverage the trip has received on both sides of the Atlantic has been absolutely phenomenal and it’s great that we’ve got so many people talking about Peary and Henson again.
One of the most enjoyable events I spoke at this summer was at the Pioneers in the Park event in Holland Park to mark the launch of Johnnie Walker’s new Green Label whisky. My fellow speakers included four-time Olympic champion Sir Matthew Pinsent, McLaren F1 boss Ron Dennis and the Chairman of Quintessentially Aaron Simpson and it was a real privilege to share the stage with such successful guys.
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| With Ron Dennis, Aaron Simpson and Sir Matthew Pinsent at Johnnie Walker’s Pioneers in the Park event in July |
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JUNE 2005
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On June 18th I took part in the annual JP Morgan Round the Island Yacht Race, the largest yacht race in the world. I teamed up with Ellen MacArthur on board her trimaran B&Q, the boat she sailed around the world earlier this year in a new record time. The winds were pretty light for much of the 50-mile course around the Isle of Wight, which made for some very tight, competitive sailing. We were the sixth boat to cross the line in a very respectable time of 7hrs, 27mins, 53secs – not bad with nearly 1700 yachts in the field!
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| Chasing down Nick Moloney’s Skandia near Freshwater Bay |
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MAY 2005
We made it! Not only did we reach the North Pole, but by getting there just four hours faster than Peary we have gone a long way to swinging the controversy of who discovered the Pole very much in Peary’s favour. We arrived back at Heathrow on May 1st shattered, two stone lighter, but very happy and privileged to have had such an unforgettable journey across the Arctic Ocean with 16 of the strongest, most loyal and bravest dogs on the planet. To read more about the expedition, click here.
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| Matty McNair, George Wells, me, Hugh Dale-Harris and Andrew Gerber celebrate our record-breaking journey at the North Pole, 26th April 2005 |
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FEBRUARY - APRIL 2005
Later this month, I will be heading off to Arctic Canada to begin the final preparations of the Barclays Capital Ultimate North Expedition. Along with Matty McNair, George Wells, Andrew Gerber and Hugh Dale-Harris, we are aiming (maybe a bit too ambitiously) to recreate Robert Peary’s disputed 1909 journey to the North Pole. Peary reached the top of the world in just 37 and a bit days but his extraordinary travel speeds have raised eyebrows ever since his return to America. If we can match his time, that will show that the speeds he claimed really were possible and that he was probably the first person to stand at the North Pole.
To follow the expedition whilst we are away, click on www.barcapultimatenorth.com which will be updated on a daily basis. We hope to be back sometime in May!
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Dog sledging in Baffin Island |
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DECEMBER 2004 & JANUARY 2005
A manically busy couple of months making final preparations for our forthcoming expedition to the North Pole. I spent a fortnight in Baffin Island building the wooden sleds with Matty and training the dogs who have had a pretty easy time of it of late and need to get into shape. Then back to London for a series of speaking engagements, which culminated in a talk at the Royal Geographical Society about our trip in the footsteps of Commander Robert E Peary. I think that the Arctic Ocean is going to be a far less daunting prospect than standing in front of 700 faces! |
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Working on the replica Peary sleds in Baffin Island in January |
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NOVEMBER 2004
After hundreds of nights toiling in front of a computer screen, I am delighted to say that Pole Dance (the story of our record-breaking expedition to the South Pole) finally hit the shelves this month. This exciting news seemed a good excuse to throw a “launch party” and it was only right that it should be held at Stringfellows nightclub in London. Peter was an incredibly generous host and the evening was enjoyed by all. To find out why the slightly unconventional choice of venue, click here. |
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With Peter Stringfellow and my publisher Alan Samson at the launch party. |
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| For all the months of hard work involved, Pole Dance is an absolute bargain (and the perfect Christmas stocking-filler) at £17.99! Pole Dance is stocked by Amazon (who are offering a generous 30% discount at the moment), Waterstones and all good bookshops. Signed copies can also be bought here. |
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OCTOBER 2004
Following an intensive three-week training trip to Baffin Island earlier this year, October saw the launch of the Barclays Capital Ultimate North Expedition at the Royal Geographical Society in London. In late February 2005, our joint British-Canadian team of 21 (16 of whom are husky dogs) are heading off to the Arctic in a bid to solve the greatest mystery in the history of polar exploration.
Travelling with lightweight wooden sledges and two teams of Canadian Inuit Dogs, we are aiming to recreate Commander Robert Peary’s disputed 1909 expedition, when, along with Matthew Henson and four Inuit men, he claimed to have discovered the North Pole. Mystery and controversy have surrounded his journey to the top of the world ever since, with his extraordinary rates of travel at the heart of the debate. |
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Our dream is to prove the sceptics wrong and match Peary’s 38-day record. The quickest time that any expedition has made it to the Pole since Peary’s remarkable time took 42 days, despite all the modern advances in polar equipment and travel techniques.
It’s my most ambitious expedition yet and whilst I’m feeling very excited and positive about the trip, there’s a fair amount of nervous anticipation flowing through the veins as well! We’re going to need both the weather and the pack-ice on our side, but we’ve got a fantastic team together and I am extremely hopeful. |
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Commander Robert E. Peary |
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Dog sledging with George Wells and Andrew Gerber amongst the treacherous surroundings of – Hyde Park (The Times) |
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| On Thursday 17th February 2005, we are holding a lecture evening at the RGS to tell people about Peary and Henson’s expedition and what we are setting out to do ourselves. For tickets, please call the ticket hotline at Snow & Rock on 0845 100 1000 after 5th December. Tickets cost £15.00 and all proceeds will go to The Prince’s Trust. |
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SEPTEMBER 2004
Earlier this month, my watch sponsor TAG Heuer hosted the inaugural TAG Heuer LINK Challenge golf event at the prestigious Sunningdale course in Berkshire and as one of their ambassadors, I was asked to captain one of 36 teams. Fellow captains included some truly big names from the world of sport (Matthew Pinsent, Michael Vaughan, David Seaman, Gavin Hastings and Ian Poulter to name a few) and as I stepped on to the first tee I was absolutely bricking myself. |
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| The winning team with Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter and TAG Heuer Chief Executive Jean-Marc Lacave |
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But our fourball quickly gelled, the putts started to drop and after a tense finish, Team Avery took top spot by just one shot. The prize was out of this world – a Lear jet whisked us off to St Tropez for three days at the Hotel Beauvallon, where the highlight was a day driving 700-horsepower Formula One cars at TAG’s very own circuit. It was the most awesomely terrifying adrenaline-pumped experience of my life.
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| Finally, a massive “CONGRATULATIONS” to my little sister Jessy who, along with 2 friends decided to go swimming down at the beach at Dover. All the way to Calais. It took her 18 hours. Mad as a spoon. To help Jessy’s fundraising efforts for Great Ormond Street Hospital, or to peek at more swimsuit snaps, click here. |
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AUGUST 2004
The highlight of my summer was unquestionably the day I spent with Ellen MacArthur onboard the B&Q Trimaran during Cowes week.
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| Working the winches |
Ellen climbing the mast |
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Ellen will try to break the round the world speed record when she sets sail in this thing (which looks and sails just like a Formula One car) later this year. Non-stop. On her own. Quite incredible. To find out more about Ellen’s record attempt, click here.
I cannot write about the summer without praising Team GB’s fantastic medal haul at the Athens Olympic Games. Boy, did our athletes do us proud. And as for Kelly Holmes – what a legend. |
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Nationwide support for the London 2012 Olympic bid is growing by the day. The team’s great performances, cheered on by passionate and vocal British fans, can only boost our chances of staging the Games. It would be absolutely amazing if we could bring the Olympic to London. Just imagine it… |
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JULY 2004
A hectic month of three weddings, a photo-shoot in the Alps for Arena magazine (check out the October edition – out on 3 September), tuna fishing in the Atlantic and lots of lectures. Possibly the scariest moment was promoting the London Olympic bid in front of an audience of 3,000 school children and parents at the Hill House School Sports Day at the Duke of York’s Barracks in Chelsea.
I’ve also been busy putting the finishing touches to my first book. A special thank you to Lucinda McNeile and Alan Samson at Orion for helping me through the publishing quagmire.
Pole Dance will be out on the shelves on 30 September and can be pre-ordered on Amazon. |
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JUNE 2004
Preparation for the next expedition began in earnest in July. Under the expert guidance of my personal trainer, Dax Moy, I have begun a series of weight-lifting and corrective flexibility programmes. The intensity of the training itinerary will pick up over the months ahead.
Dax also recommended going on a strict 2-week detox “to flush all the toxins from my system”. It was the most miserable fortnight of my life – no wheat or dairy products, no refined sugars, no red meats, no caffeine and most importantly no alcohol. My diet basically consisted of fish, chicken, rice biscuits and lettuce. Nice. Still, it must have done some good as now I feel great! |
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MAY 2004
During a fleeting spring visit to New York, I popped in to the American Museum of Natural History to see with my own eyes something that has fascinated me for years. |
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The inconspicuous wooden sled at the bottom of the display may look like something that Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer would pull, but in fact it was used by the American explorer Robert Peary during his final expedition across the Arctic pack-ice.
After giving up nearly 20 years of his life (and all his toes) trying to reach the North Pole, Peary announced that he had become the first man to reach the top of the world on April 6th 1909. Along with 5 other men and 40 dogs, he reached the Pole after a journey of nearly 500 miles in a remarkable 38 days.
Ever since Peary’s return, doubts have been raised as to whether or not he actually made it all the way to the Pole. Peary’s claim is based on extraordinary rates of travel and the majority of polar historians and modern-day explorers consider them impossibly high. The debate still rages to this day. |
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APRIL 2004
After spending almost every weekend in March and April training in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier, Andrew Gerber, George Wells and I took part in the 2004 Patrouille des Glaciers ski mountaineering race across the Swiss Alps. First held during the Second World War to patrol Switzerland’s border with Italy, it has been run by the Swiss military for 65 years.
The PDG has to be one of the most hardcore sporting events on the planet. The 65-mile race from Zermatt to Verbier, involves a punishing 4,035 metres of ascent and 4,150 metres of decent. A series of checkpoints along the route have to be passed within a certain time and the finishing line closes after 16 hours. Most of the competitors were Swiss soldiers and there are 3 in every team. |
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| George and Andrew on the starting line |
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In pouring rain, we set off in our ski boots (with skis on our backs) from the main square in Zermatt at 11pm. With the streets lined with thousands of spectators and music blaring from the bars, the atmosphere was truly electric.
The rain soon turned to snow, so after clipping into our skis, we continued towards the summit of Tete Blanche (over 2,000 vertical feet and 11 miles from Zermatt). This was the hardest section of the course and we could really feel the altitude. |
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| Ski touring in a blizzard at 1am. Fun. |
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At 4.30am we reached the top of the 3,650-metre Tete Blanche, with the summit of the Matterhorn looming above. We were going as fast as we could but we were in 297th position out of 323 teams! Typical British skiers.
As dawn broke, the clouds cleared and we were treated to a spectacular sunrise as we skied all the way down to the town of Arolla. A series of further climbs and descents (including an awkward 300-foot abseil) and a gruelling traverse round the giant Lac des Dix had us well placed to tackle the final climb - known as “Le Mur de Rosablanche”. |
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We had been going for about 13 hours and could see the final col tantalisingly above us. We were all absolutely knackered, feet blistered, limbs sore but knew that we were going to complete the race. We passed through the final checkpoint with over half an hour in hand. Surely nothing would stop us now. |
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Competitors approaching Le Mur de Rosablanche |
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| And then, with less than 250 metres of climbing remaining to the col and the long ski down to Vebier, an avalanche (triggered by the warm sun) swept down from the col, partially burying some of the route and hitting 3 competitors. Thankfully they weren’t injured but the organisers deemed the area too dangerous and abandoned the race.
With so little remaining of the course, we were absolutely heartbroken to have had our prize snatched so cruelly away from us. Gutting!!
Over 20 teams were caught out by the avalanche and military helicopters had to be called in to evacuate everyone off the mountain by. For the record, the winning time was a mind-boggling 6hrs, 31mins. The next race is in 2006 when we'll be sure to have another crack. |
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