BEN SAUNDERS
On his latest expedition in February 2004, Ben set out from Cape Artichevsky in Northern Siberia in an attempt to be the first person in the world to make a complete crossing of the frozen Arctic Ocean, Russia to Canada, a journey of 1,240-mile, unsupported and solo. Four separate and solo expeditions set out in competition, they were each to prove highly traumatic, one sadly fatal. Out of the four Ben was the only one to reach the North Pole.
A Finnish woman died within 24 hours. A French Marine fell through ice and was rescued with severe frostbite. An American was airlifted out with frostbite and a broken ankle.
Ben Saunders now holds the British Record for the longest solo Arctic trek.
On May 11th 2004 he also became the youngest person ever to reach the North Pole.
Ben’s experience of those weather conditions described by NASA and Environment Canada as ‘the worst on record’, has raised international awareness regarding the extent to which climate change is affecting the Arctic. He experienced conditions that were up to 15 degrees warmer than recorded in 2000, negotiating vast, unprecedented areas of thinning ice and open water.
In April 2003 at 25 years of age, Ben Saunders made a round trip to the North Pole from the Russian ‘Ice Station Borneo’, skiing solo over 140 miles in just two weeks. He used pioneering new technology to send the first ever real-time video clips from the Pole to continuously update the award-winning northpole2003.com live from the ice. Not only did Ben achieve a world first but his expedition raised over £10,000 for The Orchid Cancer Appeal.
In the spring of 2001, Ben became the youngest person ever (then 23) to attempt an unsupported "All the Way" North Pole expedition, along with fellow Briton Pen Hadow – a challenge described by Reinhold Messner as "Ten times as hard as Everest". The worst conditions in 17 years forced the pair to stop just days from the Pole. Enduring 8 weeks of skiing nearly 400 miles through icy headwinds and temperatures below -40ºC. Suffering frostbite and surviving Polar Bear attacks.
Born in Plymouth, Ben’s childhood was mostly spent in rural Devon where his love of the great outdoors took root. He went on to attend the Chaucer School in Canterbury and later the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, where he completed the renowned Rowallan Company Course – the most challenging ten-week course in the British Army. At 19 years of age he spent four months walking and climbing in the Nepalese Himalayas. A keen athlete – as a cyclist he has raced on and off road at national level. Completed both the London and the New York Marathons in less than three and a half hours. He joined the John Ridgway School in Scotland (known as the UK’s toughest management training establishment). Ben taught groups of under privileged youths at the school and now enjoys encouraging young people as an Ambassador for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. He is a qualified personal trainer with a star list of clients. Interestingly, as Ben himself says: "I was never sporty at school. I was always the last kid picked for the football team. One of my school reports reads: Ben lacks sufficient impetus to achieve anything worthwhile". At just 26 years of age, Ben is considered to be one of the leading new adventurers.
Recent Testimonials:
"Thank you for your phenomenal performance at the National Energy Awards. The feedback leaves us all in no doubt that you were the best possible choice of speaker."
Andrew Bainbridge, Director General, The Major Energy Users Council
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"I wanted to thank you for recommending Ben to us. We were looking for a motivational speaker with a positive message, but we wanted upbeat and lighthearted. Ben was very well received by the whole audience, which consisted of a range of people from accountants to directors. He made everyone laugh and was very entertaining - there were funny anecdotes, but enough serious points to get the message across. Ben was truly inspirational and people went away feeling they could achieve more."
Andrea Challen, IBM Global Finance
"Our aim is to expand children’s minds and help them think beyond the horizons of their school lives. You more than achieved this objective and, as I hope you could tell, had a profound effect on your audience. All of us were left contemplating issues of courage, fear, success, failure, and, of course, our own mortality. You have a great gift for getting your adventures across to an audience and I am extremely grateful to you for giving us the opportunity to hear them."
Ben Thomas, Headmaster, Thomas’s London Day Schools
"I met Ben as part of my research for the BBC TV film 'Home'. I found him to be a very eloquent and inspiring speaker with a terrific sense of humour. Listening to him I gained an intensely vivid impression of an expedition to the North Pole and indeed it's as close as I am ever going to get! He is a remarkable man!"
Sir Antony Sher KBE, June 2003
"Ben's talk was absolutely brilliant - I was riveted to my seat just listening to him."
BT
"We have had excellent feedback from our clients. Ben is an extremely accomplished speaker and his talk was an inspiration to us all."
Close Brothers Private Equity
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