COINS Foundation Blog

Training in Switzerland
This last week a few of the team including me went out to Switzerland with a sledge and harness, hiring cross country skis to practice pulling the sledge across snow and ice. It’s far different to pulling a sledge across the sand (or tyres for that matter!) and also gave us a chance to practice the skis, which even for me, now being an “experienced skier” (not) is very tricky to say the least.

The Fischer Crown skis have a toe-only binding so the heel lifts up, allowing a walking motion, and the skis have grooves in the bottom which allow them to slide forward but “bite” the snow as you pull pack. We practiced on the flat, building up weight in the sledge and then trying up and downhill – needless to say we all spent some time on our arses! However by the end of the first day we were all feeling pretty confident.
We stayed in the beautiful village of Wengen, pulling the sledge up and down the Lauterbrunnen Valley to Stechleberg and back. It was a great few days that just gave me a bit more confidence that maybe i could make it on ski’s and if I just practice, practice, practice then I may just pull this off!

Wengen village is the starting point of the North Face of the Eiger, the world’s most respected climb for experienced mountaineers. I spent a few minutes just dreaming “if only we had a couple more days here then, I would love to give it a go” Then the cold wind blows in my face and reminds me, I’m training for the North Pole, there no mountains there!

And………….me being me, i did bring my ice axes and crampons to Wengen just in case, but alas I never did get any climbing in, maybe a return visit is in order, watch this space.

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Last Training Weekend-Ogmore
On a wet Friday evening we congregated in the Pelican pub just south of Ogmore, in the aftermath of the snow which covered much of Southern Wales, now melted on the frozen ground causing fields to swamp, rivers to burst their banks and even cattle grids to overflow. It was this that greeted us on our last training weekend before we leave the UK at the end of March. From now on when we meet for a weekend we’ll be doing the long, painstaking task of checking, packing and rechecking all the equipment we’ll be taking with us.

This weekend was simply to revolve around tents, stoves and sledges on the Saturday, a team dinner on the Saturday night and on Sunday a long walk – a good opportunity to get to know the team better and discuss any queries and concerns.

After getting soaked in torrential downpours on the Saturday morning however, and with most of our tents, sledges and stoves covered in wet sand from Ogmore’s sand dunes – a perfect environment to practice pulling sledges on the many other occasions I’ve been down here – we decamped back to the pub to dry out, and took the opportunity to piece together all the maps which chart our anticipated route to the Magnetic North Pole.

Camping in our groups on Saturday night was a good opportunity to go through the routines which will become our daily lives, although thankfully we won’t have wet mud to contend with! It was also an opportunity for those who haven’t done similar Expeditions before, to discover what it’s like cooking and sleeping, while packed in like sardines, with 4 to a tent!

On Sunday the sun dried us out and we got back to the skills training which will become essential to our success – understanding importantly the MSR stove which will be our lifeline for all heating, water and most of our food. The other essential components on which our success will depend are our shelters – tents were put up, taken down and put up again, taking it in turns in our teams of 4 to make sure each person knows how they operate, and the weak points to look out for.

Although there is a lot of detailed planning and organisation behind these Expeditions, fundamentally their success comes down largely to the basic elements of survival – water, food, shelter and warmth. A solo Expedition to the Geographic North failed last year after just 2 days – sending £250,000 down the drain – because two plastic pressure stove-valves costing £60 failed in the cold. These are the realities of Arctic exploration and our success will depend on our diligent attention to the small details which keep us watered, fed, warm and sheltered from the wind.

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The question you all ask me, Why take the risk?
As a Chartered Safety Professional in the Construction Industry working for the Kier Group, i advise all sorts of people how to manage risk and tell you all the safest way to do it.
As a dedicated husband and father i care deeply for my family, however i want them to manage risk in there day to day lives, that’s how we all learn and grow.

Outside of the workplace, we all take risk to some degree. We can’t start to understand or appreciate those who do and successful experience what life has offer until we are there ourselves.
So to take that as far as I can what my North Pole experience mean to me is:-
“I will stand as close to the edge as possible, on top of the world, without falling off. Out on the edge I may experience all, that’s where I must go, until then I will always wonder ……..what’s there, no regrets”
As a very rich and wise man once said……….Nike, Just Do It!

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Skiing in Austria, Solden
This week a few of the team including me went out to Austria, to a ski village called Solden to have a week pulling around the sledge and to get some skiing and cold weather training under our belts.

This training is essential to ensure to can acclimatise to the cold weather and fully appreciate the risk that the snow and ice brings.
This is me after being sent down a steep hill with the pulk behind me, the team soon realised the reason I’m a mountaineer and not a skier!

As part of the training we went downhill skiing, which was a new experience for me as i have not done much skiing before.

A great week was had by all, loads of fun and great team building exercise, and i think i can ski………….just!

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On a wet and windy November Saturday we met up in a village hall in Gloucestershire, to issue all the clothing and most of the equipment we’ll be wearing on the Expedition. The cold hall was quite a good setting to be trying on layers of thermals!
Steve Davis sporting the new thermals……ummm very nice!

Some of the kit we’ll be wearing includes inner and outer layers of thermals, which need to balance being comfortable enough to wear while walking, while being a snug enough fit to keep the warmth in and wind out. On top of thermal layers over legs and torso are the gloves, boots, jackets and head gear, including sun glasses and goggles.
The reason for issuing kit so early is to make sure we have enough clothing which fits well in advance – much of our kit is made to order and some imported, so there’s no easy way of getting specialist kit last minute. We also need to spend time customising it for our needs – opening zips for example is hard work wearing two layers of gloves, so all zips need to have strong tags or cord tied onto them to make them easier to grasp. Windsuit hoods need to have fur linings sewn in which must stand the test of brutal winds, and since we’ll be four to a tent, and all mostly wearing the same clothes, absolutely everything has to be clearly named so we don’t get our clothing mixed up!
I’ll be setting quite a few evenings aside in the coming months for my needle and thread!

Above is are pictures of Richard trying to keep track of all the kit that has been issued……no chance, “shiny new kit, quick, grab what you can and run”

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