So what have we been up to?

We had a great 10 days training in Chamonix at the end of last month. We were really lucky with the weather and had perfect blue sky’s for the whole duration of our stay. We were able to get in some great runs as altitude, seriously hard work, but the mountain paths are worlds away from our road running back at home and well worth a little bit of pain! But our main goal over the 10 days was just to spend time going through rope work, crevasse extraction, avalanche safety procedures and just general mountaineering training. As we were there we thought it was worth having ago at standing on the summit of Mt Blanc, Tark’s has summited many times from various routes, but it was to be my first shot at standing on the summit of any large mountain! Well it didn’t go quite as we would have hoped, we had two attempts, the first of which was pathetic. At little over a third of the way up, my Chonophobia (irrational fear of snow) completely got the better of me and i had a huge panic attack and emotionally collapsed, doubting my abilities on the mountain as well as my career choice as an ‘adventurer’! I was in such a state we decided to turn back resound to the fact that despite spending 5 years trying to overcome them, these panic attacks were never going to go and mountaineering and i just weren’t meant to be and that i should stick to ultra endurance expeditions on flatter terrain. Within 24 hours i had given myself a good talking to and was back up the mountain for a second attempt. We were staying in tents as opposed to the mountain refuges like most other climbers, and decided to camp much further down the mountain and do a much longer summit day so that we could do it in the dark. This was  Tarka’s great plan…darkness…if I couldn’t see it, then i couldn’t be frightened of it was the theory! Instead of setting off at 2am from 3817m we set off at 10pm from 3167m, it turned out to be a genius idea of Tarka’s, and i flew up the mountain. Unfortunately at around 4400m Tarks was suffering form altitude sickness and was really struggling to keep his balance…never ideal on mountain ridges! So we had to turn back and make a very slow and careful descent, but by then it was light and i could see exactly what i had come up!! In a way it was quite good that I had to look after Tarks and make sure he got down safely, as it meant I couldn’t have a wobbly walking across (what in my mind are) horrific knife edge passes. Tarks was absolutely fine again once we were back at low altitude , other than feeling rather guilty that he prevented my summit, especially after i had talked myself back into giving it another try. Next year.

Other than that we have just been really busy preparing our new business ‘itzon TV‘ which will be launching in the next couple of months. I cant give you all the details just yet but i can tell you that one morning Tarka sat bolt upright in bed and announced that we should launch a TV channel and further more a TV channel that will be the first of its kind in the world!!! One week later itzon was born…. We will be drip feeding information on the holding page each week www.itzon.tv

We are so sorry for the lack of updates since we returned, we truly haven’t stopped. We have been here, there and everywhere giving talks, interviews to the press and TV, sorting footage and visiting sponsors etc.

We have had brilliant press coverage since our return, which amazingly is still coming! Our first film ‘The Great Walk of China’ was shown at the Dijon International Film Festival last month and will be showing at Dundee Mountain Film Festival next week and Autrans Mountain Film Festival the week after that. We will both be speaking at Kendal Mountain Festival this Friday about the Rivers of Ice expedition for the very time, at 11.30 in the Parish Hall.

For anyone who hadn’t been following the Rivers of Ice expedition there is a very brief summary below;

From the Jorge Montt glacier we made great progress across the ice cap for 25 days. We successfully traversed one of the world´s harshest environments before reaching the most notorious section of the journey two-thirds of the way in. Tent-bound for 5 days in winds of up to 60 knots, we waited for a suitable weather window: we knew the next technically demanding section could not be attempted without good visibility. At this point, the tent suffered a critical failure leaving us to erect a survival shelter as quickly as possible from what remained of the tent.

Despite having multiple exit strategies along the ice cap none were in range without a fully functioning tent. So despite being aware of the difficulty of descending the Spegazzini glacier, we calculated that it offered the best chance ofsurvival due to its close proximity. In total, we spent 5 nights in makeshift shelters as we slowly negotiated the descent from the ice cap via the glacier in storm conditions. We had hoped to leave as we had arrived, by boat, however the unstable nature of the glacier mouth made it unsafe for a boat to collect us. Subsequently, the El Calafelet 42 division of the Argentinian Gendarmarie were called to provide a safe pick up by helicopter. We spent one night in hospital as a precautionary measure and were discharged with mild frostbite to the toes and snow blindness.

Alhough we did not accomplish our ultimate objective of a full crossing, we did successfully achieve the longest crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice by a British team as well as the longest ever crossing by a woman. We still believe our fast and light approach is an effective way to complete a full unsupported crossing and will be heading back next year for ‘take 2′.

We have finally launched our new expedition.

‘Rivers of Ice’ will depart on the 16^th of August in an attempt to traverse the complete length of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap with out the aid of sail kites or pre-placed food caches.

The fully unsupported journey will see us kayak, ski and climb 554km across the world’s third largest ice cap in as little as 37 days. Traditionally expeditions across the ice cap have been undertaken with the aid of pulks (sledges) ensuring the ability to carry sufficient supplies for long crossings. However, this makes for an arduous and laborious task having to shuttle loads across the heavily crevassed sections. In contrast we have taken an ultra light and fast approach, undertaking the journey with only backpacks and 1kg micro sleds that attach to the packs. Having reduced the equipment from over 120kg (traditional amount taken on previous attempts of this journey) to 45kg each, we are mobile enough to move fast over the difficult terrain. However, with only 37 days of food rations, we cannot afford any mistakes or delays!

The new ‘Rivers of Ice’ expedition website is finally up and running. I would describe it as innovative and interactive, jam-packed with technical information about the journey and the ultra-light equipment being used to make it happen. Once the expedition gets underway we will send daily updates back to the site as podcasts, allowing for the facts and emotions – be they despair or elation – of the day’s events, to be shared. Between now and departure we will regularly be updating the new website with short videos of our physical preparation, as well as the kit, food and logistical preparations, giving an insight into the pre-expedition work load.

So until mid October it is good buy from the Primal Journey news page but we hope to see you over at www.rivers-of-ice.com

and 1kg micro sleds that attach to the packs.