Adventure Alternative founder and MD, Gavin Bate REACHED THE NORTH POLE at around 03:30 GMT (21:30 local time) this morning, completing his 550km expedition to ski from Resolute Bay in the Canadian Arctic to the 1996 Magnetic North pole in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Gavin now just has the final 28km to ski to the former weather station at Isachsen, to be picked up by support plane tomorrow. Gavin reports being exhausted, having lost a lot of weight and that his insulating gear is choked with ice from condensed perspiration and from steam from cooking stoves.
The expedition was also raising funds for the Moving Mountains Trust, a charity that Gavin founded more than a decade ago. To follow all the details and to donate to the campaign, visit www.racemetothepole.com
Our team has recently returned from three weeks in Kenya, having just taken part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We have returned home with heavy but open hearts, a renewed appreciation for life, home and community, and of course a new and broadened worldview.
We were guided by a cream-of-the-crop staff, lead by Eva and Rosie. They were always warm, welcoming and understanding, and their attention to detail amongst a group of 26 was incredible. Our time spent in Tigithi working on the project and interacting with the young people is indescribable; it really opened eyes and brought our group to life, while our mountain adventure pushed many beyond their own boundaries.
The entire experience from beginning to end was life altering, and although it is difficult to measure how this new perspective and attitude has changed these young people, I know it will be profound. Before we had even left Kenya, many had talked about returning to work with Moving Mountains. This trip isn’t the end of our journey, but is rather just the start.
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I went into this trip with an open mind and I was just blown away. The level of professionalism displayed by the staff was amazing, the area of the country I was taken through was unparalleled in its beauty, and the food and culture and warmth of the people I met gave me a good learning experience about Kenya. It was the best trip of my life!
Having been to Africa a couple of times before this trip to Kenya I had a pretty good sense of what to expect and I was still amazed by the experience. All of the staff in Kenya were wonderful. We could not have been welcomed or treated any better. They thought of everything. The entire group came back to Canada having taken part in one of the best life experiences. Many of the youth are talking about returning to Kenya. The experience was certainly life altering and many of the youth I have spoken to have changed what they want to do with their life or are at least questioning many of what they felt were truths. Both boys and girls were at time very emotional. In my experience boys especially don’t cry easily and certainly not publicly. A big thanks to everyone at Adventure Alternative and Moving Mountains those in Kenya and in the UK for all that you did to make this a truly magical experience for all of us.
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What an amazing trip! Four 4,000m summits in 3 days, plus great food, fantastic and knowledgable local and UK guides. What more could you ask for?
Read more about Mount Toubkal - Winter
I just wanted to say thank you for all your efforts in organising and providing the trip last week. It was great to be back up amongst some higher peaks and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Morocco.
Read more about Mount Toubkal - Winter
What a blast!! It was a fantastic trip and so much was packed into 5 or 6 days. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed it and there was a great crowd on it. I am looking forward to writing two articles on the trip, the first one will be in the paper next week. I am already looking forward to my next adventure.
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Thank you so much for a fantastic week of climbing – we had a lot of laughs and learnt a lot as well.. A big thank you to everyone involved in the Winter Toubkal trip. Everything about the trip was fantastic - our time in Marrakech and Imlil, the group, all the Adventure Alternative staff and, of course, the climbing. To summit four 4,000 metre peaks in 3 days was brilliant and the opportunity to practice and consolidate my winter skills and to push myself on peaks like Akioud was much appreciated. And all in just a week off work! I am already planning the next trip.
Read more about Mount Toubkal - Winter
Hi Andy :)
Just wanted to drop you a quick email to say wat a fantastic time we all had when we were away. The two Eva's were fantastic and all the guys were brilliant. Couldn't of asked for a better trip.
We were hoping to head out again next year but I don't think we r able to wait that long an were hoping that we mite b able to go out in july if at all possible for 2 weeks?? There would b 4 of us.
Thanks again andy for a brilliant trip. Can't put in words how brilliant it was an soo glad we had the two girls they were just brilliant.
Cheers andy
Josie
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I did my first medical elective in Embu, Kenya in 2006. It was my first trip to Africa and, needless to say, I was not sure what to expect. But Adventure Alternative organized everything for me (housing, transportation, the elective etc.) and made my first trip to Kenya stress-free. Prior to finding Adventure Alternative, I tried to set up an international elective on my own and found it nearly impossible, so having it all set up for me was definitely worth the cost and made the experience very rewarding.
I enjoyed my experience so much, that I returned on two more occasions as an internal medicine resident to do further electives in Embu. AA helped arrange my medical license, because as a qualified physician, there were different requirements for me to undertake an elective than when I was a medical student. They also arranged for me to do an elective at Kenyatta Hospital on my third rotation there. At that point, I was the first person through AA to be approved to do an elective at Kenyatta. Andy worked very hard, as did the staff on the ground in Kenya, to ensure that this was arranged for me. I must say, I felt they went out of their way to accommodate me!
The staff from Adventure Alternative are all wonderful and definitely made my Kenyan adventures much more pleasant. They were professional, and friendly, and made me feel very safe and welcome in their country.
I am now working as a consultant in the developing world and the experience I gained in Kenya, with the assistance of Adventure Alternative, was invaluable and helped prepare me for my current job.
I have no hesitation in recommending AA!
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