SCIENTIFIC Annual Review 2020 - Reach Volunteering
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SCIENTIFIC
EXPLORER
Annual Review 2020 Dr Jane Goodall,
SES Lifetime Achievement 2020 (photo by Vincent Calmel)
Welcome
Scientific Exploration Society (SES) is a UK-based charity (No
267410) that was founded in 1969 by Colonel John Blashford-Snell
and colleagues. It is the longest-running scientific exploration
organisation in the world. Each year through its Explorer Awards
programme, SES provides grants to individuals leading scientific
expeditions that focus on discovery, research, and conservation
in remote parts of the world, offering knowledge, education, and
community aid. Members and friends enjoy charity events and
regular Explorer Talks, and are also given opportunities to join
exciting scientific expeditions.
SES has an excellent Honorary Advisory Board consisting of
famous explorers and naturalists including Sir Ranulph Fiennes,
Dr Jane Goodall, Rosie Stancer, Pen Hadow, Bear Grylls, Mark
Beaumont, Tim Peake, Steve Backshall, Vanessa O’Brien, and
Levison Wood. Without its support, and that of its generous
benefactors, members, trustees, volunteers, and part-time staff,
SES would not achieve all that it does.
DISCOVER
RESEARCH
CONSERVE
Contents
2 Diary 2021 19 Vanessa O’Brien – Challenger Deep
4 Message from the Chairman 20 Books, Books, Books
5 Flying the Flag 22 News from our Community
6 Explorer Award Winners 2020 25 Support SES
8 Honorary Award Winners 2020 26 Obituaries
9 ‘Oscars of Exploration’ 2020 30 Medicine Chest
Presentation Evening LIVE broadcast
32 Accounts and Notice of 2021 AGM
10 News from our Explorers
33 Charity Information
16 Top Tips from our Explorers
“I am prepared to go
anywhere, provided
it be forward.”
Mark Beaumont, SES Lifetime Achievement 2018 and David Livingstone
SES Honorary Advisory Board member (photo by Ben Walton)
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 1
Please
visit SES on
EVENTBRITE
for full details
and tickets
to ALL our
events.
DATE & TIME DESCRIPTION LOCATION
Thursday 21st January 2021 Honorary Advisory Board Reception London / Zoom
kindly hosted by SES Trustee Peter Felix and
June Felix
Tuesday 26th January 2021 Explorer Talk Webinar (Zoom)
(7pm talk) Liv Grant – Last Stop in the Remote Pacific
Tuesday 23rd February 2021 Explorer Talk Webinar (Zoom)
(7pm talk) Rosie Stancer and Mike Laird – Lake Baikal
Expedition
Wednesday 24th March 2021 Annual General Meeting and The Park Tower Hotel
(6pm AGM, 6.30pm for 7pm talk) Explorer Talk (Knightsbridge) / Webinar
Reza Pakravan – Africa’s Forgotten Frontiers: (Zoom) TBC
Sahel
Tuesday 27th April 2021 Explorer Talk Coopers Arms (Chelsea) /
(7pm talk) John Hare – Paradise Dammed: The Tragedy of Webinar (Zoom) TBC
Lake Turkana
Tuesday 25th May 2021 Explorer Talk Coopers Arms (Chelsea) /
(7pm talk) Paula Reid – Adventure Psychology: Going Webinar (Zoom) TBC
Knowingly into the Unknown
Friday 22nd May to Saturday Colonel John Blashford-Snell – British Trans Classic Land Rovers
23rd May 2021 Americas Expedition 1971-72 lecture Gathering (Peterborough)
Tuesday 29th June 2021 Explorer Talk Coopers Arms (Chelsea) /
(7pm talk) Jonathan Rider – Rivers and Roads: Rafting Webinar (Zoom) TBC
alongside the Karakoram Highway in Northern
Pakistan
Tuesday 28th September 2021 Explorer Talk Coopers Arms (Chelsea) /
(7pm talk) Emma Askew – How to Engage the Unengaged Webinar (Zoom) TBC
Sunday 3rd October 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon 2021 London
Team SES
Wednesday 13th October 2021 Explorer Awards Presentation Evening Royal College of Surgeons
‘Oscars of Exploration’ (London) / Live Broadcast
TBC
Tuesday 26th October 2021 Explorer Talk Coopers Arms (Chelsea) /
(7pm talk) Professor Mark O’Shea – Blood, Sweat and Webinar (Zoom) TBC
Snakebites: The making of an Herpetologist
2
In-person events will be resumed as
soon as COVID-19 restrictions allow.
Diary 2021
DATE & TIME DESCRIPTION LOCATION
Tuesday 30th November 2021 Explorer Talk Webinar (Zoom)
(7pm talk) Speaker TBC
Late 2021/April 2022 50th Anniversary Celebration of The London
(date TBC) Conquest of the Darien Gap
Full details TBC
Thursday 20th January 2022 Honorary Advisory Board Reception London
kindly hosted by SES Trustee Peter Felix and
June Felix
March 2022 SES Charity Evening London
(date TBC) Full details TBC
2021 Explorer Talks proudly sponsored by Merck
We are hugely grateful to Merck for supporting SES for a second year running and generously
sponsoring the 2021 Explorer Talks. Merck is a leading science and technology company that seeks
to spark scientific curiosity and passion through strategic employee and community engagement
efforts, paving the way to a future filled with breakthroughs. Its SPARK Global Volunteer Programme
is designed to inspire Merck employees across the globe to give back to the communities in which they
live and work. Merck’s SPARK team in Dorset suggested SES as an ideal charity to support.
Anirban Dutta Gupta, Neville Shulman Explorer 2017 (Seychelles Island Tree Frog
is endemic to Seychelles and spotted in the Island of Praslin)
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 3
Neil Laughton, SES Chairman
(flying a spitfire in 2020)
Message from the Chairman
I was delighted to accept the Honorary President’s world, to recruit a younger generation of members to the
invitation to continue as Chairman of the Society for a Society and to find a way, once and for all, to make SES
further three-year term and I am excited to see what can financially sustainable for a further 50 years and more.
be achieved in that time.
Thank you for your support.
2020 has been a difficult year for many people, businesses
and charities but with the hard work, dedication and
ingenuity of the Team, led by our CEO Henrietta Thorpe,
we have continued to deliver high quality events, activities
and services. The annual Explorer Awards presentation
evening, brilliantly hosted online by our young Explorer
Award winner Liv Grant, was a highlight that reached
over 30,000 people, far more than what would have been
possible in a West End venue. Likewise, our monthly
virtual Explorer Talks continue to be well received by a Neil Laughton
dedicated following. Chairman of Trustees
neil@laughton.co
I am delighted to have been able to welcome some new
and younger members onto Council this last year who
will, I’m sure, make valuable contributions to the strategic,
operational and governance of the Society in the years
to come. And it is wonderful to see so many members of
the Honorary Advisory Board, inspired by the work of its
Chair Peter Felix, getting involved in helping further the
aims and aspirations of our great organisation.
These are and remain my priorities in the next three years
– to increase the awareness and reach of SES around the
4
Flying the Flag
SES Explorer of the Year 2018 Vanessa O’Brien, Gough Explorers 2019 Merlin Hetherington and
Challenger Deep 2020 (photo by Enrique Alvarez) team-mate Alex McMaster (Arclight Tandem Africa)
Gough Explorer 2020 Alegra Ally
(The 2020 Passage)
Neville Shulman Explorer 2020 Amy Hong
(Gishwati-Mukura: The Emerging National Park)
Neville Shulman Explorer 2018
Eilidh Munro (Voices on the Road)
SES Explorer Lucy Shepherd
(Amazon 2020)
Elodie Sandford Explorer 2019
Catherine Kim (Tara Bandu in Timor-Leste)
Rivers Foundation Explorer 2019
Charlotte Austwick (Voices of the Maya)
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 5
Explorer Award Winners 2020 Award: Sir Charles Blois Explorer Award for Science & Adventure Winner: EMMA MILLER Expedition: Wellbeing and Resilience on the Himalaya Trail An Award of £5,000 and the exclusive title ‘Sir Charles Blois Explorer 2020’ kindly supported by Sir Charles Blois Bt Emma is a Wellbeing Explorer and Specialist from Northern Ireland. She founded Wellbeing Explorers to share her passion and mission in building connection (to self, others, environment) through empathy, understanding wellbeing and human flourishing. She advocates, whilst people and cultures are unique and different, we should celebrate our common humanity. She and her expedition partner, Liam Kelly, an American expedition leader, photographer and videographer who was born and raised in Nepal, will traverse the formidable Nepal Great Himalaya Trail exploring wellbeing and strategies for mental resiliency. Trekking 1,500km and spending several weeks in target districts, the objective of the expedition is to explore wellbeing and mental resilience from the perspective of remote mountainous communities vulnerable to extreme and frequent challenges, such as climate change related disasters. Award: Elodie Sandford Explorer Award for Amateur Photography Winner: TOBIAS NOWLAN Expedition: Last of the Javan Rhino An Award of £7,000 and the exclusive title ‘Elodie Sandford Explorer 2020’ established and kindly supported by the friends and family of Elodie Sandford Toby is a zoologist and filmmaker from Bristol. He has led research expeditions in search of the world’s most endangered species since he was 19, including efforts to photograph the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, Earth’s rarest marine mammal. Recently he has led wildlife filming expeditions, including for the BBC’s Planet Earth 2, to all corners of the globe. Toby’s expedition is to photograph the critically endangered Javan rhino, the rarest large mammal on the planet, and thereby help protect it from extinction. Travelling through the remote wilderness of Ujung Kulon (Java, Indonesia) by canoe, he aims to perform photo-identification of individual rhinos, enabling more to be learnt about this near-mythical species and inform its conservation. Award: Gough Explorer Award for Medical Aid & Research Winner: ALEGRA ALLY Expedition: The 2020 Passage An Award of £4,000 and the exclusive title ‘Gough Explorer 2020’ kindly supported by Viscount Gough Alegra is an anthropologist, author and award-winning explorer and photographer, whose work has focused on worldwide indigenous cultures, especially in Papua New Guinea and specifically surrounding the many phases of motherhood in indigenous communities. She serves as a member in the Flag and Honours Committees of The Explorers Club. Her ‘The 2020 Passage’ expedition is a ground-breaking exploratory expedition to build relationships and conduct research with indigenous mothers and traditional midwives in a remote part of Papua New Guinea. This expedition will form the foundation for co-creating programmes for supporting the health and survival of indigenous mothers and their babies through collaborative efforts. 6
Award: Neville Shulman Explorer Award for Expedition Filmmaking
Winner: XINYANG AMY HONG
Expedition: Gishwati-Mukura – The Emerging National Park
An Award of £7,000 and the exclusive title ‘Neville Shulman Explorer 2020’
kindly supported by Neville Shulman CBE
Amy is a science communicator and returning SES Explorer. She has
gained a D.Phil from the University of Oxford and has produced films for
internationally renowned organisations, such as the Royal Institution
and the British Ecological Society. Amy is a guest lecturer for the Wildlife
Conservation Unit, Oxford and a founding member of the African Science
Literacy Network. For her expedition, she and her team will collaborate with
the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to train local talents into conservation
filmmakers, who will be offered job opportunities to produce stunning films to grow eco-tourism. Amy will also document
the positive change happening at the Gishwati-Mukura National Park, an area that has grown from 1% forest coverage to
a layer of deep green.
Award: Rivers Foundation Explorer Award for Health & Humanities
Winner: CRAIG NUTTALL
Expedition: Garhwal Mountain Rescue Project
An Award of £5,000 and the exclusive title ‘Rivers Foundation Explorer 2020’
kindly supported by the Rivers Foundation
Craig is a nurse practitioner trained in emergency and mountain medicine.
He has gained valuable experience while leading small groups of healthcare
professionals on medical missions in India and other parts of Asia. As an
associate professor at Brigham Young University, Dr Nuttall has focused
his efforts on improving healthcare in resource poor environments though
education and innovation. Living in the Rocky Mountains, he spends much of
his time hiking, climbing, and enjoying the mountains with his wife and six
children. This passion for the mountains has defined not only what he does but who he is. The purpose of his project is to
improve access to healthcare for locals, pilgrims and alpinists residing, traveling and climbing in the Garhwal Himalayas
by training Indian nurses and doctors in mountain medicine and stationing them in remote hospitals in the Garhwal
range.
Award: SES Explorer Award for Inspirational & Scientific Trailblazing
Winner: IRIS BERGER
Expedition: Moyen-Bafing Lion Project
An Award of £9,000 and the exclusive title ‘SES Explorer 2020’ kindly
supported by the Rowan Bentall Charitable Trust, O’Hea Family Trust, Avocet
Insurance Consultants, Pam Coleridge and the Trustees of SES
Iris is a Conservation Biologist and National Geographic Explorer from
Austria. She has walked across Sumatra, studied chimpanzee diet and tool-
use in Uganda and researched mammal diversity in the Cerrado savannah,
Brazil. Iris is currently doing a Masters’ degree in Biodiversity, Conservation
and Management at the University of Oxford. She will be leading three of her
coursemates – Emma Vovk, Hannah Nicholas and Philippe Roberge – to
study the viability of lion and leopard populations in north-western Guinea. Until recently, lions were thought to be
extinct in Guinea, but camera trap footage has shown otherwise. They will assess whether Moyen-Bafing National Park is
home to a viable lion population and/or has potential to be in the future, and whether big-cat wildlife corridors to Senegal
exist.
2021 Explorer Awards
COVID-19 has significantly disrupted many SES Explorers’ expeditions this year, however SES is continuing with
its 2021 Explorer Award programme and is committed to funding future explorers who plan to go into the field
when it is safe and responsible to do so. Our award winners will be formally recognised at our Explorer Awards
Presentation Evening in October 2021, but funds will only be released to the recipient when Government, FCO,
and in-country guidance is clear that it is appropriate to do so. The health and safety of SES Explorers
and those that they may come into contact with are of paramount importance to the Society and its supporters.
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 7
Honorary Award Winners 2020
Award: SES Explorer of the Year 2020
Winner: STEVE BACKSHALL
Steve captivates millions with his TV shows and
expeditions including the BAFTA-winning Deadly 60 and
the adrenaline-fuelled series Steve Backshall’s Extreme
Mountain Challenge. His great passion is discovery –
investigating new places and new species. More recently,
his book Expedition was published alongside his brand
new 10-part TV series Expedition with Steve Backshall,
which broadcast on UKTV Dave. This saw him taking on
physical challenges and encounters with extraordinary
wildlife, in unchartered territory in the pursuit of new
discoveries. Steve is an accomplished author and a patron
for numerous charities and an ambassador for the Scout
Association. Steve Backshall (Photo by Rohan Kilham)
Award: SES Lifetime Achievement 2020
Winner: DR JANE GOODALL
Dr Jane Goodall is founder of the Jane Goodall Institute
and a UN Messenger of Peace. She began her landmark
study into the lives of wild chimpanzees at Gombe in
Western Tanzania on 14 July 1960. Established in 1977, the
Jane Goodall Institute has offices in 24 countries. In 1991
Dr Goodall founded Roots & Shoots with 12 high school
students in Tanzania and this project is now active in more
than 65 countries. Dr Goodall is author of many books for
adults and children and she features in countless films
and videos. The recipient of many awards and honorary
degrees, Dr Goodall continues to share her messages
of hope and to inspire new generations to take positive
actions for our world and all its inhabitants. Dr Jane Goodall (Photo by Andrew Zuckerman)
Award: SES Pioneer with Purpose 2020
Winner: JOHN VOLANTHEN
John is a world record-holding British cave diver who
has been at the forefront of underground rescue and
exploration over the last two decades. John began caving
with the scouts at the age of 14 and continues to push the
limits of underwater cave exploration to this day. In 2018,
John played a key role in the Tham Luang Thailand cave
rescue and was awarded the George Medal by the Queen
for showing ‘great courage’. Using his background in
medical electronics, John has built breathing equipment
used to explore caves worldwide and designed and
produced cave mapping technology.
John Volanthen
8SES 2020 Explorer Awards Presentation Evening
proudly sponsored by RSK and Craig Cohon.
‘Oscars of Exploration’ 2020
The Explorer Awards Presentation Evening ‘Oscars of date. Henrietta started to write the script, my director/
Exploration’ is the Society’s annual flagship event. So, cameraman Simon put the green screen and equipment
when faced with the possibility of having to cancel such together, and I bought some autocue software and borrowed
an inspirational evening because of COVID-19, SES looked the equipment from a friend.
beyond the barriers and worked with SES Explorer and
Filmmaker Reza Pakravan to ensure this year’s Explorer
Awards were honoured, and the incredible achievements
of the winners celebrated in a way that was so deserved.
SES is hugely grateful to RSK and Craig Cohon for their
unflinching support of this special occasion, as without it,
the event would not have been possible. Reza Pakravan
reflects on the journey…
“It was 10th March, I was working in my editing suite (my
garden shed) when my phone rang. It was SES Explorer
Awards Manager Nikki Skinner. We keep in regular contact
as I provide her with my news as a past Explorer Award
Cameraman Simon keeping at a safe distance during filming in a make-shift studio.
winner. We chatted about lockdown and its effect on the
Explorer Awards ceremony – an event that I had been Filming was extremely challenging. We had to keep two
part of in 2019. The idea of a virtual evening organically metres apart from each other at all times. We were lucky
appeared. I summarised the idea and SES CEO Henrietta that Liv was so comfortable in front of the camera. We
Thorpe presented it to the Society’s Trustees, who gave the organised for all the winners to be available via a video link
green light without reservation. and recorded them interacting with Liv. Everyone was so
brilliant and helpful. They woke early and stayed up late
Nikki informed the Explorer Award winners, who were to accommodate the time zone differences. Despite all the
thrilled to learn that their special evening was not going challenges, we had a very successful day. The next challenge
to be cancelled. Henrietta began the process of seeking was to record the Honorary Advisory Board members, the
support from the Honorary Advisory Board to ensure the Honorary Award winners and the sponsors. I sent my small
event had the right people on board to present the awards. camera to Neville for his recording, captured Paul Sandford
SES Explorer Liv Grant was secured as the evening’s host. on video, managed to catch Ran just before he left for his
Time was limited, we were in lockdown, SES Chairman Neil trip, and even got busy people like Tim Peake and Steve
Laughton was stuck on a ship coming back from South Backshall recorded on video. The easy part was putting the
America, Sir Ranulph Fiennes was leaving to a remote whole thing together and making it an exciting ceremony.
destination imminently, and Neville Shulman (one of the
Explorer Award supporters) was self-isolating. How were Organising this production during lockdown was as
we going to pull this off? challenging as organising a complicated expedition. But
we pulled it off because of everyone’s commitment and
determination to make it work and deliver something
positive, when positive news was so much needed. It felt like
great expedition teamwork! We live broadcast the event on
Wednesday 20th May to approximately 1,000 people and
over 30,000 have seen the video since.”
SPONSORSHIP
Explorer Awards Presentation Evening
The evening’s host Liv Grant looking utterly relaxed in front of the camera.
(3 levels of sponsorship)
Nikki, Henrietta and I were in constant contact. Not a day HEADLINE – £7,500
went by in the 10 weeks from inception to delivery that
SUPPORTING – £4,500
we did not speak. We agreed to make a pre-recorded live
broadcast show, recording the main presenter in front of CONTRIBUTING – £1,750
a green screen in the studio, with professional cameras
and sound equipment. Then we could record the Zoom Please contact Nikki Skinner on
callers, stitch everything together and live broadcast it. Our nikki@ses-explore.org for full details.
first priority was to record Liv. We locked-in the filming
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 9News from our Explorers
In ‘normal’ times, the majority of this year’s Explorer Association (FHA), a local community NGO. Since then, the
Award winners would have at least set off on their park has seen massive changes with 600 hectares of forests
expeditions by now (and quite a few actually completed naturally regenerated and chimpanzee numbers increased
them). So far only our Neville Shulman Explorer Amy from 13 to 30.
Hong has completed part of her expedition (see below).
The rest of this year’s winners (and all the Explorers One of the highlights of this scouting expedition was getting
within our community) are busy looking at ways to work to know the local residents, rangers and FHA at the park,
with COVID-19 restrictions and build them into their exploring through their memories to piece together the
expeditions. It is interesting to hear what they have been images of the forest before the conservation work had
up to during these challenging times. started, and even earlier, before the genocide (that had
almost completely depleted the forest) had happened. An
Neville Shulman Explorer 2020 – Xinyang Amy Hong elderly resident we met told us that he had lived in the area
Amy worked closely with the Rwanda Development Board all his life, and that he used to hear chimpanzee calls from
to refine her expedition goals under COVID-19. One of the the woods when he was a child. He spoke in Kinyarwanda
key areas of discussion were how they could bring the softly and slowly, as if he was reliving that peaceful
National Parks to everyone at home. By film! Planning memory. He also remembered how the deforestation
the expedition in lockdown wasn’t the easiest. The team affected the water supply in the village, which made him
experienced periods of serious logistical challenges realise the importance of the forest. He then proudly told
and medical concerns. They decided simply to push on us that his son now works at the park as a ranger, and at
through. While COVID-19 presents challenges, it is also the family dinners his son sometimes tells him about chimp
perfect opportunity for their films to be fully utilised. They encounters. Unlike chimps elsewhere, the group at Gishwati-
managed to secure sponsorships from Fujifilm (for their Mukura is rather shy and very rare to spot. Even though the
latest cameras), Vuze (for a 3D 360 camera) and 3DIO (for habituation programme had started in 2008, encounters are
a binaural speaker) to film the National Parks. As the only still limited and very brief nowadays.
2020 Explorer Award winner to head off on expedition, we
are delighted to share an update from Amy after her first September is not the season for chimps at Gishwati-Mukura
day in Rwanda. but we were lucky enough to trek a group of golden monkeys
(Cercopithecus Mitis Kandti), a species that is endemic to the
“The first morning in Rwanda, I was gladly woken up by high-altitude forests in Rwanda.”
chirping birds at 5am. The sky was still dark and the street
was quiet, tiny orange streetlights in the distance blended Amy and Laurie will return to Gishwati-Mukura in May
into each other in front of the huge dark blue backdrop, 2021 to complete their expedition, film the chimpanzees,
highlighting the silhouette of a hilly Kigali. At that moment, and teach forest rangers about wildlife filming.
the airport COVID-19 drama on the previous day, the 15-
hour journey with a damp facemask, the 24-hour quarantine Gough Explorer 2020 – Alegra Ally
I was still in, and the pending COVID-19 test result didn’t With the health of the communities being top priority, and
bother me anymore – all I had in mind was to grab my shiny to prevent potential spread of COVID-19, Alegra decided
new gadget, the binaural microphone, to get these well- to postpone the travel date for her ‘The 2020 Passage’
orchestrated songs recorded. Little did I know I was going expedition in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to 2021. The PNG
to experience much grander, daily songbird performances at Government acted swiftly and had the entire country in
Gishwati-Mukura National Park. lockdown. This lockdown order was well-communicated
and given the prevalence of mobile phones there,
including in locations like Bosavi (home for the Kosua
tribe) almost everyone has heard of the pandemic and
how serious it is. She is continuing to follow the situation
closely in PNG and remains in communication and
collaboration with her contacts there.
Until there is a COVID-19 vaccination the state of things
will not fully return to ‘normal’, though she has faith
that the world will be able to adapt in the meantime. It is
likely that remote indigenous communities will not have
access to a COVID-19 vaccination until much later, if at
all, and the onus will be on visitors and group leaders to
Amy and Laurie follow a ranger through the narrow forest path.
ensure that all participants show proof of vaccination
The Gishwati-Mukura is a newly established national park prior to contact with these communities. Alegra has been
not yet open to the public, but the conservation work at communicating with Chocol, Kosua tribe chief and he has
the park started as early as 2008 by the Forest of Hope informed her that as at the time of writing, no one in the
10Nepal, for their expedition along the Great Himalaya
Trail. Their plan is to walk the 1,700km and engage with
remote mountainous communities to explore perceptions
of wellbeing, and strategies for mental resiliency. As it
stands, Liam is in the US and Emma is in the UK and their
expedition is postponed until 2021.
Deep in the jungle of PNG Kosua women gather to support Komedato and help prepare her
for birth. She will give birth in the jungle, on the forest floor and next to a big tree. Big
ancient trees are believed to hold the spirit who watches over the forest and protect all its
inhabitants. They massage her body while making sure that the fire is burning the whole
time, they chant together to call the spirits to be present and assist in the birth.
community has had COVID-19. These communications,
as well as those with local organisations, help her to
Emma in Khövsgöl, Northern Mongolia (photo by Liam Kelly)
understand the state of the health of the communities.
Alegra is keen to learn how the Kosua people navigate Emma is working on her exciting MSc research. She is
through this pandemic using traditional and ecological studying perceptions of multidimensional wellbeing
knowledge, and discovering what practical solutions they of explorer-adventurers. This involves interviewing
will use that fit with their lifestyle and environment. participants and performing qualitative data analysis
which will hopefully generate theories on how
expeditions, extreme goals and an adventurer’s mindset
Rivers Foundation Explorer 2020 – Craig Nuttall can be a transformative and positive benefit for a
Like most expeditions, the Garhwal Mountain Rescue
pleasurable life, a good life and a meaningful life. This
Project has been put on hold until next year due
research has the potential to be beneficial across many
to COVID-19. Craig has used this time to hone his
domains of life from personal approaches to adversity,
mountaineering skills, work on the frontlines of the
overcoming challenge and change, to how businesses
pandemic and used some of the technology and training
operate in tumultuous, modern environments.
he developed for the Garhwal Mountain Rescue Project to
benefit those affected by the pandemic.
Elodie Sandford Explorer 2020 – Tobias Nowlan
Last of the Javan Rhino expedition has, like almost
everything else in the world apart from the notorious
virus, been put on hold for now. At the time of writing,
Indonesia is still refusing entry from all foreign nationals
as COVID-19 sets in across the country. The last few
months have provided quite a different experience for
Toby. From working in one of the world’s most pristine
jungles; life has inevitably never felt smaller, with work
and home life combined into a small space in central
Bristol. But the beautiful Spring we’ve had in the UK and
more garden time than ever has meant lockdown for Toby
hasn’t been all bad! Many national parks around the world
Stethogram Stethoscope (photo by Nate Edwards) have noticed a spike in poaching activity with the reduced
His time caring for patients with COVID-19 has enabled surveillance in place during lockdowns and periods of
him to reflect on just how important healthcare access is restricted travel. Other remote locations, however, have
for everyone and this has reinforced the reason why he enjoyed reduced disturbance during this unprecedented
set out on the Garhwal Mountain Rescue Project in the time, and Toby is very much hoping Ujung Kulon National
first place. He has been designing a 3D printed stethoscope Park and its rhino residents (the species’ only remaining
that is capable of recording heart and lung sounds. individuals) are among them. He will be closely following
His original plan was to use it in India to help improve changes in guidelines from the UK and Indonesian
access to healthcare by transmitting these recordings governments in order to continue the expedition as before.
to a cardiologist or a pulmonologist for expert review, Toby is hoping the expedition will be able to launch in
eliminating the need for in-person evaluation. He was able early 2021.
to change the design of the stethoscope so it would allow
emergency room providers and nurses to wear PPE and
assess their patients heart and lungs from a safe distance.
His Stethogram stethoscope (which is open source and
costs less than US $20 – Stethogram App is available for
free in the Apple app store. Search Stethogram on Github.
com for STL files for 3D printing) is being used all over the
world on the frontlines of the pandemic.
Sir Charles Blois Explorer 2020 – Emma Miller
In a COVID-19 free world, Emma and her partner Liam
would be getting ready to head back to their second home
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 11SES Explorer 2020 – Iris Berger some of the ‘’the finest schematic paintings in the corpus
Iris and her team are currently juggling the final month of Maya cave paintings’’ (Stone, 1995).
of their MSc dissertations with preparations for their
Guinea Moyen-Bafing Lion Project expedition. Planning COVID-19 has caused a slight delay to the communication
an expedition during these uncertain times poses a major plan, however the team has used the virtual world to their
challenge, but the team are attempting to adapt. Whilst it advantage and have been busy sharing findings virtually
will not be possible to start fieldwork before November online and in the press. The books and a film of the
2021, the team is assessing which of the expedition’s expedition are currently in post-production, both of which
objectives could be achieved or progressed remotely. will hopefully be released in 2021. Charlotte remains in
Camera trap footage already obtained by the team’s communication with the community and intends to return
Guinean collaborators will be used to estimate leopard when travel restrictions are eased to deliver the final
density and lion habitat suitability within some areas of books. You can keep updated with Charlotte at
Moyen-Bafing National Park. These prior analyses will www.charlotteaustwick.co.uk.
hopefully allow the team to target their own fieldwork
efforts more efficiently, and thus put their now potentially Sir Charles Blois Explorer 2019 – Ram Alluri
restricted time in Guinea to best use. Ram’s was an ambitious film expedition, traversing a
landscape that rose steeply from 100m above sea level to
almost 7,000m. The communities Ram met were as diverse
as the landscape itself. The Nyishis are the largest tribe in
Arunachal Pradesh, and as a consequence run the politics
of the state. This was evident in Pakke Tiger Reserve,
located in the lower reaches near Nyishi populated lands.
Here Ram saw a reserve run like a military institution
by the forest department, where people participating
in hunting or logging have been shot on sight in the
past. Such a hard-line approach has ensured fantastic
protection of the forests and wildlife in the short run, but
has also created enormous friction between the forest
department and communities living outside the reserve.
Iris in Sumatra with a machete cut through forest.
A side effect of COVID-19 restrictions has been the
dramatic rise of online events and conferences. Iris has
been involved with a variety of these, including speaking
at the Global Biodiversity Festival about her previous
expedition to an unexplored forest in Sumatra. Iris will
start her PhD at Cambridge University in January 2021,
investigating how best to reconcile agriculture with the
conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services
(exemplified by pollination) in India.
Rivers Foundation Explorer 2019 – Charlotte
Austwick
Ram’s scientific team in Dibang Valley.
In contrast, the small community of Bugun people living
in the valleys outside the mountainous Eaglenest Wildlife
Sanctuary have given their own land to create the
Singchung Bugun Village Community Reserve (SBVCR) to
protect a critically endangered endemic bird found only
in their community land, the Bugun Liocichla, of which
only 20 pairs have ever been recorded. Here Ram noticed
a different relationship between the forest department
and the community, one that is positive. Away to the
north, the Idu Mishimis live near the border with China.
Their hunting practices continue unabated, especially the
older generation, with only their cultural taboos keeping
Charlotte helping Maya children with their stories. them from hunting certain species to extinction. Three
The Voices of the Maya expedition, deep in the untouched different regions, three distinct ways of interacting with
Central American jungle, was successfully completed nature – is the crux of the film that is constantly evolving.
in February 2020, with the main aim being to create One important community that COVID-19 has prevented
educational resources in Mopan and Q’eqchi’ Maya, which the team from filming is the Sherdukpen community,
are two indigenous languages currently on the brink of traditional hunters that live around Eaglenest. As all
extinction. During their time on expedition, the team indigenous tribes are known to be more prone to viruses
explored several caves in the surrounding forests. Some than mainlanders like Ram, and most of the team are from
were part of an underground water system, whilst others these communities, it was collectively decided to halt the
were drier and had preserved artefacts by locking them in filming process until the situation in India, which seems to
sparkling calcite shells. An extremely rare obsidian blade be uncontrollable at the moment, becomes safer.
was discovered. This blade was most likely used in Ancient
Maya bloodletting rituals and was depicted in some Gough Explorer 2019 – Scott Pallett
equally rare Ancient Maya cave paintings, dating back to For many, much of this year has been dominated by the
approximately 700AD, and which have been described as unprecedented situation presented by COVID-19. Scott was
12redeployed early on to support the pandemic’s Incident populated island, far away from everywhere else! She has
Control cell in west London hospitals. For the majority taken-up gardening and her first tomatoes have started
of the last six months, Scott has focused on research of coming in. This year has been about appreciating all
the immune response to COVID-19, supporting both large the little things. She has been applying for lots of jobs,
government projects and helping to lead on antibody fellowships, internships, anything and everything that she
diagnostics as part of collaborations with Imperial College might be qualified for, with a special interest in conjuring-
London and Great Ormond Street Hospital. up ways she can get back to Timor-Leste to continue her
research.
While attending the official celebration for the 20th
anniversary of the UN Independence Referendum for
Timor-Leste, she wanted to get a higher vantage point
to get some pictures. Tasi Tolu is a unique brackish lake
system to the west of Dili, the capital, that is surrounded by
hills. As she was hiking up these hills, she ran straight into
a group of soldiers who were clearly on security stakeout
detail for the festivities. She quickly pulled up her camera
and attempted to ask in her broken Tetun if she could
continue up and take some pictures. It all worked out well
in the end, the soldiers wanted a picture with her!
Scott (left) and the team SARS-CoV-2.
When testing availability was somewhat restricted in Neville Shulman Explorers 2018 – Eilidh Munro and
March and April, Scott successfully worked on negotiating Bethan John
a supply bridge with the People’s Republic of China and After a year of screenings across film festivals in Europe,
helped to implement a testing programme available to the UK, the USA, South America and Asia, Eilidh and
NHS healthcare workers and care homes throughout Bethan’s Voices on the Road documentary was launched
London. Research was spearheaded by the infectious online in August 2020. Since then, it has received
diseases team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where international media coverage from the likes of Mongabay
he was deployed as support, and who are now considered and The Ecologist, as well as support from industry
to be leaders in the field, and his work has since been leaders, NGOs and conservation organisations across
widely published in academic journals. In addition to South America. You can watch the documentary here:
demonstrating the benefits and limitations of antibody https://vimeo.com/442346107
kits, as an adjunct to testing strategies to help combat the
spread of COVID-19, Scott and colleagues have gone on to
add substantially to characterising and understanding the
humoral immune response and work continues ahead of
potential future waves of infection.
Prior to COVID-19 at the start of the year, Scott went out
to Australia during the latter stages of the extensive bush
fires to assist with the re-siting efforts for rescued koala to
unaffected areas.
Elodie Sandford Explorer 2019 – Catherine Kim
Catherine has been keeping track of how COVID-19 in
Timor-Leste is evolving. The government closed the
borders which largely minimised transmission in-country. As well as launching the film online, Eilidh and Bethan
Like much of the world, the economic and social aspects have partnered with Peruvian biologist, Juriko Rupay, to
of COVID-19 will likely have long lasting effects in Timor- launch an Impact Campaign featuring the documentary,
Leste. In other coral reef regions, the absence of tourism and with the generous support of the IUCN NL and the
dollars has led to more intensive fishing. Otter Foundation. This project has been postponed due to
COVID-19. However, the team plans to return to Peru and
Bolivia to screen the documentary in local communities,
host workshops around its key themes, run educational
workshops in schools, and to run Participatory Media
workshops in communities. In addition to this, the team
is hoping to build a network of organisations who are
interested in the themes being raised by the film, and to
facilitate discussion about how it could have an on-the-
ground impact. You can find out more about the Impact
Campaign by visiting: https://www.voicesontheroadfilm.
com/impact. Whilst travel plans have been postponed, the
team is running online Q&As and talks in both English and
Spanish.
Catherine and Timorese soldier, in the hills surrounding Dili while attending the 20th
anniversary of the UN Independence Referendum.
Gough Explorers 2018 – Merlin Hetherington and
Catherine returned to Australia to work on PhD thesis Alex McMaster
revisions just as the world was fully realising the Since completing the Arclight Tandem Africa expedition in
seriousness of COVID-19. Australia is arguably one of the 2019, Merlin and Alex headed back to university to finish
best places to be in a global pandemic – a giant, sparsely
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 13their respective degrees – Alex to St Andrews where he supporter Neville Shulman, which enabled the making of a
had one year left of his course in biology and geography; short film on the honey collecting practice of the Jarawa.
and Merlin to London where he has continued his medical The Jarawas, numbering approximately 550+ individuals,
studies. The legacy of the project has continued, and
they coordinated the delivery of several hundred more
Arclight devices to institutions in Sudan and Egypt, that
will be used to train the next cohort of medical students
through the partnerships that they established along their
journey. Finishing his degree, Alex has moved to Greece
for a few months where he is working as a diver with
a marine conservation organisation. He has also been
creating a podcast (‘My Natural Habitat’) during lockdown,
which explores the interaction of humans and the natural
environment. Merlin is continuing his studies in London,
where he’s kept the endurance energy going by rowing
and heading to the climbing gym.
Anirban documenting the pig hunting practise of the Jawara.
live in the forests along the western coast of the South
and Middle Andaman Islands in an area designated as the
Jarawa Tribal Reserve. They are one of the last remaining
hunter-gatherer communities in the world. The Andaman
Wild Pig (Sus scrofa andamanensis) is a staple protein
supplement, that is easily available. However, hunting it
is a strenuous process, requiring the preparation of bows,
arrows and arrowheads before tracking and hunting
the pigs in the dense undergrowth. This expedition
documented, for the first time, the entire story of the
hunt – starting with the preparation of the bow from
suitable trees available in the forest, beating into shape
Arclight training in Sudan with Merlin and Alex. and attaching the arrowheads to the shaft, before moving
SES Explorer 2018 – Eleanor Drinkwater to tracking and hunting the pig, and finally preparing it for
Following on from her project on the trade in titan beetles, consumption. This film also looks at the various challenges
Eleanor has wanted to delve deeper and learn more about the communities are facing especially from developmental
the illegal trade in wildlife. An opportunity presented projects and interactions with the settler communities. The
itself in January when she was fortunate enough to start project is nearing completion and will be finished once
work for an NGO which specialises in studying the trade COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
in wildlife. She had no idea just how topical the wildlife
trade was about to become. Over the past months she has Rivers Foundation Explorer 2016 – Stephen Spencer
learned much. She has been shocked by the sheer scale COVID-19 sadly prevented MADEX 2020 from going
of this illegal trade, which includes reports of seizures ahead. Having recruited MSc students and their academic
of rare animal parts that are so large they are measured supervisors from both London and Liverpool Schools of
by the tonne. She has, however, also been amazed by Tropical Medicine (LSHTM & LSTM), the plans were to
the dedication and passion of the organisations and expand the health education programme district wide in
individuals who work to prevent this trade. They are an order to reach over 250,000 children. The pandemic has
amazingly diverse and international group who have meant the MADEX team has had to adapt its aims. They
given Eleanor hope that there’s a chance for things to have used the time not spent planning expeditions by
change. preparing academic papers and becoming a UK registered
charity. Liaising with both LSTHM and LSTM to recruit
more MSc students and doctors in Madagascar, they are
shifting focus towards capacity building in Madagascar,
whereby future research, treatment and education
expeditions will be led, coordinated and directed by a
Malagasy team. This is a great opportunity for the MADEX
team to plan to make healthcare changes in hard-to-reach
and remote areas of Madagascar more sustainable.
Eleanor is completing a PhD on invertebrates while working on the illegal wildife trade.
Neville Shulman Explorer 2017 – Anirban Dutta
Gupta
Continuing with his work of archiving the cultural
material and intangible heritage of the Jarawa community,
Anirban undertook a challenging expedition to record
and document the pig hunting practice of the Jarawa
community. This is in continuation of the work initiated
with the support of SES and Anirban’s SES Explorer Award 2019 MADEX Team after three research days in Marofatsy, before trekking to Vohidamba.
14Neville Shulman Explorer 2019 Reza Pakravan
(Urua River, Amazon)
Gough Explorers 2018 Merlin Hetherington and Alex McMaster
(Arclight Tandem Africa, Tanzania)
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 15Top Tips from our Explorers
NEVILLE SHULMAN EXPLORER 2020 – XINYANG
AMY HONG (Gishwati-Mukura: The
Emerging National Park)
Most animals are not active during the day, so the
best time to catch wildlife in action is at dawn or
dusk, or at night with a headlight. Most animals
follow specific foraging paths so don’t worry if
you’ve missed a shot, just wait patiently and you
might see them again in a few days.
GOUGH EXPLORER 2020 – ALEGRA
ALLY (The 2020 Passage)
Know the local culture. Learn as
much as you can, such as a few
words in the local language and
develop cultural sensitivities, which
will help build authentic relationships
and maintain respectful and more
tolerant communications.
SIR CHARLES BLOIS EXPLORER 2020 – EMMA MILLER
(Wellbeing and Resilience on the Himalaya Trail)
As a positive psychology coach on expedition, Emma prioritises wellbeing for
herself, her teammates and clients and uses this multidimensional wellbeing
check-in.
ENVIRONMENT: Become grounded. Take one minute to notice what is around
you. Feel it, see it, smell it. What is around you that you didn’t notice before?
Savour the beauty of the moment and your surroundings.
BREATH: Close your eyes and become aware of your breathing. Take three
long, deep and slow breaths.
THOUGHTS: Turn your attention to your thoughts. What can you let go of?
Don’t become attached, let them drift by.
EMOTIONS: What emotions are you feeling? How would you describe them?
Acknowledge them and allow yourself to be ok with their presence.
BODY: What sensations are you feeling in your body? Are you holding any
tension? What can you let go of? Thank your body for being strong and
supporting you throughout the day.
INTERPERSONAL: How am I showing up? (for my team/goal/environment),
what values/strengths/interests do I want to use right now?
16RIVERS FOUNDATION EXPLORER 2020 – CRAIG NUTTALL Keep moving forward with your focus on the goal, and
a positive attitude. More times than not, you will reach
(Garhwal Mountain Rescue Project) your destination.
ELODIE SANDFORD EXPLORER 2020 –
TOBIAS NOWLAN (Last of the Javan
Rhino)
When working in any remote location,
ensure you have up-to-date first aid
training that will be relevant to your chosen
destination. This should include tailoring
your first aid kit to risks that are specific
to this location. In the tropical lowland
rainforest, this means bulking up on anything
to help mitigate against the high infection
risk – including plenty of antibiotic cream
and iodine spray!
SES Explorer 2020 – IRIS BERGER (Moyen-Bafing Lion
Project)
The potential impacts of your expedition should always be carefully
evaluated. Even minor actions can have potentially negative, long-term
consequences for your target species or ecosystem and the communities
involved with or affected by your conservation efforts.
As a western researcher arriving in Africa, you cannot ignore
the historical (and continuing) exploitation of the continent, the
underrepresentation of locals within the conservation industry, or the
extreme economic disparities that you will almost certainly encounter,
possibly even within your immediate team.
Therefore, be humble, do not assume you know better, and ensure that
you are strongly collaborating with local institutions and people – their
importance cannot be overstated. Local researchers, students, and
conservationists should not just assist your team, they should be members
of it – holding key roles if possible. Importantly, think about what you can
give back, both in the short-term and long-term.
Even if you are simply collecting data you are still extracting “value” from
a region. What will you offer in return?
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 17Sir Charles Blois Explorer 2020 Emma Miller visiting with the Tsaatan people;
one of the last reindeer herding communities in the world (Khövsgöl, Northern Mongolia, August 2018)
Neville Shulman Explorer 2019 Reza Pakravan
(Munduruku, Amazon)
18Vanessa O’Brien
SES Honorary Advisory Board member
reaches the bottom of the World
WHERE?
Challenger Deep (CD) is the deepest point of the ocean, 10,925 meters, located 200 miles southwest of
Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
WHY?
Vanessa first became interested in CD after meeting Don Walsh, who, with Jacques Piccard became the
first man to reach CD in 1960. One of Don’s regrets was that ‘no one followed him’. It would take
James Cameron 52 years to reach CD in 2012 and neither of their submersibles were capable
of a second dive. Eight tons of pressure made any expedition, manned or unmanned,
seemingly impossible.
HOW?
Vanessa believes in setting intentions, as the universe can conspire in unusual ways. She
ended many interviews saying she would like to dive to CD, despite no vehicle in
existence and a price tag she couldn’t afford. She received a phone call from a retired
Canadian submariner early in January 2020, who suggested she contact Victor
Vescovo. Victor had not only built a submersible called Limiting Factor, but he
become the third person to reach CD in 2019. Ironically, she had also met Victor,
seven years prior, at an American Alpine Club event that honoured them
both for their Seven Summits. Turns out Victor was interested in
continuing ocean research.
WHEN?
By March, Vanessa started training in bathymetry and learning how
to operate an external robotic arm to collect rock samples. Victor
established a partnership with NOAA to confirm survey data, and
she reached out to the Natural History Museum (NHM) to
provide water samples. NHM scientists had discovered
single cell organisms were unable to grow their shells due to
ocean acidification when comparing water samples today
versus 150 years ago. Today’s samples could be the next
comparison 150 years
from now.
WHAT?
June 2020 saw their expedition take 11 hours –
4 to descend, 3 to survey the bottom, and 4
TOP: Water Samples Taken at 10,916 meters for NHM
(photo by Durdana Ansari) to ascend. Just one long summit. Similar to
BOTTOM: Vanessa and Victor approach the bottom mountaineering in Vanessa’s book: both Vanessa giving ‘Thumbs Up‘ after her dive
(photo by Enrique Alvarez)
(screenshot by Vanessa)
took place in the dark, neither were
natural environments to breathe in,
both got you wet (precipitation or
condensation), both were cramped
(tent or sub), both require a fixed
position (standing or sitting),
were cold, made
communications difficult
(sub / ship vs person /
base), required extreme
focus (looking for
objects vs avoiding
crevasses /
avalanches),
and had a goal
(top / return
vs bottom /
return).
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 19Books, Books, Books...
Levison Wood – THE LAST GIANTS
SES Honorary Advisory Board member Levison is an award-winning author,
explorer and photographer, whose books and documentaries have won
critical acclaim around the world. Levison is the author of seven books to date,
including Walking the Nile, Walking the Americas and Walking the Himalayas.
Levison’s passion for adventure and discovering more about indigenous
ways of life has taken him to over 100 countries. He served for several years
as an Officer in the British Parachute Regiment, including an operational
deployment to Afghanistan, where he fought Taliban insurgents in Helmand.
He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Explorers
Club and Visiting Fellow at Cass Business School. He has presented several
documentaries, which have aired around the world, including ‘Arabia with
Levison Wood’, and his latest series ‘Walking with Elephants’, recounts a trek
across Botswana following a herd of elephants to the Okavango Delta. Levison
is a passionate conservationist and an ambassador for the charity The Tusk
Trust.
This book comes at a critical time. Fifty years ago, Africa was home to just
over 1.3 million elephants, but by 1990 the number had halved. Meanwhile in
the span of a lifetime, the human population has more than doubled. The Last
Giants explores the rapid decline of one of the world’s favourite animals. Filled
with stories from his own time spent travelling with elephants in Africa, and
documenting their migration in his Channel 4 series, Walking with Elephants,
the book is a passionate wake-up call for this endangered species we take for
granted. The Last Giants was written to inspire us all to act – to learn more and
help save the species from permanent extinction.
Tim Peake – LIMITLESS
In fascinating and personal detail, and based on exclusive diaries and audio
recordings from his mission, SES Honorary Advisory Board member Tim takes
readers closer than ever before to experience what life in space is really like:
the sacrifice that astronauts make in being apart from their families, the sights,
the smells, the fear, the exhilaration and the deep and abiding wonder of the
view from space. Limitless is a book about the power of following our dreams –
however unlikely they may seem – and of striving to reach our potential, even
when we might not believe in it ourselves.
Limitless also charts Tim’s surprising road to becoming an astronaut, from a
shy and unassuming boy from Chichester who had a passion for flight, to a
young British Army officer, Apache helicopter pilot, flight instructor and test
pilot who served around the world. Tim’s extensive 18-year career in the army
included the command of a platoon of soldiers in Northern Ireland during the
Troubles, deployment in Bosnia, and flying multiple high-risk sorties as a test
pilot, including operations in Afghanistan.
After he was selected by the European Space agency from over 8,000
candidates, Tim undertook six years of training to be an astronaut, tested
physically, psychologically, emotionally and intellectually – from learning
Russian language in St Petersburg to coping with the darkness and
claustrophobia of living for days in caves in Sardinia and under the ocean off
the United States.
20All
the Books
are available
to buy from
Louis Rudd – ENDURANCE
SES Explorer of the Year 2019 Captain Louis Rudd was a Royal Marine
all good
Commando for six years before joining the SAS, in which he served for over
two decades. He is a veteran of military campaigns in Northern Ireland,
bookstores.
Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq and has also taken part in four major polar
expeditions. His first, the Scott–Amundsen Centenary Race Expedition,
involved two teams of soldiers who followed the same routes taken a
hundred years earlier by the two greatest explorers of their era. He then led
the SPEAR17 Expedition for which he was awarded an MBE. He led another
team traversing Greenland in 2018, and later that year he made history as
the first Briton ever to complete a solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica.
Endurance is his first book.
In 2018 Louis walked into the history books when he finished a solo,
unsupported crossing of Antarctica, pulling a 130kg sledge laden with
his supplies for more than 900 miles. Louis’ skills had been honed in the
SAS, on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, but now – in the most hostile
environment on earth – they would be tested like never before. Alone on
the ice, Louis battled through whiteouts, 50 mph gales and temperatures
of -40 degrees Celsius. It would take all his mental strength to survive. In
this gripping book, Louis reveals how a thirst for adventure saw him join
the Royal Marines at sixteen and then pass the SAS selection course at only
twenty-two. He describes his first gruelling polar expedition with legendary
explorer Lieutenant Colonel Henry Worsley in 2011 and the leadership
challenges he faced a few years later when he led a team of Army Reservists
across Antarctica. And he takes us with him step by painful step as he
pushes himself to the limit, travelling alone in 2018 on his epic trek across
the continent’s treacherous ice fields and mountains. With edge-of-the-
seat storytelling, Endurance is an awe-inspiring account of courage and
resilience by a remarkable man.
Mark Beaumont – ENDURANCE: HOW TO CYCLE FURTHER
SES Honorary Advisory Board member Mark is a British long-distance
cyclist, broadcaster and author. He holds the record for cycling round the
world, completing his 18,000-mile route on 18 September 2017, having
taken less than 79 days. It was this challenge that gained him SES Lifetime
Achievement 2018.
We aren’t all built to race Alpine climbs like a Tour de France winner or
produce the explosive power of a track sprinting Olympian – but we can
endure. No matter what your experience or aspirations, with the right
belief systems, planning and training, your body has the ability to go
further than your mind believes is possible. Written by Mark together with
his record-breaking around-the-world ride performance manager and
highly respected elite sports physiotherapist, Laura Penhaul, Endurance
distills Mark’s 25 years of endurance riding experience into 244 pages to
help you turn a 20 miler into a century, a century into a coast to coast, and a
continental crossing into a circumnavigation of the world.
Together, Mark and Laura combine experience with science, drawing on
further expertise from across the worlds of ultra-cycling, performance
sport and sports science, sleep, nutrition and more to deliver a robust and
effective lens through which to help you conquer any endurance challenge.
Filled with practical and hard-won advice, insights, and expertise,
Endurance covers everything from planning and logistics, psychology and
the mindset to endure, body and bike set-up, the science of endurance, as
well as training and nutrition secrets, and much, much more.
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER > 2020 Magazine 21You can also read
