In reply to UKC Gear:
I find it terribly frustrating - and I'm sure the other entrants in the competition do as well - that there is so little space in which to describe one's 'adventure'. Trips like these do not lend themselves well to a four line summary!
The main point I'd like to add* is that Jim's and my expedition is being done to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support- a charity which I'm sure everyone in the UK has heard of by now and the majority of people will in some way find a connection with the work they do. I chose to support this charity in particular as just 6 months ago my uncle passed way after a long and painful struggle against stomach cancer, leaving my family in shock and deeply affecting my mother and grandmother. I don't wish to use a sob story to glean votes or donations but I feel it is necessary to point out the original purpose of this expedition.
Secondly though, I want to express both how surprised and humbled I was when I found out that Jim and I, two unlikely expeditionaries, were shortlisted alongside two such amazing competing entries. The "Amputee Adventurers" are quite simply pure inspiration. The number of obstacles they will face and the amount of determination they will need to overcome them is incredible. I truly wish them the best of luck in their adventure and am genuinely humbled to be placed alongside such a bold and inspiring expedition.
And then there's Alastair Humphreys, a man who needs no introduction to those that follow the epic adventures that take place in the world. From cycling 46000 miles around the world to canoeing the Yukon, it seems this man has done it all. In fact, I even wrote to him six months ago to try and learn from his own experience in Iceland (he crossed Iceland in summer last year with photographer Chris Herwig travelling on foot and by inflatable packraft) and received an extremely detailed an informative reply!
But anyway, I'd like to encourage everyone to vote in this competition. For Berghaus to donate so generously simply for the cause of creating a more adventurous world is quite remarkable, and as anyone that has worked on an expedition budget will know, £2,000 is a massive amount of funding to receive and would certainly go a very long way! The idea of that amount of assistance seems quite unreal to Jim and I, who are funding our expedition out of our own pockets and are subsisting on the infamous BBB diet in an attempt to scrounge together enough pennies to buy warm kit!
Thanks for reading, and please register and vote for one of the adventures!
- Ed
*If I may - and any Berghaus representative or moderator that thinks it may be inappropriate based on the rules of the competition or because it involves another organisation (Macmillan) please let me know and I will remove this post...
