Category: Advice Articles

  • Deserts: Dehydration, Water and Minerals

    When travelling in a desert, you need to take enough water to replace that which your body loses in the hot, dry environment but you will almost certainly have constraints on the amount you can carry. Working out how much you need is both complicated and critical. Some factors influencing water requirements include: The temperature…

  • Navigation at the North Pole

    You might think that if you want to get to the North Pole, you could simply follow your compass which always points north. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Below are a few navigational aids commonly used on the Arctic Ocean. UPDATE: Download a copy of my new ebook How To Get To The North Pole…

  • Routes for Ocean Rowing

    In theory, it is possible to row a boat from any one point to another. However, when it comes to ocean rowing, traffic on the three major oceans has tended to be clustered around certain areas. Below is a summary of the most common routes followed by ocean rowers. [divide] [box type=”note” bg=”#ebebeb” color=”#111″ font=”arial”…

  • Training for a South Pole Expedition

    Skiing to the South Pole is largely a long slog. It does not require running a mile in five minutes or performing forty chin-ups but it does need you to walk for many hours a day pulling a heavy pulk. Below are some basics on how to go about preparing for an expedition to Antarctica.…

  • Cycling Advice from the Record Breakers

    Three World Record breakers – Mark Beaumont, Julian Sayarer and James Bowthorpe – offer their advice to anyone considering their own cycle around the world. [divide] [box type=”note” bg=”#ebebeb” color=”#111″ font=”arial” fontsize=”13″ border=”#a6a6a6″ head=”How To Cycle Around The World” headbg=”#21417b” headcolor=”#fff”] This is an edited excerpt from the How To Cycle Around The World chapter…

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Bivouacing

    THIS ARTICLE: Will explain what exactly is meant by “bivouacing” (sometimes spelled “bivouacking”) and how you might go about “bivvying”. It talks about why you would want to bivi, who does it and and where. It discusses different types of bivi equipment and how to deal with common problems. (Want to buy a bivi bag?…

  • Mike Thornewill on Gloves for Antarctica

    Mike Thornewill has completed coastal expeditions to both the South and North Poles. Here he shares some recommendations on glove combinations for use on South Pole expeditions. [divide] [box type=”note” bg=”#ebebeb” color=”#111″ font=”arial” fontsize=”13″ border=”#a6a6a6″ head=”How To Get To The South Pole” headbg=”#21417b” headcolor=”#fff”] This is an edited excerpt from the How To Get To…

  • Charging Equipment on Expeditions

    If you’re travelling or on an expedition, it’s surprising how quickly your bag can fill up with technological gizmos: camera, mobile phone, video camera, AA and AAA batteries, perhaps a laptop, MP3 player or Kindle too. Worse still is lugging around all of the different chargers and cables, and working out which is which when…

  • How To Buy A Camel

    Jeremy Curl is a record-breaking explorer and photographer who has crossed the Kaisuit and Koroli deserts. In 2008 he traversed 2000km across the Sahara using camels with the Touareg tribes. Here he shares his advice on purchasing camels for a desert expedition. [divide] How To Cross A Desert eBook This article is an edited extract…

  • North vs South: Differences between the Arctic and Antarctica

    Expeditions to the North and South Poles have a lot in common and it can be easy to assume that they are both pretty much the same – cold and white. However, they are very different in a number of ways. Below are some of them. [divide] [box type=”note” bg=”#ebebeb” color=”#111″ font=”arial” fontsize=”13″ border=”#a6a6a6″ head=”How…

  • Advice for Climbing at Altitude

    Walking and climbing on high mountains brings additional risks from the lack of oxygen in the air. Below I have given a very brief description of Altitude Mountain Sickness (AMS) and some basic advice for acclimatisation. [divide] [box type=”note” bg=”#ebebeb” color=”#111″ font=”arial” fontsize=”13″ border=”#a6a6a6″ head=”How To Climb An Unclimbed Mountain” headbg=”#21417b” headcolor=”#fff”] This is an…

  • 10 Tips for a North Pole Expedition

    While researching my book, I contacted lots of different explorers and adventurers and asked them to contribute a top tip in their given field. It was impossible to include all of them in the book however so I will publish some of the extra ones on this website. These ten tips come from Charlie Paton…