Greenland Ice Sheet

Expeditions

Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition

Arrival at the South Pole

At 23:09 on 29th December 2009, Felicity stood at the Geographic South Pole having successfully led the largest and most international women's team ever to make the 900km ski journey. Her 8-woman team involved members from the Commonwealth countries of Cyprus, Ghana, India, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand, Jamaica and the UK - many of whom had little or no previous expedition experience. The aim of the expedition was to demonstrate the potential of greater inter-cultural understanding, raise awareness of the work and value of the modern Commonwealth and to highlight the achievements of women around the World. The expedition took 38 days, arriving at the Pole in time to celebrate the 60th anniversary year of the Commonwealth. You can listen to the audio blogs recorded by the team during the expedition and see footage on the expedition website: Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition


24th Marathon Des Sables

Felicity and Alex in the Sahara

The Marathon Des Sables is an annual footrace across the Sahara Desert of Southern Morocco. Felicity completed the 2009 edition with her younger sister Alex and two friends. The race covered over 200km in 5 days, including a single 91km non-stop stage. The team carried all their supplies (roughly 10kg of food and equipment) throughout the race apart from water (which is distributed at each checkpoint) and tents (racers sleep in bivouacs set up in the desert). Spectacular sand dunes, rocky plains, mountain scrambles in the pitch black, suncream, salt tablets, blisters, ibruprofen, diclefenac, more blisters, sultry sunrises and at the end of it all, the most well deserved finishers medal in the world.


Baikal 2008: Life On Thin Ice.

On the Lake Baikal ice

Lake Baikal is the oldest and deepest lake in the world. Located in south-eastern Siberia, close to the Mongolian border, the surface of the Lake freezes during the winter months with a thick layer of beautifully transparent ice. For 30 days in Feb / March 2008 Felicity and fellow Arctic Fox team member, Jenny Pugh, walked over 600km along the length of Lake Baikal - the equivalent of walking from London to Inverness. Sleeping in tents on the ice and visiting villages along the lakeshore, Felicity and Jenny learnt more about life on the lake, its place and importance in Buryat culture and the unique flora and fauna that live in its waters. The expedition was awarded the 2008 Wilderness Award, a Mark Clifford Grant and carried WINGS WorldQuest flag #15.
More images and information can be found on the expedition website at
www.siberianfoxes.co.uk


Siberia 2007: Miracle Herbs and Mounted Tribesmen.

The villagers of Sosnovka, Yakutia

Winner of the Polartec Challenge 2007 and supported by the National Geographic Expeditions Council, Felicity and National Geographic journalist, Bernice Notenboom, travelled to the Siberian republic of Sakha in the far north-east of Russia. Following the route of a British nurse, Kate Marsden, who travelled to Sakha in 1891 to search for a medicinal herb, Felicity and Bernice skied over 120km on the frozen Vilyuy River, camping on the river ice and staying in riverside huts used by local fishermen. Marsden is a national hero in Sakha and by meeting with local historians, scientists, traditional Sarkhan healers and shamans Felicity and Bernice were able to unravel many of the mysteries that surround her story.
Listen to an audio clip of the expedition or read Felicity's article
which appeared in Geographical (December 2007).


Arctic Foxes Greenland Quest 2006.

The Arctic Foxes

The Arctic Foxes are the first British women's team to cross the Greenland ice sheet. Hauling food, fuel and equipment in sledges weighing over 50kg, the 4-woman team crossed the inland ice from Kangerlussuaq in the west to the east coast in just 16 days - a distance of 560km. The original plan had been to use power kites to make the return journey to Kangerlussuaq but when the winds failed, the Foxes were forced to return on foot. Remarkably, they completed the 560km distance a day faster on the return leg, skiing a total of 1100km in 31 days.
Read more about the expedition including logs and diaries on the Arctic Foxes website


Yippee! Timberland Iceland Expedition.

The Yippee! Timberland Team

Yippee! is a social group of young people with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) based in West Kent. In September 2005, Felicity led a team including 4 Yippee! members on an adventurous expedition to Iceland. The team overcame mobility problems, chronic fatigue and a wide range of 'hidden-disabilities' to hike across lava fields, camp in the wild, bathe in natural geothermal pools and go ice-climbing on a glacier. The expedition allowed young people with ABI to discover and explore the outdoors for themselves, returning home with a new view of the World around them and of their own capabilities. The expedition was made possible thanks to a Timberland Scholarship and the loan of two Landrover Defenders from The Gordon Foundation.
For more information download the Expedition Report.


Pink Lady PoleCats Polar Challenge 2005.

The Pink Lady PoleCats

The Polar Challenge is an annual 360-mile race across Arctic Canada. Competing teams brave temperatures as low as -40degC, disorientating blizzards and predatory Polar Bears as they ski across the Arctic sea ice in what has been dubbed 'the toughest adventure race in the world'. Sponsored by Pink Lady apples, the PoleCats finished the race in 6th place becoming the first all-female team to complete the Polar Challenge and beating several all-male teams in the process.



Felicity has raced in the Canadian Arctic, led a team of women across the inland ice of Greenland, led a record-making International team to the South Pole, searched for meteorite craters in Quebec, skied along a frozen river in Siberia, traversed the winter ice of Lake Baikal, completed the infamous Marathon Des Sables across the Moroccan Sahara and spent three years living and working in the Antarctic.