Felicity Aston : Keynote Speaking

Keynote Speaking

Through leading and organising expeditions, Felicity has gained a wealth of experience at creating, training and working with teams, of all varieties, in high-stress situations and has a growing reputation for effective leadership and team management. Drawing on the trials and triumphs of her past expeditions, Felicity uses her presentations to provides a fresh and insightful look at leadership, teamwork, goal-setting and perserverence.

The Commonwealth Expedition

Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition

At 11:09 on 29th December 2009 Felicity stood at the Geographic South Pole at the head of a team of 7 women from 6 different countries having skied 900km in 38 days from the coast of Antarctica. Representing 6 religions and 7 languages they were the the largest and most international team of women ever to make the journey. What made their achievement even more remarkable is that the women had met just 8 months before, many as complete novices. Felicity recounts their journey, not just the physical journey across the ice but also what it took to transform these 7 strangers into such an unconventional but succesfull team.

Racing to the Pole

Whatever our background and situation, each of us has our own personal aspirations but not all of us turn those ambitions into reality. In 2005 Felicity's aspiration was to take part in the Polar Challenge, a 360-mile endurance race across Arctic Canada. Before her 3-women team could start the race they had to become fitter than they ever thought possible, learn new and complex skills, bond together as an efficient unit and raise enough money to cover the race costs. This is not just a tale of adventure but a demonstration of how clear goal-setting, the right attitude and perseverance can help everyone achieve their own life targets.

Living in Antarctica

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to stand in the coldest place on Earth or to live without the sun for months on end? Packed with stunning images, this presentation creates a tangible impression of what it is like to live and work in Antarctica. Sharing her own experiences as the youngest person and one of the only women over-wintering, Felicity describes life on an Antarctic Research Station - the wildlife, the scenery, the science and the drama (including a catastrophic station fire and a medical emergency at the South Pole). Completely isolated from the rest of the world for 7 months of the year, Felicity and her colleagues not only had to overcome the challenges of living in the most hostile environment on Earth but also of living with each other.

Crossing Greenland

The plan was simple. A 560km ski from the western edge of the Greenland ice sheet to the mountains of the east coast. Once there, specially adapted power kites would be used to harness the power of the wind and return across the ice. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas.
This presentation tells the story of the first British women's crossing of the Greenland ice sheet. Dragging food, fuel and equipment and travelling unguided, the Arctic Foxes skied over 1100km in just 31 days. Packed with high drama and nail-biting anecdotes, Felicity describes how the journey turned into a desperate race against time and resulted in a close shave on thin ice...

Siberia: Kate Marsden and the Miracle Herb

In 1891 a young British woman set out on horseback into the remote taiga forest of north-eastern Siberia. Kate Marsden wasn't an explorer but a nurse on a mission to find a herb that was rumoured to cure the most feared disease of the age - leprosy. 115 years later, Felicity and National Geographic journalist, Bernice Notenboom, travelled to Siberia to investigate the story of Kate Marsden. Using photographs and audio clips, Felicity describes their journey along the frozen Vilyuy river and their encounters with biologists, traditional healers, historians and shaman in an attempt to unravel the mystery of Kate Marsden and her miracle herb.

Siberia: Old Man Baikal

Holding one fifth of the planet's fresh water, Lake Baikal is the deepest and oldest lake in the World. Over 1,800 species of flora and fauna living in its waters are found nowhere else on Earth and during winter its surface freezes to form a thick layer of beautifully transparent ice. Hidden deep in the Siberian wilderness, close to the Mongolian border few people live along its 700km length. Those that do, the Buryats, know the lake as Old Man Baikal and revere it as a living being, a centre of shamanic energy. Felicity Aston walked the length of Baikal across the ice, visiting lake shore villages along the way to learn more about the myths of the lake and the Buryat culture. Her talk uses unforgettable images as well as film footage and audio clips to transport her audience to this most ancient of wonders.

felicityaston

explorer . speaker . author

Keynote Speaking