Week 1: Loads and loads of carrying loads.

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point of another" - John Dewey

 

 

Up until the 16th of July my goal was to be mentally, physically, fiscally and equipmentarily (it is a word... now) ready to disembark on the adventure for which I had been preparing all this time. Physically I wasn't as close to fighting fit as I had planned, having spent 6 weeks immediately prior to leaving in a sling to treat the broken collarbone which has forced radio silence on the blog for sometime now. Fiscally life kept getting in the way and consequently I left having not technically cleared the entire balance that I owed the Society, They were good enough to permit me to go on the agreement that I pay up on my return. Equipmentarily I was very very lucky indeed to receive generous help from Multimat UK, Asolo, Osprey packs, Mountain Equipment and Rab to get me off on my way with all the gear I needed. Reviews on all the gear I got to use will follow But I must take this opportunity to offer them my humble and heartfelt thanks. Finally mental preparedness, Here I feel I was strongest, I had dedicated myself  to preparation in the run up and was ready to meet the challenge head on.

 

 The Ferry from Oksfjord



 

So I left my darling teary at Edinburgh Waverly station, and with a heavy heart and just a pinch of excitement gradually building I headed to the airport to meet the Scottish contingent of the advance party. Advance Party, the term itself felt very weighty and serious. We were the intrepid pioneers breaking a trail and establishing safe havens for the following explorers. A deep sense of the expedition as a whole took over me and I was ready for whatever tremulous dangers the Advance Party might encounter. As it turned out we simply had a couple of pallets of food to organise through and some tents, stoves and rations to carry up to basecamp. But none the less I felt as though I and all my compatriots were now valuable and intrinsic members of the expedition.

 

Big piles of stuff to be carried up.

That is not to say that the weeks work was particularly easy, and what with my fitness being lower than I'd have liked the pace was not as nippy as I and the rest of the team would have liked at times. But the week was at large successful. I got to clap my eyes on a glacier for the first time in my life another tick off my childhood dreams list. Food and tents were carried counted and deposited as needed and everything went of without a hitch....

 



Our walk to base camp included a minor detour through the Somme.

 

 

... almost. After load carrying for a few days, we were given the exciting news that we would be heading up onto the ice cap... to carry loads. None the less, I was eager at the prospect of getting crampons to ice and so we loaded our bags with all that was needed (some more than others - I'm looking at you 'Bill' ;) ) and set off. The first section of climbing was slow going due to the fixed static line, but the prussic tying from previous blogs got put into practice, and then re-practiced and practiced again as we slid our selves up the ropes and around the anchors.

Iced up static lines are really nice and grippy....

 

We then got to the top of the first section and got to sample some of Norway's famous waterfall climbing! sadly someone forgot to point out to whoever had planned this section that Norway's waterfalls are usually climbed in winter. When they are frozen. Not very much wet and flowing. Much excitement was had teetering over the rocks and back onto the ice. we continued up slogging away on the steep ice and battling the slushy snow until we met our chief leader within sight of our campsite for the night. He delivered the disappointing news that one of our party had been injured and we had to return all the way back to our camp from the night before. Given that there was no other option we all set our engines running on the little reserves we had left and after a chilly bottomed wait on the snow below the waterfall headed down to our camp.

 

 

Frost bite of the cheeks is a common problem !

 

By the point we got off the ice and started decending the boulders below I was seriously tired out, clumsy and frustrated at myself and if it wasn't for my gnome being similarly tired and equally hysterical I may have given up and lived there in the boulder field under a rock. Little did I know at this point that I would spend the next 5 weeks relying on My Gnome, My Dwarf and The Home Bird to keep me sane and focused.

 

 

The week was finished with more organising, and a bit of personal time including a chilly did in the melt water river. A long and at times tedious week, but a great insight into the 'behind the scenes' processes that keep and expedition like this going.

Who gets to go on Expedition ? #YET18

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

-Nelson Mandela

Pearls of wisdom from arguably the most Noteable leader  in a generation. A sentiment also that I strongly relate to, I have never been an 'alpha' when it comes to leadership. 'packs on and follow me' just doesn't sound like the sort of thing you are likely to hear from me. Due in part to the way I have always preferred to learn throughout my education career and also by dint of my tendency towards being a softy red socialist I believe that in educating young people a back seat approach allows them to develop best. Of course different situations require different reactions and the ability, confidence and skills to come to the fore and take over in a crisis are paramount for the outdoor leader.

Today I had cause to consider the implications of different leadership styles compared with different types of expedition groups as well as the importance of a support network of professionals guidelines and practices whilst taking groups overseas as I eagerly followed the The Young Explorers Trust's forum on Inclusive expeditions.

The The Young Explorers Trust is an association which encompasses many of the leading youth expedition providers and gives advice and support to explorers, leaders, and corporations as well as offering professional support and good practice evaluations to expedition leaders. They have played a fundamental role in monitoring the progress of British Standard 8848 (named for the height of Everest 8848m) which sets out safe practice guidelines and baseline procedures for all corporations which offer adventurous activities and expeditions outside the UK.

In their Bi-annual forums the The Young Explorers Trust discuss a variety of key issues to do with expedition with young people. From BSI standards to leader selection and development the work of the YET forum is influential and often results in standards being developed to which many companies conform.

This year the topic at the forefront was of Inclusive Expeditions, a title whose brevity belies  the vast range of topics it covers.

Inclusive, good-quality education is a foundation for dynamic and equitable societies. 

- Desmond Tutu

For me Inclusive Expeditions refers to a simple and broad concept that ALL young people should have equal access to the opportunities provided by overseas expeditions. By nature of my past experiences with expeditions and youth development The first aspect of Inclusive expedition which concerns me is the Provision of expeditions that manage to escape the current, seemingly elitist, principles dictated most obviously by the sheer cost of a single expedition. But also more subtly in the manner of the advertisement of international expeditions.

I can certainly say that In my entire time at a state comprehensive in Essex no one ever came to talk to us about the opportunities available on an expedition with companies Like British Exploring or World Challenge or any of the other providers large or small. This is not to blame the companies specifically for this missing information as both rely on members and former explorers passing on the message, and so in a self defeating circle of bad fortune schools like mine, struggle to get 'into the loop' as it were. That said even if a expedition weary furry faced adventurer had arrived at school, no matter how adeptly he could wet out appetites for adventure, would not necessarily have left with a horde of would be explorers following him, pied piper style out of town. Sadly for me at that tender age and I dare say the vast majority  of the other pupils at my school, A £3000-£4000 bill for the expedition not including flights or personal equipment  as is the case with most of the large providers, would have meant plans instantly getting scrapped. Granted fundraising is an acceptable option, Indeed in order to fund my training I am relying heavily on fundraising to cover costs *points to donation widget* ----->> *wink*. However as has been shown with the effect of recent university fee increases on recruitment from low income backgrounds, even in the presence of bursaries, assistance, fundraising or a variety of other payment options, for many people on low incomes the sight of a bill in the £1000's is enough to put them off from even inquiring further.

From Anders 2012 

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-5890.2012.00158.x/pdf)

So in my mind the way to make expeditions more inclusive is a two fold approach;

Increase publicity of all forms of expedition schemes for all young people. Talks in schools, and youth groups should be universal. Essentially the more young people find out about the schemes the more chance we have of including a wider range of backgrounds. talks in SEN schools, At risk youth groups, Youth counselling and development organisations and a variety of other non-standard educational institutions will again increase the inclusivity of expedition.

The second 'fold' of this approach is to develop and build the bursary and funding portfolio and increase awareness of the funding options both in young people who we want to go on expeditions but also in groups and organisations that can help with funding. I believe a set of corporate bursaries to assist young people from low income back grounds to enjoy an expedition would not only benefit those young people but also by developing a more inclusive and therefore diverse group on expedition hopefully widen the perceptions of all members of the group by introducing them to the different pressures and struggles of a variety of lifestyles and backgrounds. 

In essence I believe inclusive expeditions are not just fairer but objectively better for all those in attendance. The development of a 'gap- yah' set (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22294205) is not in my opinion beneficial to society or young people as a whole. We should be sending groups on expedition that are representative of modern British society, a variety of backgrounds, incomes and ethnicities will introduce the young people to a realistic concept of their future, working as part of a group with a myriad different lifestyles and former experiences that one's self can only be a good thing for young people.

Many groups are running 'accessible' or 'outreach' expeditions to assist the most vulnerable or at risk Young people and these all make an invaluable contribution  to the lives of their participants. From specially catered trips for children with special educational needs, or physical disabilities to programmes for At Risk or vulnerable Youths. For example British Exploring's Brilliant Dangoor next generation programme which works with NEET (not in education employment or training) Young people (which I hope to be lucky enough to work on in the future). And so there are now a huge variety of options for young people with difficult issues to over come in terms of  expeditioning.

But we mustn't for get the middle ground. If expeditions are to be truly inclusive we cannot simply run 'normal' programmes for those that can afford the bill and 'outreach' programmes for those with specific issues. We must cater in a fully inclusive manner and make the thrill of expeditions available to everyone. 

Because essentially Expeditions are Excellent, even if you exclude the invaluable personal development aspect  everyone deserves a chance to go to Excellent places and do Excellent things !