INTERVIEWS ON REQUEST
On Friday 7th February at 01.15am British polar explorers Ben Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere re‑wrote history as they completed, for the first time ever, the ill‑fated journey of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's iconic Terra Nova expedition.
Having trekked 1,795 miles across the inhospitable landscape of Antarctica on a return journey to the South Pole and back, Ben and Tarka have achieved the world record for the longest polar journey on foot in history.
The journey, which has taken a total of 105 days (just over ¼ of a year), has pushed the limits of physical and mental fortitude and reset the bar for polar expeditions of the future. Ben and Tarka hauled sleds with a starting weight of almost 200kg each and walked on average 17 miles daily in temperatures as low as ‑46oC wind chill.
Ben Saunders said, "It is almost impossible to comprehend what we have achieved. Completing Scott's Terra Nova expedition has been a life‑long dream and I'm overcome to be standing here at the finish. The journey has been a mammoth undertaking that has tested the bounds of our bodies and minds each and every day."
"At times we found ourselves in dire straits in the intense cold, wind and altitude of the high plateau, weakened by half‑rations and closer to the brink of survival than I had ever anticipated this journey taking us. In that light, both Tarka and I feel a combination of awe and profound respect for the endurance, tenacity and fortitude of Captain Scott and his team, a century ago."
Captain Scott and his men died having covered almost 1,600 miles and this feat has never been surpassed in over 100 years, until today.
Land Rover and Intel are co‑presenting partners of the Scott Expedition and have both played an important role in facilitating the expedition. Land Rover having assisted Ben in his training which has taken him to many inaccessible places across the UK, Europe and Greenland; and Intel provided Ultrabooks powered by its latest 4th generation Intel® CoreTM processor technology allowing Ben and Tarka to share their journey with the world along the way in their daily blog (www.scottexpedition.com/blog). Intel put the technology through its paces over several weeks prior to Ben and Tarka's departure by freezing the Ultrabooks at temperatures of ‑40C.
Mark Cameron Jaguar Land Rover Director, Brand Experience " It has been a true privilege for Land Rover to have played a part in this incredible expedition. I have followed Ben and Tarka each day, trying in some small way to live the experience so vividly and eloquently described through Ben's blog. To complete this journey has taken the very highest levels of physical and mental fortitude as well as a sheer determination to succeed."
"We all need heroes, incredible individuals or teams to provide inspiration to spur us on to achieve better for ourselves and the people around us. There are few feats of any description that exemplify more appropriately the Land Rover mantra of going 'Above and Beyond'. Congratulations Ben and Tarka."
Commenting on Intel's support of the Scott Expedition, Patrick Bliemer, Regional Manager for Intel Northern Europe, said: "We are honoured to have played a small part in this record‑breaking Scott Expedition by Ben and Tarka. We are incredibly proud that Intel technology has helped him share his experiences with audiences around the world ‑ this unprecedented access is the first of its kind and one which will change the future of expeditions to come."
Falcon Scott, grandson of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Robert Swan OBE, first to walk the North and South Pole and 2041 Founder are expedition patrons.
Follow / re‑live the Scott Expedition online:
Website (and blog) ‑ www.scottexpedition.com/blog
YouTube ‑ www.youtube.com/scottexpedition
Twitter ‑ @scottexpedition
Facebook ‑ TheScottExpedition
Instagram ‑ scottexpedition
ENDS
For further information or images of Ben Saunders and the Scott Expedition please visit www.scottexpedition.com or contact Francesca Beeching, E: Francesca@bensaunders.com, M: +44 (0) 7538 951320
For further information on Land Rover log onto www.media.landrover.com or contact:
Lydia Haley
Senior Press Officer
+44 2476 564147/+44 7730 923507
Lhaley1@jaguarlandrover.com
Notes to editors:
- Iconic British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott led the first British team to reach the South Pole on 17 January 1912 on the Terra Nova expedition. He died along with the last of his South Pole team, Dr Edward Wilson and Lieutenant Henry ("Birdie") Bowers, on 29 March 1912 in Antarctica on their return journey.
- Ben Saunders is a pioneering polar explorer. One of only three people in history to have skied solo to the North Pole (a challenge Reinhold Messner called "ten times as dangerous as Everest"). At the age of 26, Ben was the youngest explorer to complete this by more than ten years. He achieved this feat in 2004, in conditions NASA called "the worst since records began", and in doing so set the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. No one has repeated this journey since.
- The Scott Expedition is supported by co‑presenting partners Land Rover and Intel; expedition partners Kcom and Drum‑Cussac; supporting partners Bremont and CF Partners; and supplier partners Mountain Equipment, Field Notes and Hilleberg.