TED Talks: Ben Saunders skis to the North Pole

Rating: *****
In this TED talk Ben Saunders, a young British male talks
about a couple of his past and future expeditions. I found this TED talk to be
very interesting as he speaks about all sorts of different aspects of
expeditions that I have never even considered.
Ben starts off with talking about he is one of only four
people who have skied to the North Pole and currently he holds the record of
the youngest British Citizen to ever travel to the North Pole. He then goes on
to compare his journey to events that we all know of such as him skiing the
equivalent of 32 marathons over difficult terrain, filled with massive cliffs
and obstacles.
Ben tells the audience about his first expedition with
another experienced explorer named Pen Hadow. The two of them had quite a rough
start to the trip, for example on their second day they were attacked by a
polar bear, ran out of food to fast and the ice melted early in the season
causing them to have no choice but to turn back. He described how physically
and mentally he was destroyed after he was defeated by the elements of this
expedition, but being such a passionate explorer three years later the wheels
were rolling for another expedition, not only to reach the North Pole from
Russia, but to continue on to Canada.
He finds this expedition to be easier with the comfort of
modern day technology, being able to communicate with the internet, friend and
family back home. His only evidence of reaching the North Pole is a grainy
picture with the Coordinates of the North Pole on his GPS. He talks of how once
again bad luck hit and he was unable to make it to Canada because of weather
conditions.
Ben Saunders seems to show that he is a real explorer in
this TED Talk and I am going to surely be on the lookout for his next trip,
skiing to the South Pole.
Citation: TED Talk, Ben Saunders Skis to the
North Pole, http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_saunders_skis_to_the_north_pole.html