We were thrilled to welcome intrepid explorer Tom Avery to deliver the latest talk in our Kingham Hill Lecture Series this week.
A pioneering polar adventurer, climber and ski mountaineer, Tom is one of the UK's foremost explorers. He has led trailblazing expeditions to all seven continents, but is perhaps best-known for his record-breaking polar journeys. The Sunday Times has said of him: "Avery is shaping up to join the ranks of such British immortals as Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dame Ellen MacArthur".
Tom began his talk by explaining that for him, the most exciting part of his experiences has been the exploration of new places and taking on challenges that push him to achieve more than he might initially have thought possible.
Tom’s talk focussed on the completion of the polar trilogy; full-length South and North Pole expeditions and a coast-to-coast crossing of Greenland.
The watching audience of pupils, parents and staff were captivated by his account of his adventures, including the fact that he holds two Guinness World Records; the fastest surface journey to the North Pole and the fastest crossing of Greenland.
Perhaps the most gripping part of his talk was when he was relating the story of his team’s journey to the North Pole. The four-man, one-woman, sixteen-dog team set themselves the challenge of retracing the footsteps of Commander Robert E. Peary and Matthew Henson from Cape Columbia on the north coast of Canada to the North Pole and try to match or better their disputed 1909 journey time of 37 days and 2 hours. In preparation for the trip the team made replica wooden sleds and trained with teams of Eskimo dogs, so that they could replicate the journey as faithfully as possible.
It was truly inspirational to listen to Tom talk about the gruelling, and often dangerous, adventure, which ended on 26th April 2005, after 36 days and 22 hours, beating Peary’s time by just four hours. In the process the team became the fastest in history to reach the North Pole – a record which still stands to this day.
Tom had brought with him a pair of binoculars, once owned by Robert Pearey which had been given to him by Pearey’s grandson following the completion of the expedition. The binoculars were the actual ones that Pearey had used on his own North Pole journey and it was wonderful for those present to have the chance to see and hold an object with such a rich history.
Tom’s main message to our pupils was that whatever your dreams and passions are, you should just go for it. He ended his talk with a quote from the novelist, Mark Twain:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ”