It's amazing what you can pack into 24 hours!
Last weekend the B.I.G. North Pole Expedition team gathered from Ireland, France and across the UK at a country hotel off the M40 - they were kind enough to loan us their honeymoon suite for us to spread out with all our expedition equipment in preparation for our April departure for the North Pole.
We thoroughly made ourselves at home and worked through our 'to do' lists making good use of the countryside that surrounds the hotel. Our GPS navigation exercise handily led us to the most perfect English country pub....
It's been one of the most enjoyable expedition training meets - just goes to show that you don't always have to suffer to be productive!
Where is Felicity right now...?
In a clean lab...
As part of the research project I am undertaking at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, I’ve started analysing the snow, ice and water samples collected during the B.I.G. North Pole Expedition training journeys in Iceland and Svalbard.
I will be looking for tiny particles of microplastic in the samples which might have been deposited from the atmosphere. Because the particles are so tiny, the work has to be done in a laboratory space that is as ‘clean’ and free from dust, dirt and other contamination as possible. Everyone entering the lab I am working in must wear protective clothing and the work is carried out in protective hoods through which filtered air is circulated.
Even so, the biggest part of the work at the moment is working out the best methods to use in both collection and analysis of the samples to make sure we get the best results.
The clean lab at the NOC in Southampton where I am starting to look at the snow, ice and water samples collected by the B.I.G. North Pole team in Svalbard and Iceland.
Naming a ship
Almost exactly 22 years to the day ago I sailed through the Lemaire Channel for the first time - one of the most spectacular stretches along the Antarctic Peninsula. Never did I imagine back then, that two decades later I would be in the same channel, with the honour of naming a ship and becoming its Godmother.
The naming of a ship is riven with all sorts of tradition and ceremony. Standing next to the Captain, and so commanded, I cut the ribbon that sent an ice-sculpted magnum smashing onto the hull, pronouncing ‘I name the ship Silver Endeavour. Bless her and all who sail on her.’
It was a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience and I very much look forward to a long and happy association with the Silver Endeavour as her Godmother!
Thanks to all those at Silversea, as well as fellow guests, who made the event so memorable…
On the big screen at a film festival near you!
Holly Morris is the film maker who documented our 2018 Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition. The feature-length film about the expedition - called ‘Exposure’ - has been doing the rounds at film festivals across the US and has been scooping up numerous awards. This month the film makes its international debut with screenings scheduled in the UK and across Europe in the coming weeks.
A full schedule of showings at various festivals worldwide can be found on the film website at www.exposure-film.com
Protesting the destruction of a precious fjord
The pink areas are the planned fish farm arrays. They are VAST. To date there has been a dozen of so pens near Isafjordur and just two pens close to Sudavik. This proposal is an abrupt and colossal introduction of a very dangerous industry in the fjord. What chance does nature stand if it is treated like this?
I would be so grateful if you were able to donate ten minutes of your day to submit an online message to the Icelandic authorities giving your opinion on the proposed plans to fill a wild and special fjord full of whales, seals, puffins and other birdlife with industrial open water fish farms - the type that are known to cause serious ecological harm.
The first line of fish pens installed off the coast of Vigur - there are now two lines of pens with a two-story barge moored between them. A larger array is proposed even closer to the northern shore of Vigur (to the right of the island in the picture). The visual impact alone is devastating but the impact on the wildlife and environment is catastrophic. Vigur is a rare and valuable hotspot for wildlife, particularly birds but all the hard work invested here on nature and the environment has been wiped out by the careless introduction of these industrial fish farms.
One large fish farm array has already been put in place in the middle of an important navigation channel for whales and extremely close to the shore of Vigur - an island of international importance as a seabird habitat and dense birdlife including one of Iceland's few remaining puffin colonies that has a stable population. But this is just the start, the authorities plan to install vast fish farm arrays right the way across the entire fjord.
The current public consultation is a rare chance to stop something terrible from happening, we just need to raise our voices. The issue may be geographically located in Iceland but the threat to precious wildlife such as whales, puffins, dolphins and seals make it an international issue on which everyone has a right to comment.
How to submit a protest:
Go to https://www.hafskipulag.is/um/senda-athugasemd/
Fill out the form with your name (nafn) and email address (netfang) - the form is in Icelandic but you can submit comments in English and you do not have to be Icelandic to protest.
The next line asks for 'Skjal sem gerð er athugasemd við' (document code) - here write 'Strandsvæðisskipulag Vestfjaða 2022' or in English characters Strandsvaeðisskipulag Vestfjada 2022.
The last box is for writing your comment (Fyrirspurn).
The opportunity to submit comments ends on September 15th 2022.
If your comment is received you will be sent an acknowledgement by email (which will be in Icelandic). The message says that your comment will be addressed after 15th September if it has prompted an alteration to the proposed plan.
Together we CAN make a difference. Please help us let the authorities know how we feel about this careless and foolhardy destruction of the environment and the wildlife we love.
More information at Save The Djúp
Enjoying the latest book!
It finally arrived! After what feels like a lifetime trying to get this book over the finish line, it was a real moment to actually hold it in my hands as a real physical object!
To get this far has taken huge effort not just by me but by my co-authors - the members of the Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition team - each of whom have written their own story within the book, and of course, our long-suffering publisher Kevin Stevens at Imagine! who had to organise our jumble of content into one engaging narrative.
The book will be released in the US in November and is already available for pre-order on the online sites of all the major book sellers and some independent ones too.
Here’s what the jacket blurb says:
This inspiring account of a diverse all-women's expedition to the North Pole reveals the highs and lows of record-breaking, modern-day exploration.
"A wonderful collaboration both on the Arctic ice and onto the page. Each team members voice arises to offer a view beyond the physical giving us the essence of a unique adventure." - Ann Bancroft, first woman to reach the North Pole.
When British Explorer Felicity Aston put out an open call for women with little to no experience willing to brave the elements on an expedition to the North Pole, she was stunned to have over 1000 applicants. After narrowing it down to ten women from ten different countries--some of whom had never seen snow before--the team spent the next two years training for this unique opportunity. Each member of the team tells part of the story in her own words, chronicling their grueling preparation in Iceland and Oman, the anticipation for the journey, and the terrifying conditions of the Arctic. Set against a backdrop of Arctic pack ice that is thinner, newer, and less stable than ever before due to climate change--the team face the realities of hungry polar bears, extreme temperatures, and the possibility that anything and everything could go wrong at any moment. Aston beautifully weaves each woman's account into the greater expedition narrative, reminding readers of the teamwork needed to complete such a feat. Over 60 stunning photographs illustrate the journey, illuminating the breathtaking landscape along with the joy, pain, and determination of these ten women. Polar Exposure is a powerful celebration of the perseverance of women in science, sports, and exploration that sheds light on all that it takes to reach the top of the world.
Alaska
I was invited as a guest aboard the Queen Elizabeth for a journey from Vancouver along the coast of Alaska as far as the Hubbard Glacier and back.
It included a call into Skagway which I last visited when filming Operation Gold Rush several years ago. Back then we followed the Chilkoot trail retracing the steps of the 100,000 people that stampeded into the Yukon during the goldrush of 1898 and spent some time digging for gold outside Dawson City just as they had done in the Klondike a century before (albeit with a large production team to help!).
It was wonderful to tell the story of that adventure again and brought back lots of very good memories - although I was grateful that this journey involved far more cake and cocktails than the previous visit…
Harvesting eiderdown on Vigur
June is THE month on Vigur. The eiderducks that nest in their thousands all across the island have been sitting on eggs for weeks and the first begin to hatch at the beginning of June. We spotted our first ducklings on 3rd June and soon after, the harvest of the eiderdown began.
The eider sheds its down as it starts to sit on its eggs and uses the down to line the next and keep the eggs warm. But as soon as the eggs hatch, the ducklings don’t need that warmth anymore and that is when we can collect in the eiderdown - but we must time it perfectly. If we take the down too early, we risk the eggs, leave it too late and the down is already lost on the wind and to the sea.
We search the island, section by section, visiting each and every nest - sometimes twice or more! - until the time is perfect. The harvest means long days and a lot of walking up and down in tall grass, scrambling up hillsides and even the odd cliff - but to return home with bulging bags and to see the empty barn slowly fill is very rewarding.
Very grateful to everyone who helps us on Vigur during the harvest - we couldn’t do it without you x
Drangajokull
As a continuation of the snow, ice and water samples gathered in Svalbard last month, this week I went to the northernmost glacier in Iceland - Drangajokull - to collect some complimentary data.
Drangajokull is remote even by Icelandic standards and very seldom visited. We found that the known access route, such as it is, was blocked by snow. Luckily I had the best team with me who were able to find a route up onto the summit of the glacier. It was a long day with weather closing in - but time enough for me to collect a full set of snow and ice samples at two different locations. One happy scientist!
The next day, bad weather prevented us returning to the summit of the glacier but we were able to get into Kaldalon instead, a deep valley that continues into and almost under the glacier above. It was an intimidating place but a real adventure to be able to sample the melt water running through the valley directly from the glacier.
Svalbard
The invasion of Ukraine ended our hopes of being able to ski to the North Pole this year (the logistics needed in order to reach the high latitude Arctic Ocean that we ski on are all operated out of northern Russia and the Ukraine…) so we scrambled to put together a challenging and meaningful last-minute ski expedition in Svalbard that met both our scientific and expedition objectives and fitted within the limitations of having already missed most of the permission deadlines.
Slightly miraculously we pulled off a really great expedition. We skied from Barentsburg to Longyearbyen, experiencing a range of conditions along the way and gathering a really good haul of scientific data including over 80kg of snow, ice and water samples which will be analysed for black carbon by Dr Ulyana Horodyskyj in the US and for microplastics and heavy metals by me at the National Oceanography Centre and University of Southampton in the UK.
Most importantly, we had a really enjoyable time and having visited Svalbard many times over the years, I was extremely grateful to finally have the opportunity to do some skiing at last!
Cairngorm
They've started calling it 'my' curse ... every training big or small I've undertaken for a number of years now has started off with a big storm. Our training trip to Scotland last weekend was no exception. With 70mph gusts predicted, we anchored ourselves well and marvelled at our little tent as it flexed in the wind but stayed miraculously intact. Next morning brought a new problem - all the snow had disappeared! Unwilling to go higher when tougher winds were on the way, we struggled off the mountain dragging our sledges from snow patch to snow patch finding our way across rivers which had become noticeably more significant since the day before with all the melt water....ah well, all good training.
Just back from Antarctica
A wonderful trip to the South Shetland Islands, through the Antarctic Sound to the Danger Islands and south along the Antarctic Peninsula as far as Peterman Island onboard National Geographic Explorer speaking for Lindblad Expeditions. We had several days of the most glorious weather during which it was hard to tear myself away from my favourite spots on deck taking photographs - sleep felt like a poor reason to miss out on drinking in such spectacle!
Feeling thankful
So delighted that the B.I.G. North Pole Expedition due to take place in April 2022 has earned the prestigious support of Rolex. The association adds enormously to the credibility of both the scientific and exploration ambitions of our project and we couldn’t be more thrilled.
Training on an Icelandic Glacier
A wild and stormy week of training with the B.I.G. North Pole Expedition team on Vatnajokull in Iceland - Europe’s largest glacier. We spent three of our five days tentbound in high winds but made good use of the time. We managed to complete our planned science training under the guidance of Dr Ulyana Horodyskyj who joined us, as well as preparing tent and travel routines for the expedition across the Arctic Ocean due to take place next April.
Vatnajokull was truly stunning - what a priviledge to be out there at this time of year - and as we were collected from the glacier at the end of our week the vehicles took us to the summit at Grimsvotn for a real treat…a dreamy view accross the Grimsvotn caldera. Complete bliss.
Huge thanks to everyone who helped and supported us throughout the week. If you’d like to see how we got on, you can follow our progress at www.bignorthpole.com
On Channel 4 News
A short film about our Team Umiaq Iceland to Greenland Sailing expedition was broadcast on Channel 4 News and is now available online.
It is a great little film that makes me ever more excited to see the full documentary currently being edited by film-maker Sophia Scott to be screened at COP26 in Glasgow next month…
…I have such good memories of this expedition. Above all, what a priviledge to travel with such an inspiring group of women - miss you all x
Enjoying a new book release
Life Lessons From Explorers: Learn how to weather life’s storms from history’s greatest explorers (Welbeck, 2021)
I'm so proud of this book!
It was released back in July but after some complex logistics I only just got my hands on a physical copy - and it's beautiful! Huge thanks to Isabel Wilkinson at Welbeck Publishing for producing such a lovely thing.
The book was such a joy to work on. The aim was to delve a little deeper into well-known stories to provide a fresh perspective, but also to shine a spotlight on some lesser-known stories that have the ability to be both surprising and thought-provoking.
Some highlights for me were discovering the extraordinary humanity of Neil Armstrong, learning about happiness and simple joy from Agatha Christie, exploring the incredible life of Olaudah Equiano, taking a look at Amelia Earhart's attitude to risk, breaking down the tragic resilience of David Livingstone...and so much more!
It was also an exciting thrill to be able to select some truly inspiring images to accompany the text, from extracts taken from the field notebooks of Gertrude Bell or Charles Darwin, to snapshots of ground-breaking machines that have carried humans to the depths of the oceans and to the edge of space.
In all, I came away with a new stock of memorable quotes, snatches of profound wisdom and, most of all, a renewed belief in the pure brilliance of human beings and the importance of nurturing our inner explorer.
The book is available across the UK in all the usual places (as a hardback) and will be released in the US later this year. If you have a copy, I'm eager to hear what you thought of it...!
Sailing Iceland to Greenland
Like most of the world, I’ve been stunningly stationary for the past 18 months - so it is taking a little time to adjust to the fact that tomorrow I’ll be setting off on my first journey in such a long time, and it’s a fabulous one!
I’ll be setting sail with Joan Mulloy, Irish competitive ocean offshore sailor; Karen Darke, multi-medal winning paralympian and mountaineer; Sophia Scott, film maker and carbon/reclaimed plastic tech visionary and a team of inspiring, positive action focused leaders and achievers to travel from Iceland to Greenland. We’ll be exploring Prins Christian Sund and the channels behind Cape Farewell at the southern tip of Greenland that have only recently become navigable due to the reduction of ice, investigating plastic and other non-organic pollution and looking at some of the stories of environmental change both past and present in Greenland.
Can’t wait!
You can follow our progress via Twitter @TeamUmiaq or by searching for #TeamUmiaq
On Vigur Island
Vigur is a tiny island - just 2km long - in the far northwest corner of Iceland’s Westfjords. To the north of us is the uninhabited peninsula of Hornstrandir, to the west is Greenland.
Despite being just a stone’s throw from the Arctic Circle, the island feels busy right now - it is overflowing with a joyful chaos of breeding birds, while the fjord around it has been described as ‘whale soup’ due to the number of mostly humpbacks passing through. We’re getting human visitors too and it has been such a pleasure to guide many of them around the island, sharing Vigur’s wonderful history and heritage as well as its wildlife.
While sharing knowledge of this special place, we’re learning too - from visiting scientists, local experts and from the wildlife itself. Slowly we are discovering what we can improve - for us and our visitors, but most importanly for the birds and seals that call this island home.
...in books!
Too many years ago I enjoyed a brilliant trip to San Francisco to speak at the Women's Travel Fest organised by the indomitable Kelly Lewis. In a crowded food truck park in a backstreet of the city it had taken me hours to find, Kelly asked if she could interview me for a book she was working on. Today, that book gets launched into the world and I can't wait to read it. Congratulations Kelly!
"Tell Her She Can’t: Inspiring Stories of Unstoppable Women" by Kelly Lewis shares the true stories of 35 inspirational women who overcame the naysayers to achieve “impossible” dreams — dreams that other people said they couldn't do. Part travel, part memoir, and part interview compendium, these inspiring women share their stories to help readers transform adversity into a springboard for empowerment and success. Available everywhere books are sold on June 29th, 2021 and online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, or at www.TellHerSheCant.com/book.
I was also very honoured to find myself included in ‘Toksvig’s Almanac: An eclectic meander through the historical year’ by sandi Toksvig - a book that has lengthened to infinity the list of historical women that I need to know more about…and which has alerted me to the fact that there is a proper term for friends that like to meet to chat over cake: ‘muffin-walloper’.
Womenomics Science Award 2021
Grateful thanks to Above & Beyond Group, Tine Arentsen Willumsen and the Womenomics Nordic Business Conference for presenting me with The Womenomics Science Award at a virtual award ceremony live from Copenhagen this morning.
The Womenomics Awards are presented to ‘inspiring female role models who are not only leaders in their respective fields but have also used their voice to inspire and engage others’, so I was very humbled to be recognised in this way. I was particularly touched by the citation which spoke of the impact of ‘passing it forward’, inspiring other women and bridging cultural barriers - aspects of my expeditions which have required much extra effort over the years but of which I am very proud.
“Not only are you, personally, making a difference, but you also act as a role model, inspiring the next generation of young women to step into projects that break boundaries and records in their fields, especially in fields previously dominated by men, such as STEM and exploration.”
Thank you for such wonderful recognition - it is hugely motivating.
I was delighted for the opportunity to share something of the recent Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition with the conference as I accepted the award, as well as the history of dramatic change in the Arctic Ocean - the issue which is driving the forthcoming B.I.G. (Before It's Gone) North Pole Expedition in 2022.
Congratulations to fellow award winners Sofie Linde - a figure at the forefront of the Danish #MeToo movement; and, together, the trio behind Europe's leading financial learning platform, Female Invest; Emma Due Bitz, Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen and Camilla Cloëtta Falkenberg. I'm honoured to be in your 2021 cohort.
