About Ben
'The next Sir Ranulph Fiennes.'
The Times, February 2004
Ben Saunders is a record-breaking long-distance skier, with three North Pole expeditions under his belt. He is the youngest to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. Since 2001, Ben has skied more than 2,500km (1,500 miles) in the high Arctic, which he recently worked out equates to two percent of his entire life living in a tent. Ben is currently preparing for two groundbreaking polar expeditions in 2009: the first, starting late March, is an expedition to the geographic North Pole with the aim of setting a speed record. Unlike the current record holders (who used professional guides, dogsleds and multiple air drops of food), Ben aims to achieve this alone, unsupported and on foot.
The second project, SOUTH (starting late October) will be the first return journey to the South Pole on foot; from Berkner Island at the edge of Antarctica, to the South Pole, and back to the coast. At 1,800 miles (2,900km) and four months, SOUTH will be the longest unsupported polar journey in history.
Biography
Born in 1977, Ben grew up in Devon, was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and lives in London. He is passionate about the great outdoors and spent four months walking and climbing in the Nepalese Himalayas aged 19, going on to work as an instructor at the John Ridgway School of Adventure in the Scottish Highlands (once billed as 'the UK's toughest management training school'). John was (and is) a role model and mentor of the highest calibre - in 1966 John (along with Chay Blyth) became the first to row across the Atlantic, and went on to break records in non-stop round the world sailing.
Ben is a keen athlete - after an unpromising start ('I was the podgy kid at school that was always picked last for the football team') he discovered mountain biking in his teens and went on to race bikes on and off-road at national level. He has run several marathons (New York is his favourite course and 3:32 3:02 2:55 is his best time to date), two ultramarathons, and aims to start competing in Ironman-distance triathlons before too long.
When he's not pulling a sledge, Ben divides his time between planning and training for his next expedition, and earning a crust as one of the UK's leading motivational speakers. He is an Ambassador for The Prince's Trust, an Honorary Vice-President of the Geographical Association, and supports the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and the Orchid Cancer Appeal.
Ben in Print
In 2006 Ben wrote a chapter (and the introduction) for the Lonely Planet Guide to The Middle of Nowhere and contributed to Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century. His own book is due to come out in 2009.
Ben is an Ambassador for the Prince's Trust, a UK charity that helps young people overcome barriers and get their lives working.
Ben is working with Edge to produce and promote Ice Edge, a UK-wide schools competition that aims to inspire and motivate young people to come up with ideas on how better to preserve our planet and focus on low-technology and real-world solutions to environmental challenges.
Ben is a Patron of BSES Expeditions, a youth development charity that organises challenging scientific expeditions to remote, wild environments. They aim to develop the confidence, teamwork, leadership and spirit of adventure and exploration of all expedition members.
Ben is an Honorary Vice-President of the Geographical Association (GA). The GA's mission is to further the teaching of geography and to communicate the value of learning geography for all. The GA has around 7,000 members, including teachers in primary and secondary schools and further education, academic geographers, universities and teacher educators and trainers.
