The Expeditions
No one forgets an inspirational teacher!
On each of the two completed expeditions there have been four teachers. They experienced immense challenges, mental and physical, in some of the most dangerous and extreme environments in the world.
On each of the two completed expeditions there have been four teachers. They experienced immense challenges, mental and physical, in some of the most dangerous and extreme environments in the world.
They challenged themselves by doing useful projects which they converted later into exciting lessons for their students, helping them to meet the needs of the National Curriculum.
Whilst "on the ice" they were able to communicate with their students back in school by email, answering their students' questions. They were also kept in touch with a daily blog, and, in some cases they were able to talk to their students via satellite phone.
FFAE2009 crossed the Greenland Icecap between 66 and 67 deg North, travelling with two dog sledge teams.Turns were taken to drive the dogs under the supervision of the Inuit dog mushers. Otherwise the rest of the team skied. This way of travelling meant that the teachers were able each day to spend time carrying out their science projects.
The two leaders from Bull Precision Expeditions (BPE) and four teachers left the UK on 1st May 2009 flying via Reykjavik to Kulusuk and Ammassalik on the east coast of Greenland. Whilst staying in Ammassalik, waiting to fly by helicopter up on the ice cap, they undertook a teaching project in the local school.
The two leaders from Bull Precision Expeditions (BPE) and four teachers left the UK on 1st May 2009 flying via Reykjavik to Kulusuk and Ammassalik on the east coast of Greenland. Whilst staying in Ammassalik, waiting to fly by helicopter up on the ice cap, they undertook a teaching project in the local school.
The crossing was completed in 20 days, the team being flown off the ice cap on 28th May to Kangerlussuaq, returning to the UK via Iceland and Copenhagen on 2nd June.
FFAE2007 departed the UK on 2nd November 2007 for Punta Arenas, where final final packing and weighing of equipment and food was done, before the flight to the Patriot Hills base of Antarctic Logistic Expeditions "ALE" in a Russian cold war Ilusyian bomber. After a few days acclimatisation and a trial trip to a nearby mountain range, on 16th November they were flown into the Ellsworth mountains to the Henderson Glacier. For the next four weeks the team had to be totally self-sufficient in an area where very few, if any, people had ever been before. New species of lichen with the associated tardigrades were found and collected; the human physiology and glaciology projects were carried out. There were two very strenuous days when a col was crossed with the fully loaded puks to reach the next valley from which they trekked back to Patriot Hills base, 60 km distant. In the final push to meet the expected weather window to fly out of Antarctica, the team covered 32 km in 17 hours. Unfortunately the weather did close in, and there was a frustrating 8 days wait before the flight to Punta Arenas, from where they arrived in the UK just before Christmas.
Who were they? And what did they do?
Read the individual pages for each expedition
Page last modified: 28th Apr 2010 - 15:22:03