The Last Great First
Your Next Adventure with The Last Great First Explorers
Former Scouts and polar explorers Dr Gareth Andrews and Dr Richard Stephenson continue their preparations for their unsupported full coast to coast ski crossing of Antarctica.
When Scouting ambassadors Gareth & Richard embark on the 2,600km coast to coast crossing of Antarctica in October 2022, they will be cut off almost entirely from the rest of the world for 110 days. The Antarctic temperatures will average from -10°C to -40°C with wind chill. Storms are frequent and dangerous with wind speeds that can exceed 150km/hr, lasting for days. The sled they drag behind is their life raft – packed full of all the gear and food needed to survive the three month expedition. It weighs over 200kg. To make it, Gareth & Richard will average a distance of 24km per day. No one in history has ever skied further or for longer, unsupported in such a harsh environment and with such heavy loads.
As a partner to the expedition, we are encouraging all Scouts to follow their progress along the way, and complete some activities and challenges in line with the expedition. Members from the ACT, NSW and Victoria have had a sneak peek at some of their training, firstly at VicJam (Elmore 2022) and then as part of their training in the Snowy Mountains in late August. You, too, could get involved by completing one of the many suggested activities linked below, or by completing your own adventures and challenges and sharing them with us.
Ideas have been grouped according to where they may fit with your programs and adventures, but we look forward to hearing about your own creative ways of being involved in this adventure.
Timeline
August 2022
Snowy Mountains Training Expedition, Kosciuszko National Park, Australia
October 2022
The Last Great First Expedition, Antarctica
Have you completed a challenge or adventure that you can relate to The Last Great First? Are you happy to share your story and/or images to help inspire others?
Over the last few years, we have heard of individuals or small groups completing a range of different challenges and adventures, and we would love to hear about more of these. In 2017, a Venturer Unit travelled to Everest Base Camp. In 2018, former Rover Scout and current Scouts NSW Ambassador Heather Porter hiked the Pacific Crest Trail – 4265km over 6 months. We also had current and former Rover Scouts attempt to summit BP Peak in Nepal, whilst in 2019, at age 16, Bob Bramley completed a 15,000km solo flight around Australia. We have heard of Rover Scouts travelling the full length of the Murray River, from its origins in the Snowy Mountains to the river mouth in South Australia. Not all adventures need to be this big, or of this magnitude. Perhaps you are a Joey Scout Unit who chose to skip, instead of walk, for one of your adventures, or maybe you kayaked your Adventurous Journey.
The Last Great First is Gareth and Richard’s culmination of a lifetime dedicated to adventure, first discovered thanks to Scouting. The pair of polar explorers hope to inspire the next generation of Scouts and young adventurers to reach for their goals and achieve their own remarkable aspirations, just as Shackleton has inspired them, and to ensure the vital research data is collected in the process, to both best understand our changing climate, as well as the physiological insights needed so that future explorers can continue to push the boundaries of human endurance.
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