The record high temperature of the Sahara was 136°F /  58°C! To me, the Sahara displays an awe-inspiring uniqueness as did the North Pole. They share extremes of contrasts yet alike in so many ways; legend, mystery and raw beauty. Both can and will kill you if you don’t respect them. The Sahara is the largest non-polar desert on our planet; 3,320,000 square miles (8,600,000 square km) If you take the wrong dune and lose your way, you’re in deep do-do, (shit)! A desert is a barren area, defined by averaging less than 10 inches / 25cm of precipitation (rainfall) each year. Clear skies, light wind and dry air helps the…

Mt Kilimanjaro is on the northern border of Tanzania, 200 miles south of the equator. It is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, rising out of the African plains to an impressive 5,895m (19,340ft) above sea level; not to be underestimated. Myself and friends embarked on a huge personal challenge, to climb the highest mountain on the African continent by the Machame Route in 2010. I returned in September 2012  with a total metal knee replacement, this time I selected to summit ‘Kili’ by the quieter Rongai Route.. We reached the summit; Uhuru Peak, at 5,895 metres the highest point in all of Africa. Darkness was gradually replaced by…

In April 2019 we trekked in the footsteps of Mallory and Irvine, up the Magic Highway’ to Mt Everest’s Advance Base Camp (ABC3) 6,500m/ 21,000 feet; which is just below the North Col to play two games of Rugby on a glacier. Myself and Lesley, trekked and played alongside, Rugby stars Lee Mears, Ollie Phillips, Shane Williams, Tamara Taylor plus 20 inspirational men and women to help raise more than £250,000 for children with disabilities and facing disadvantage across the UK and Ireland. The Rugby Challenge took place across 24 days; our group battled acclimatisation and altitude to play the World Record for highest ever game  of mixed seven-a-side ‘Touch Rugby’ at Everest Base…

  It was approaching midnight on the 28th Jan 2016 – I was sitting in my rowing position, on the “Toby Wallace”, a light-weight ocean rowing boat; ‘primed and ready for an attempt’ on a world record. Our challenge was to Row across the North Atlantic, setting off from Marina Puerto De Mogan Gran Canaria, 4815Km. / 2992 miles to Port St Charles Barbados faster than anyone before. I was musing !!!!    Rowing the Atlantic seemed a good idea at the time. On reflection !!!!    However the reality, as with much of life, it’s not all it seems. Ocean Rowers will row for 12 hour in every 24…

There I was, at the ripe old age of 61 yrs, with 28 yrs of sobriety behind me, standing shoulder to shoulder with my teammate, James Trotman 34 yrs; ready and willing to race, against four determined teams of three extreme adventurers; in probably the World’s Toughest Race – The Polar Race. We set off from Resolute Bay, Nunavut (74°43’N and 94°53’W), to walk / ski, dragging all our food and equipment on pulks 648 km / 403 miles to the North Magnetic Pole. Insanity? No, I’ve learned that insanity involves doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result. Having never attempted to race across the most desolate terrain…