Getting closer all the time...

Sorry I have not written for so long. NO excuses. Lots happening of course.

Fully recovered from Morocco now. Still slightly bearded, but I might keep it now in preparation for the expedition - it takes me a long time to grow beards and it is pretty patchy at best - still, it makes me look slightly more like an explorer for the photographs!!

The reason for a lack of communications is that there is so much happening, but so much of it is still up in the air. It's hard to write about something that's not quite tangible yet.

I postponed our May team training time as I had a flurry of sponsor meetings that need to take priority - we need to secure funding first - I could have the best team in the world but nowhere to go! I had a day with the Royal Marines planned for a regular "Bootneck Beasting", with a day on Dartmoor having an extra beasting from Chris McLeod, an ex Royal Marine chum of mine (Chris and I, with Phil Ashby, were the  team that set the record for the Magnetic North Pole). And then the final day of our 3-day session was to be at Manchester Metropolitan University with Steve Hayes (PhD, BSc(Hons), CText FTI, FHEA Principal Lecturer Dept. of Clothing Design & Technology) for some anthropometric data capturing!! Basically, Steve and his team will be using a 3-D scanner to make avatars of us all (frightening) so that we can have phenomenal tailored made expedition clothes. This level of detail and science is just amazing - it will include heat signatures and sweating profiles to enable Steve to design clothing that exactly aligns with our individual needs - amazing.

However, we did not do all that last week. I postponed it as I said, but we will do both and report back soon!

And just to let you know, the sponsor meetings are going well. It is looking good, but we are not home and dry quite yet!! But we do have an excellent office and London HQ. The historic and wonderful Naval & Military Club, known as the In & Out, in St James Square, is now our home - a smart office and a great venue. History tells us that it was in the In & Out's very corridors and rooms that Captain Robert Falcon Scott planned much of his trip South - what a great connection! Hurrah

Speak soon.

Yours aye

Manley

Manley Hopkinson FRGS

Mobile:+44 (0) 7958 654 776

www.bestofbritishsouthpole.com

www.globalleadersacademy.com

www.impalaadventures.com

www.manleytalks.com

www.hpocenter.com

@manleyhopkinson

NAVAL & MILITARY CLUB (The In & Out)

No. 4 St James's Square
London
SW1Y 4JU

An assessment with a difference

Back to normal for a while!
After an excellent week ice training in the crevasse infused glaciers
of Chamonix followed by the sensual overload that is the Moroccan
Sahara, then a patriotic outburst over a glorious weekend of unrivaled
pageantry (we still do it best), I now have my team for 2 days at St
Mary's University, Twickenham for another physical assessment, but
with a twist.

Charlie and his team have devised a particularly painful and demanding
day and a half.
We will dine together on the Thursday evening and enjoy each others
company and a small libation, but at 06.30 on Friday morning, Richard
will take us for an early "beasting" in Richmond Park before we spend
2 hours with Sarah and Juliette for our psychological assessment. -
lest we imbibe too heartily!!

But on the Thursday, amongst a plethora of tests and tweaks, Charlie
has inserted the frightening words of " a simulated pulk pull with
depleted oxygen"!!! What depraved sadistic madman thought of that? The
London Dungeons will seem a breeze compared to a day with Charlie and
his team!! But there is a reason for everything, of course.

In Antarctica the plateau is at 3000m (over 9,000 feet) - the
equivalent of putting the 3 highest peaks in the United Kingdom on top
of each other - Snowdonia, Scafell Pyke and Ben Nevis - but due to the
elongation of the atmosphere at the Poles, that is equivalent to 4500m
(14,700 feet) at the Equator.

So we will spend 30 minutes each on an inclined treadmill with 30kg
weights on a pulley system breathing through a tube fed with the
depleted oxygen one would expect on top of the Matterhorn - where each
painful step can take minutes! And, as we do this, Charlie and his
team will prick holes in our ear lobes and extract blood for their
devilish tests - lactate levels actually!!

Anyone fancy joining us??

Hurrah
Manley