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Bamboo Clothing Join the Ski to the Edge Yukon Expedition – Richard Harpham
Bamboo Clothing Join the Ski to the Edge Yukon Expedition
Bamboo Clothing has joined the Ski to the Edge expedition which will see a small team ski 600 miles from Mayo, Yukon Territories to Norman Wells, North West Territories.
Alex Van Bibber
Their unsupported human powered expedition is following in the footsteps of the late Alex Van Bibber (1916-2014) who made the same journey as part of the war effort in 1943. Alex’s team endured 10 days of conditions below minus 40 and broke trail through the Mackenzie Mountain Range for 42 days.
Despite polar conditions, the team reached Norman Wells safely having hunted for food for 11 days. Alex is a child of the Yukon Gold Rush era, whose father Ira, had followed the Gold Fever in 1898 was no stranger to hunting and trapping in this wilderness area.
Alex was a First Nation tracker and was born in Fort Selkirk on the Yukon River. He became Canada’s most decorated outdoorsman and even starred in a film called the Mad Trapper. Alex taught young people his traditional skills inspiring and teaching the next generation.
To read more about Alex Van Bibber’s life & journey please click the following link The Ski to the Edge Project
The Team
Richard Harpham, his brother Matt and ex-Royal Marine Simon Reed will follow in Alex’s footsteps retracing the 1943 Canoil Expedition starting at the end of January 2018. They are no strangers to adventure or the Yukon with Rich having clocked up over 9,000 miles of expeditions with Matt joining him to Canoe the Yukon River and also hike and packaraft the Chilkoot Trail. Simon has also competed in the Yukon River Quest and the Yukon Arctic Ultra and has a wealth of experience in cold climates.
The expedition has been endorsed by Sir Ranulph Fiennes listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the World’s Greatest Living Explorer.
“I wish the ski to the edge team all the success and luck in support of their ski expedition. I was truly interested to hear about Alex’s great journey in 1943 which was truly trail blazing. In spite of advances in technology make no mistake this expedition represents a tough challenge operating at the limits of human endeavor in one of the last great wilderness areas.” Sir Ranulph Fiennes
The team will be living and travelling in temperatures estimated as low as minus 50 below and have spent 3 years training and preparing for the expedition. They anticipate burning an average 6,000 calories per day and will be using Extreme Adventure Foods with higher than average protein to fuel their bodies.
Their clothing includes base layers, BAM pants (a favourite) and the long johns to stay toasty in Arctic conditions.
Dressing for the occasion
“ We are thrilled to be using Bamboo Clothing for our 600 mile ski expedition and knowing it is comfortable, warm and breathes well. We believe it our best option to stay warm and safe and personally, I have worn Bam for well over a decade. As a BAMbassador I have worn BAM from the desert of the Sahara to the frozen environment of the Yukon and know that it passes the test with flying colours. Beyond that, we love the ethical pedigree of the brand and will wear it with pride knowing it represents our values of adventure, living life to the full and sustainability” Rich Harpham
To read more about Richard Harphams adventures please click the image above
The Ski to the Edge team is raising money for the Alex Van Bibber Memorial Fund (funding programmes for young Yukoners) and the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme funding disadvantaged young people.
https://www.justgiving.com/teams/skitotheedge
Richard works with the D of E through his company www.canoetrail.co.uk as an approved activity provider.
The team will be blogging, filming and capturing their expedition and will be sharing it after the event with talks and in the media. If you would like to organize a fundraising talk at a school or venue near you then drop them a line.
Track the team’s expedition by clicking the following link
https://eur-share.inreach.garmin.com/RichAdventure
Richard Harpham’s social links
