Stories

Meet Dr. Rob Ripley. 

"It all starts with the mandatory equipment list!  I’ve checked it twice!  And checked off each item as it gets packed.  There are still a few things missing.  But, hopefully, I have a handle on these."

"I will be bringing Expedition Foods freeze-dried meals.  Mostly because they come in convenient 1000 calorie bags that weigh about 200 grams apiece.  Which makes it easy to count calories and to calculate food density (at 5 calories per gram, Expedition Foods has a better energy to weight ratio than most freeze-dried foods).  And, in my opinion, they taste as good as freeze-dried food gets."

See Rob's full blog posts on the RacingThePlanet website, here.

The Way changed me, my dogs, and our relationship. The Way clearly marks a new beginning, a new phase of my life. It changed my perception of the interconnections between the living and non-living which exist in our world, eliciting the radical idea of a sovereign nature with laws that are clear, and straightforward. 

The Way turned out nothing like I had planned: after two days, the pulk became so damaged it could no longer be used, so the load had to be reorganised solely on the sled. The weather conditions and these unforeseen circumstances meant that I would have to adjust my plans and start all over again, calling deeply on my strength to adapt and be flexible. I learnt that Nature asks but one thing of us: the ability to adapt. 

I can’t help but think of the local people who were there for my dogs and me when we had to go back and start again. They offered us a place to stay giving me the chance to repair the equipment and reorganize the expedition. The Way gave me the opportunity to meet these supportive and altruistic people.

They were curiously attracted to my dogs come from afar: six pairs of eyes and ears intrigued by every detail of a land so different from their own, six noses to the wind, six hearts eagerly waiting to go and travel to boundless horizons. The locals were quiet and watchful, their daily activities closely attuned to the weather and light conditions. No hurry, no demands. Sometimes they approached me saying “It’s cold today”, “It’s going to be tough out there”, and “You may need this, I can lend it to you” as a reindeer skin was gently placed on top of my sled.

The immense white extends as far as the eye can see. The wind is a constant presence in these lands; it is right at home here. The Northern Lights are so intense that they can touch even the most indifferent soul. Waves of light that move in the night sky with a rhythm that is inexplicable to the human eye. It’s the spirit of the Earth manifesting through a silent and unpredictable dance on clear, Arctic nights.

The Way transformed me. The ability to change and being flexible are the basic principles of adaptation. 

My dogs and I experienced the Arctic in all its harshness: strong winds, blizzards, heavy snow, and ice characterised the expedition. We had only one sunny day: how amazing the sunshine is, so uplifting! Adi, Tayen, Tulku, Dolly, Indi and Ciuk have been my eyes, ears, legs and mind when the visibility was so poor I couldn’t see where to go. I relied on them in the most difficult situation, when we were in the middle of the storm and had to reach campsite. Adi deserves special thanks: the little one, disrespected by the dog breed and racing experts because of his small size. Despite his size, he took over in this difficult situation and led the team safely to the campsite. He is a “thinking” dog with a big heart.

The Way was the experience of spending the night outside incapable of pitching the tent, with the dogs completely covered by the snow, coping with the blizzard: fifteen hours in the sleeping bag, forcing myself to stay awake to move my hands and feet so they wouldn’t freeze. In my mind, I can see the emergency cabin where we arrived the following day. I felt so much relieved to be there, where I could start a fire to dry the equipment and, so much pride in Adi leading the team and getting us through the continuing storm safely yet again.

At the end of each day in the tent, feeling tired and satisfied, I showered my brave friends with pats and praise because I realized the Arctic was a tough test for them, too.

I couldn’t have asked more of them: they guided me towards what I started calling “our dream to the end of the Earth”.

Crossing frozen lakes, valleys and white expanses, I saw the Sami’s tents and wooden huts (uninhabited in the cold season) and I clearly perceived how nature there marks and decides the rhythm of the life of all living beings, from animals to humans. Everything there owes its life to that harsh place. The natural environment is above and beyond any profit or interest. I believe that not only have I travelled through this part of the Arctic, but I have actually seen it, touched it, experienced it.

Solitude became constant, sometimes joyful, sometimes oppressive, as we traversed passes, crossed over plains and passed by forests of small birch trees under the discreet gaze of birds and moose. The feeling of being the only human presence within tens of kilometres was often very lonely: I would have given anything to hear a familiar voice. I was so happy to meet, talk and drink a cup of tea with two travellers, one day. The misfortune (or the fortune that allowed me to totally immerse myself in that place) didn’t even spare my technological accessories: the satellite phone stopped working quite early on…perhaps a sign that civilization and its vices lose their grip out there.

A few friends of mine, who had been in the North before, warned me, “It’s a place that changes you”. The Way did change me as a human, as an explorer, as a soul searching for answers, as an observer of the world. This experience taught me the importance of recognizing what is truly essential, letting go of the superfluous. The Way has been the most genuine metaphor for life that I have ever experienced.

The Way is a new beginning. The Way: where Civilization ends, Freedom begins

Fra Indi - 

At Expedition Foods, we've been watching as news has come in about the terrible and tragic events happening in Ukraine. We have seen images of the people of Ukraine fleeing their country which is being bombed daily. 

We wanted to let you know what we've been doing to help Ukraine and Ukrainian people. 

Humber Rescue

RacingThePlanet

We also teamed up with RacingThePlanet to arrange a fundraiser. Around £8000 was raised and sent to RacingThePlanet Alumnus and 4 Deserts Grand Slammer Daniel Lewczuk, who agreed to facilitate the help in Poland.

Daniel was on the ground in Poland, had already been working non-stop to help the refugees, and could direct the funds to help the people of Ukraine as needed. 

The outdoors has always been important alongside travel and exploring solo. Transport was an issue post-war, but I rebuilt motorcycles to get around from the Peak District, the Pennines, the Lakes and eventually Scotland and the isles. With no funds I used hostels, rough camps and anything that was free...

There were only two things I knew about Kyrgyzstan before signing up for this expedition. One, I couldn’t spell it, and two, it was hard to find on the map.

After several months of squinting at pixelated mountain ranges we identified several unclimbed peaks in the Tian-Shan Mountains that offered potential for an exploratory expedition. The Kuiluu valley and East Bordlu glacier lay unexplored and would be the team’s primary objectives. We hoped to climb these in a light and fast alpine style with minimum support.

Already delayed by a year, the team agreed to proceed with planning the expedition, despite the overwhelming uncertainty the trip would go ahead.

Finally, after 18 months of planning we made it to basecamp in August this year.

After establishing camp and advanced basecamp, the team slowly began to ferry equipment up the mountain, acclimatise and conduct further probing missions into the surrounding valleys for access points to our objectives.

After several days of reccying the glacier, we identified two potential lines to our summits and prepared to climb the next day.

It was snowing the next morning and big heavy flakes settled on the team as we ate by headlamp.

We had no reliable weather reports for climbing. It was a matter of sticking your head out of the tent and eyeing the sky. Another team had warned us the weather often deteriorated in late afternoon and not to rely on weather reports. 

We set off and blearily trudged up the steep moraine by the glacier before reaching a saddle to gear up.

We were to climb in two teams. Each team had packed light and brought only a small PD rack and 60m rope between them. This was an exploratory climb and we didn’t expect anything serious.

We took to the snow and slowly wound our way up a steep incline to gain the ridge at 4357m. The team were in good spirits and climbed well. The excitement was palpable, and with every new ridge crest we ascended, our expedition leader Tom was hassled to confirm if we had bagged our objective.

After five hours of climbing we finally reached our virgin summit at 4788m. It felt cool to stand in a spot where no one else had been before. After much handshaking and picture posing we retraced our steps along the ridge before descending an adjacent glacier to ABC.

The new peak was graded PD+ and named Pik Perseverance in honour of all the trouble we had suffered getting to Kyrgyzstan.

That night the air was filled with the hiss of gas canisters as we prepared dinner. The dehydrated meals were easy to prepare; just pour boiling water into the bag and stir well before leaving for 5 minutes.

Most of the team had brought 800 calorie meals, but I found myself eating two 1000 kcal meals a day. The Beef & Potato Hotpot was a team favourite and each member wished they had brought more of the Custard with Apple for pudding.

My climbing partner, Sam and I debated what gear to take the next day. It was another exploratory climb, we did not intend to spend the night. We packed lightly taking a small set of cams, some nuts and ice screws (climbing equipment) in addition to our own personal gear. The route would hopefully top out on the ridge we had climbed that day.

The next morning we set off up the glacier and after a two hour scramble reached our first pitch. Roped up, we made our way up a beautiful patch of ice and the team were stoked believing this to be a precursor for the route. I stuck some gear in and brought Sam up before leading along a narrow ridge to a steep vertical section.

It turns out that was the best part of the climb. We soloed the rest of the route over extremely loose ground. The rock was chossy, and one of the team quipped that if you found a handhold you didn’t like, you could just pick it up and throw it over your shoulder before choosing another.

We topped out on our ridge as hoped, took a few snaps and ate lunch. The views were fantastic. Snow capped mountains surrounded us. Dark clouds gathered on the horizon and a cold wind began to blow forcing us to quickly descend tired and hungry, but happy the primary objectives of the expedition had been met.

We graded the route AD+ and named it ‘The Argen Spur’ after a local horseman we had met.

Unfortunately, our planned number of climbing days had to be reduced from twelve to two forcing us to retire early and return to the capital Bishkek.

In all, it was a successful expedition. A new peak was climbed, and two new lines established. But there was so, so much left undone. I still pull out the maps we made and look at the objectives we missed.

In moments of consolation, I think of the advice an old friend gave me before heading out on the trip.

“Go for an adventure, any climbing is a bonus.”

Norman Hadley is a fastpacker on a mission to get his overnight kit down as far as possible in weight but also volume. He explains his "wacky idea" for disposing of the backpack altogether and how he fuels his adventures...

Ultralight

Ultralight isn’t really new. For millennia, hunter-gatherer peoples have roamed over huge distances with minimal burdens. And look to the birds. Every autumn, the skies over my Lancashire home fill with skein upon skein of pink-footed geese arriving from Iceland and Svalbard. Each is a finely-optimised masterpiece of efficient lightweight travel: the warmth per weight of their down is unimprovable.

During the first Covid lockdown, prevented from running on my beloved Lakeland fells, I found myself daydreaming about the ultimate in ultralight What if I pared down my overnight kit so thoroughly that I no longer needed a rucksack?  I tell the full story in The Great Outdoors, September 2021 edition. With a modest amount of shoving and squeezing, I can get a sleeping-bag, a tent, a stove and a pan into a bumbag that I can run on the fells with quite comfortably. It sounds like a conjuring trick but it works. The limiting factor, of course, is the space available for food. I’ve only done one-night trips so far, but that’s all I need to get my nature-fix. 

Food is Fuel, Warmth and Comfort

Thomas Carlyle observed that an army marches on its stomach and nobody will disagree who has crawled on hands and knees to a lonely summit cairn, their empty belly swinging beneath them. Food is fuel, food is warmth, food is comfort, food is often the only flash of unalloyed pleasure in a gruelling hill day.

When you research ultralight food, it quickly comes down to a pretty mechanistic calculus of calories per gramme. Hence mentioning birds earlier - they figured this out long before us. The blue tit on your garden feeder will scoff as much nutty richness as possible within the bounds of airworthiness and be off. The hungry fellrunner is playing basically the same game - albeit, slightly scaled-up and slightly less fluffy.

Today's Menu

My approach is to guzzle as many calories as I can for breakfast and tea, so I can subsist on sweets and nibbles on the move. A good evening feed is an essential boost to both morale and body temperature before bedding down. I aim to absorb at least 1,400 calories to replenish tired legs after the first day’s run. Breakfast, likewise, is a crucial factor in Starting Day Two Right and the heartiest packets go all the way up to 1000 calories.

I’ve relied on Expedition Foods for its fine selection of thousand-calorie main meals. Spaghetti Bolognese is rightfully a classic - easily wolfed down after a punishing day. Beef and Potato Hotpot is excellent for a hearty treat when you’re damp and cold.

There are several puddings in the 450-calorie zone, but Custard with Apple and Chocolate Biscuit Pudding are my favourites. Both evoke early childhood - the biscuit pudding, in particular, is a massive nostalgia-trip for anyone who was allowed to lick the baking spoon.

In the morning, Porridge with Strawberries is a classic carb-fest, with just the right balance of sugars to kick-start your metabolism and starches for staying-power. If you’re not as greedy as me, or if your constitution isn’t predisposed to pre-dawn blowouts, 800-calorie and 450-calorie packs are also available. But if you’ve got the appetite, fill your boots. Take it from me - those hills are not getting any smaller.

On June 14 2021, after 97 days at sea, Mark Delstanche became the first person to row solo from New York to London.

Expedition Foods (EF): Tell us a bit about your campaign, why row an ocean? And why New York to London?

Mark Delstanche (MD): I've been a rower since the age of 13 and it's about the only sport I've ever been good at, having no aptitude for anything with a ball whatsoever. The idea to row an ocean came about whilst acclimatising at Everest base camp in 2011 when, as is often the case with too much time on my hands, the question of 'what next' sprung to mind.

Upon returning from the Himalayas I started to plan and train for a crossing from the Canaries to the Caribbean but got involved in a project to row to the Magnetic North Pole instead which gave me the taste for doing a 'world first' row. I'm originally from London, learned to row on the Thames and served as a firefighter there so it felt right to be finishing there.

Talking to other rowers, it became clear that the North Atlantic was considered one of the holy grails of ocean rowing in terms of difficulty and the idea of linking two of the worlds most iconic cities had real appeal for me rather than using arbitrary points on the coast of each continent so, the idea of New York to London was born.

EF: Where did you start and finish?

MD: I started at Liberty Landing Marina, a stones throw form the Statue of Liberty and finished at Tower Bridge in London

EF: How did you train for the crossing?

MD: About two years before the start, I started putting in some serious mileage on the rowing machine, 5 days a week. However, with a year to go, I was introduced to a personal trainer/ multiple ocean rower, Gus Barton who put the emphasis on strength building to get my body ready for the kind of torture that I was going to have to put it through. He absolutely beasted me for an entire year before the start, to the point that I was pushing out better times on the ergo than I did when I was at my peak, back in my 20's. What's more, I was really pleased to get in my boat and disappear over the horizon by the time he had finished with me, because it meant that I didn't have to train anymore.

EF: What did you eat and drink during the crossing? Did you have a daily menu?

MD: I had four compartments on deck that I'd packed randomly with all different varieties of Expedition Food meals. One for Breakfasts, one for Desserts and two for main meals. I'd pick out one from each compartment every day to see what I ended up with and packed enough for 150 days of rations.

After about 3 weeks it was apparent that I was both making great progress and would need more calories so I doubled my intake to a double breakfast, a pudding at first break, a main meal at lunchtime and a main meal and pudding for dinner. This was supplemented with a lot of Polish dried sausage called "cabanas" (which I love), pre-packed trail mix in snack bags, and biltong.

I mainly drank water and the occasional morning cuppa, but I probably only used about 20 tea bags over the 97 days I was at sea. I did take isotonic drink sachets but they went largely untouched.

EF: From the equipment that you took, what was the most useful item?

MD: The spare solar panel. Both of my main panels gave up on day 3, so I had to ration electricity thereafter, which left me with just enough for my desalinator and navigation/communications equipment. I'd have been totally stuffed without it.

EF: Did you take anything that you didn't need?

MD: I've got 480 green tea bags, and 500 ginger and lemon ones if anybody wants them!

EF: What was the best part about the row?

MD: On a few occasions, the ocean was absolutely mirror calm. The sense of peace, tranquillity and being at one with the world was amazing and taking a swim at those times was an incredible experience. That, and of course arriving at Tower Bridge to see so many people who had come to support me as well as being able to hug my family again.

EF: What were some of the biggest challenges that you faced?

MD: There were quite a few!

Apparently, the weather was the worst summer for storms for over forty years. I was hit by 8 major gales with waves the size of a two-storey house travelling towards me at 20 miles an hour or more, and I suffered 7 capsizes. 

The physical effort of rowing for 12-14 hours a day on average was hard enough, however, due to the weather, I had to push hard for the last 4 days before reaching the shelter of the UK shores, as there was a large system of easterly winds coming in that threatened to push me back out in to the Atlantic. I slept for a total of 4 hours in that four days and at one stage, rowed for 27 hours pretty much non-stop and went to places in my head and body that I'd rather not have to revisit ever again.

The south coast of England also presented a huge challenge with the option of just drifting on the ocean to rest no longer a possibility. I averaged 18 hours a day of hard rowing at the oars until the final leg up the Thames which really took its toll.

Other than the sheer physical challenge, the isolation and feeling of helplessness at times was difficult to deal with, particularly given the weather forecasts which I came to dread opening. I was getting in-depth 4-day forecasts, and over the course of the 97 days, there was not a single one with wholly positive news. It would always be tainted with at least a few days of 'sub optimal' conditions which really grated after a while. 

EF: How have you settled back in following such an epic journey? And have you got another expedition in mind?

MD: I was surprised by just how quickly I adapted back in to real life. I think that I'd hankered for so many aspects of my normal home life for so long that I found myself up and about at 5 in the morning as usual, blissfully happy, emptying the dishwasher, taking the bin out and picking dog poo off of the lawn! 

Given what I've put my family through, my main focus now is to spend as much time as possible with them. I've never felt so content with regard to a sense of achievement and I feel that I've pushed the boundaries of my own and human endeavour far enough to sit back and enjoy the ride for a bit.

My wife has had a long held ambition to sail the South Pacific and the kids love being on boats, so that'll probably be the next big project.

EF: What would you say to aspiring ocean rowers?

MD: First, ask yourself why you want to do it and have a really good think about whether your motives will be enough to get you across the finish line. If the answer is still a resounding "YES", set a date and let everybody that you know about your plans, that way, you'll have the pressure of not being seen as a failure to others to spur you on. Sounds a bit masochistic but it worked for me!!

It's a massive outlay in terms of time and money so give yourself a couple of years (unless you're really fit and have loads of spare cash) to build up to it. You'll get disheartened at just how many rejections you'll get from potential sponsors but keep plugging away and they will come in eventually.

Get your boat sooner rather than later and get to know it and your routines inside out. I didn't and it took me over a month to figure out how to carry out the simplest of tasks in the most effective way. Sounds stupid but just figuring how to get in and out of the cabin in a big sea whilst keeping the cabin as dry as possible is an art form in itself!

Reinhold Hugo from Switzerland joined RacingThePlanet in Georgia 2021 for his debut RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon. Reinhold completed his first multi-stage run in Oman 2016 and the following year competed in the Marathon des Sables Morocco and Peru.

At RacingThePlanet: Georgia, Reinhold completed the 6-stage, 250 kilometer, self-support footrace in FIRST place.

Reinhold talked to Expedition Foods about his experience in Georgia (the country):

EF: What is your running background, where did it all start?

I am polysportive and like to do different sports like cycling and running in summer and cross-country skiing and ski touring in winter. I used to run street marathons like New York, Boston etc., but for some time now I run almost only off-road because it is nicer for me.

EF: When did you decide to take part in RacingThePlanet: Georgia?

RH: After no events took place at all last year, I started looking for a new adventure in the spring after events could take place again. I have often followed RacingThePlanet and I have many friends who have communicated only positive feedback about these events. Originally I signed up for the race in Namibia because I like to run in the desert. For me, such runs are also a kind of sightseeing to get to know new countries.

EF: When did you start training for the race, and how did you structure your training? 

RH: As I said, I'm always active throughout the year, building up a good base. What I paid a lot of attention this time is the training with the backpack and 3-4kg weight. For this I have completed a few weekend-long stage runs.

EF: How important is nutrition in a stage race? What did you eat and drink throughout the race?

RH: Nutrition for stage runs is very important. On the one hand, the weight of the food must not be too heavy and on the other hand, it must be balanced and must make you full.

On my first stage run in Oman, I had chilli con carne for dinner on the 4th day and was unwell. I learned a lot from that experience. The food must definitely be tasted beforehand during training. In my eyes, the food is almost the most important thing in a stage race.

During the race in Georgia I drank mainly water and supplemented it with electrolytes. In the morning I ate Expedition Foods Chicken Tikka Rice with 450 calories and a bar with 200 calories. After the run I took a recovery shake and in the evening I made myself another warm meal like Spaghetti Carbonara with 800 calories. In between I had a bag of nuts.

EF: How much gear did you bring? Was there anything you felt you were missing, or anything that you'd leave behind next time?

RH: For me, an important part of stage racing is the preparation with the material. I try to be as light as possible on the road. My motto is: every gram counts and I take only the mandatory material with me. I was lucky this time and everything fit great. Although the weather had changed from very hot to cold and wet.

EF: Your performance was incredible, finishing first in every stage, what was the key to your success?

RH: My goal in Georgia was three things:

• to get to know a new country
• to reach the finish line (this was only my third stage race over 250km and once I had to give up)
• to enjoy and learn

I tried to enjoy the area as much as I could and run easy. Without pressure on time and positioning. This flexibility was certainly a key to success.

EF: What races do you have planned for the rest of the year and for 2022? 

RH: At the moment I have a few smaller runs planned until November and then I hope for a lot of snow so I can go ski touring in the mountains again.

For 2022 I would like to run in England at Dragons Back Race and after that I plan to run RacingThePlanet's Atacama Crossing. In between I'm sure there will be some nice runs or trainings. It doesn't always have to be a competition!

EF: The last 18 months have inspired many people to take on amazing challenges. What would you say to those aspiring to do a multi-day race?

Try it out! It is a life experience and you will come back a different person. You will push your limits and realize that you are capable of a lot.