Next month, multi-record-breaking adaptive adventurer Darren Edwards will attempt a new world record by completing the longest sit-ski expedition in the history of polar exploration to raise money to find a cure for Spinal Cord Injury.
Paralysed from the chest down and operating at the absolute limit of what is possible for someone with a high-level Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Darren’s epic attempt to reach the South Pole will see him sit-ski 222 kilometres in just 20 days in -30 degree temperatures. Currently, the furthest distance travelled by a sit-ski to reach the South Pole is 111 kilometres, making this a gargantuan undertaking.
Starting at 88° South and ending at 90° South, the Geographical South Pole, Darren will be supported by a team of adventurers made up of British Explorer Lucy Shepherd, Chief Scout Dwayne Fields and award-winning film maker Matthew Biggar.
Antarctica is a dangerous place for anyone, let alone someone with a high-level Spinal Cord Injury. Skiing through the day and camping at night, the team will be unsupported, facing the risk of extreme temperatures, altitude sickness, exhaustion and adverse environmental conditions including sastrugi, high winds, snowstorms and crevasses.
Yet beyond the immense physical and logistical challenges, this expedition carries a deeper purpose. Darren’s mission is not only to break records but to break down barriers, challenge perceptions of disability and empower others to redefine the impossible in their own lives.
Darren hopes to raise £100,000 for the charity Wings for Life which seeks to find a cure for Spinal Cord Injury, and funds research and clinical trials globally – with astonishing results. Since its inception in 2004, Wings for Life has funded more than 270 research projects worldwide, including six major clinical trials, and a number of vital breakthroughs have been made.
THE SOUTH POLE CHALLENGE TEAM
Darren Edwards’ life changed in 2016 when a near-fatal climbing accident left him permanently paralysed from the chest down. Since then, he has kayaked the length of Britain, run 7 marathons across 7 continents in 7 days, skied across the largest icecap in Europe and rowed the English Channel.
Lucy Shepherd is redefining what it means to be an explorer in the modern world. Her expeditions have taken her to some of the most inhospitable parts of the world. She documents these adventures, with the latest being broadcast on Channel 4, which tells the story of her pioneering expedition across the unexplored Amazon rainforest.
Dwayne Fields is the UK’s Chief Scout and a record-breaking adventurer. Dwayne has trekked to the North Pole and taken part in a series of expeditions in Antarctica, most recently with Ben Fogle as part of Channel 5’s ‘Endurance: Race to the Pole’ TV series.
Matthew Biggar is an award-winning filmmaker and an accomplished endurance athlete. A former Army Reservist and Police Officer, after a life-changing sporting injury, Matthew began to build a successful career as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. Matthew will be proactively documenting the challenging nature of the expedition.
• Darren Edwards is sit-skiing to the South Pole to raise money for the Spinal Cord Injury charity Wings for Life. To donate, visit justgiving.com/page/redefiningimpossible and to find out more about Darren Edwards, visit redefiningimpossible.co.uk
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