Arctic Kites

British Airways have kindly agreed to support the team on the final leg of their journey.

Polar explorer Jim McNeill kindly gave his time today to advise Chris and Rachel on arctic environment medical conditions including hypothermia, frostbite and snow blindness. With over two decades experience of Arctic travel and hundreds of polar bear encounters, his insight and knowledge were found to be invaluable.

Chris and Rachel will fly with Iceland Air on the first leg of their journey to Greenland. The airline has kindly agreed to meet their greater than average baggage requirements!

G-Comm has kindly agreed to lend the team an Iridium satellite phone! Hopefully the weather will be sufficiently kind that the solar panel will keep the batteries charged and we’ll be able to keep the blog up to date, direct from the icecap!

Multimat has kindly offered to provide Chris and Rachel with their top notch underlay to insulate the floor of their tent and help keep them cosy whilst sleeping on the ice!

Basil the Dog will expand the menagerie accompanying Chris, Rachel and Flip on the expedition. A companion for Exped Ted, Basil is barking at the chance to be the first pretend dog across Greenland.

While Team Brit are raising valuable funds for Diabetes UK, Flip will raise money for The Black Dog Institute in Sydney. Winston Churchill referred to his depression as “The Black Dog”. Flip will raise funds towards installing another clinician in the Institutes’ Depression Clinic by towing Basil (a broomhead on wheels, but it looks a lot like a dog), across Greenland.

Flip hopes to develop a lighter version of Basil in the coming weeks ( a shoe-brush), preferably with a car alarm to warn of polar bears!

Exped Ted recently accompanied the team on their training trip to Finse in Norway. He found the snow unusually cold on his paws and frequently had to brush the snow off his coat. Whilst the rest of the team is trying to put on weight, Exped Ted is urgently trying to grow his fur in preparation for the arctic weather!

We were thrilled today when we found out that the Defence Sports and Recreational Association have sponsored the expedition. Fantastic!

Terra Nova has kindly supported the team by donating specialist equipment for the expedition.