Officer Down - One Man Epic

[Fastgirl]

From here:One Man Epic


A new blog excerpt: Credit....

There’s a hell of a lot to smile about this month. An inbox groaning under the weight of donations and encouragement enough to swell the hardest of hearts, there have been many shining moments. Here are some of my favourites. The brilliant fundraising efforts from my team of Little People at PLC Junior School. I told them to go home and rob their parents. They did. The anonymous people who scribble words of encouragement in my sand tracks – I consume it like fuel. The kind people from PSB (Perth Streetbikes) who donated the door takings from their Christmas function and the silver haired gent who paid for my fuel at the servo and told me I’ve inspired him to take up running. I can think of no higher praise.
The full-on physical immersion continues to fascinate and I love it and loath it in equal measure. Not the famous weight gain of DeNiro for Raging Bull more like the man-breasted buffness of Private Pile-on from Full Metal Jacket. At 125 kilos I’m several super-sizes short of a Happy Meal but the numbers are good. Next week is Norway. A place of great superlatives and a chance to meet my new Viking friends and pick up all the customised gear made for the expedition. Skol!

Im tired just reading it.
But working hard to get some more $$$ for him, he still doesnt have enough....if you havent gone to the website kids...go have a look..please...its well worth it.

[Murgo]

I'll send the link to the relevant person at my employer ... this is an awesome cause ... unbelievable actually.

[Fastgirl]

awesome stuff Murgo...thank you.

[mekon]

.... tried but no joy from company.

[officer down]

Thankyou mate. You don't know if you don't ask.

[Fastgirl]

oh hello!...email coming your way...again! ehehehe.

[officer down]

Morning peeps

Anyone of us in the carbon fiber business? I'm on the hunt for a small sheet about 800 x 800 to use as a baseplate that I can fix my XGK cooker too. I need to screw the feet in place and cut 2 openings either side of the fuel bottle to attached a velcro strap.



Let me know if you can think of anyone. Big thanks. OD

[Nickerz]

Yo Tom. Just joined the titanium club, currently residing in Charlie's. So, I'm joining in the challenge in a diff way - I've got 6 weeks to get this busted foot healed fully as I'm off to melb then syd end of Jan. Not exactly Norway but hey - race on

ps will push some pennies your way soon as I get home. One man epic fur sure!

[Murgo]

Okay ... so just got word from the boss ... my firm (NKH Accountants) will donate $250 to the cause today. Who says accountants are boring !!!

[Fastgirl]

awesome stuff Murgo, you champion. Thank you for chasing some $$ for Tom. ;D

[brendanc]

I'm posting up this link to another thread.

Crossfit charity WOD ( for Officer Down's One Man Epic )

Even though I've never met Tom personally, from one trainer to another ( and one ex-military serviceman to another ) I cant possibly imagine the mental toughness needed to complete this epic journey. Your an inspiration to us all mate.

So in an effort to try and help in my own little way I've organised this for next weekend, I'm pretty sure we can get a few $$$ for the kitty.

So I'm asking as many people as possible to come down and give the workout a try, experience some mental toughness of your own and hopefully we'll get a few dollars for Tom's great cause.

Brendan

[Fastgirl]

wowsa...thats just awesome. im speechless. wow...cant wait for Tom to see this thread. Thankyou so very much!!

[=Stevo=]

OD,

You could try contacting 'Bertie' on here for the carbon baseplate for the cooker, he has done a LOT of glass / cf work over the years and knows his stuff...

[brendanc]

I'm posting up this link to another thread.

Crossfit charity WOD ( for Officer Down's One Man Epic )

Even though I've never met Tom personally, from one trainer to another ( and one ex-military serviceman to another ) I cant possibly imagine the mental toughness needed to complete this epic journey. Your an inspiration to us all mate.

So in an effort to try and help in my own little way I've organised this for next weekend, I'm pretty sure we can get a few $$$ for the kitty.

So I'm asking as many people as possible to come down and give the workout a try, experience some mental toughness of your own and hopefully we'll get a few dollars for Tom's great cause.

Brendan

Ok guy's

As suggested we will be in a different location this Saturday.

The large carpark at the end of South perth esplanade at 9am Sat 19th

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4IBMA_enAU307AU307&q =101+south+perth+esplanade&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=101+S+Perth+Esplanade,+South+Perth+WA+ 6151&gl=au&ei=xcQpS9WOII6A7QPQ96z8BQ&sa=X&oi=geoco de_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ8gEwAA

I will have some refreshments ( Water,soft drinks, fruit ) but for something more substantial there are public BBq's just bring some snag's also If you fancy a beer afterward's i'm afraid you'll have to provide your own.

There will be some "minor" workouts so if you dont think your up to the "fight gone bad" just yet we can cater for you too.

If anyone has any questions or just in case you get lost my ph no is 0413659440.

Finally in the words of another famous Irishman Bob geldof "gimme your F**king money now" It's for a great cause.

Brendan

[Slice]

just wondering if you guys have contacted nat geo adventure, australian geographic outdoor or anyone like that for some dough for the story since it seems like the kind of thing they are well into.

[Fastgirl]

Over 700 aussie adn international companies approached so far slice..and not a good turn out so far Slice, trust me. I am happy to say that Finbar Group Limited have come onboard with a sizable donation thanks to our very own Deej...so thats one aussie company who will definately be benefitting from the exposure that Tom will bring to the table....shame more cant see their way through to do the same. But I havent given up, no sirree...

[brendanc]

I'm posting up this link to another thread.

Crossfit charity WOD ( for Officer Down's One Man Epic )

Even though I've never met Tom personally, from one trainer to another ( and one ex-military serviceman to another ) I cant possibly imagine the mental toughness needed to complete this epic journey. Your an inspiration to us all mate.

So in an effort to try and help in my own little way I've organised this for next weekend, I'm pretty sure we can get a few $$$ for the kitty.

So I'm asking as many people as possible to come down and give the workout a try, experience some mental toughness of your own and hopefully we'll get a few dollars for Tom's great cause.

Brendan

Just to let you guys know we raised $300 for Tom's trip today, lots of sweat and a few tears but a job well done.

click link above for pics of the event

Brendan

[cowasaki]

Found today - published yesterday


Adventurer aims for the North Pole


Adventurer aims for the North Pole
TERRY SMYTH

January 5, 2010 Be the first to comment

In training ... Tom Smitheringale on one of his previous treks to the North Pole.

The risk of a frozen death does not faze this adventurer, writes Terry Smyth.
"Life is about taking risks," Tom Smitheringale says. "It's good for us to step outside our comfort zone."
For Smitheringale, 39, from Perth, that means stepping out on to the frozen ocean at the top of the world. Early next year - by dragging a sled 800 kilometres across the Arctic sea from northern Canada, braving temperatures of minus 50 degrees, treacherous thin ice and hungry polar bears - he plans to become the first Australian to trek alone and on foot to the North Pole.

It is a journey so hazardous that only two people have made it. Of the five who have tried during the past five years, all have failed - and two have died in the attempt.
Smitheringale, a personal trainer, outdoor sports expert and former soldier, was born in Perth of English parents. "When I was 16, I went back to the UK with my mother after my parents divorced," he says. "I finished my schooling there and joined the British Army.
"The army taught me skill and discipline and self-belief. We often seek heroics in others and I found that in the army. And, not having a father figure in my life, I also found it in Borge Ousland."

A celebrated Norwegian explorer, Ousland was the first person to cross Antarctica alone and one of the two people to have trekked solo to the North Pole.
Last year, in preparation for his own solo attempt, Smitheringale joined Ousland on two treks to the pole. "It was me serving my apprenticeship and there isn't a better teacher out there than someone who's done it before."

Preparation for the expedition involves a brutal training regimen, including dragging a truck tyre along a beach. "And I'll need to put on as much weight as I can. When I started I was just under 110 kilos and I'm about 125 kilos at the moment." The extra fat is for insulation against the cold and for stores of energy. "It's anticipated I'll lose up to 20 kilos on the ice, or perhaps more, and I'll come back like a well-carved chess piece."

From next month, Smitheringale's preparations will include spending time in a fish-shop freezer. "It's an industrial freezer, so it's a good opportunity for me to practise doing things like putting up the tent, but it's mainly to help become acclimatised to those conditions. I'll have hourly sessions in the freezer in the lead-up to my departure."

In late February, Smitheringale will fly to one of the coldest inhabited places in the world - Resolute Bay in northern Canada - to train with explorer Matty McNair. The first American to ski to both poles, McNair featured in a 2007 Top Gear episode in which she drove a dog sled to the North Pole with presenter Richard Hammond.

"I'll spend a lot of time out on the ice testing the equipment and establishing a routine. I'll spend the days pulling my sled and start off by doing some smaller trips, overnight trips, and build that up to 10- or 12-day trips in preparation for the expedition." Smitheringale will set out from McClintock Inlet, north-west of Resolute Bay. From there it's a 70-day slog to the pole.

"I'll carry firearms to use as a last resort to defend myself against polar bears. I anticipate early on in the trip there'll be daily interaction with bears and I will be a very appetising meal to them, I'm sure.
"But the biggest risk is falling through the ice. It's a frozen ocean that's constantly moving. So breaks in the ice, called 'leads', open and close in less than 24 hours and when they're doing that the ice forms a very thin layer across the surface of the ocean. If you fall through the ice your chances of survival are very slim."

Yet there will be times he'll have to plunge into the freezing water and swim. "If I can't find a crossing point, I'll put on a dry suit and then swim across the lead. These can be wide as a footpath or a freeway. But I'm connected to the sled and I'll pull the sled across. The sled floats and is also a flotation device I can hold on to if I need to."
He hopes he doesn't have to do that too often.

"I have a satellite phone to communicate with the outside world and to co-ordinate my extraction if I need to." He'll also carry an electronic distress beacon. "If I activate that it means I'm in a situation I can't control and the reality of that is that it's a recovery, not a rescue. It can take days for people to come and find you and, depending where I am on the ice, they'll come from either Russia or Canada."
Smitheringale's trek will support the Burnet Institute, an Australian medical research facility focused on infectious diseases with a global impact. "They are the charity partner for the event," he says. "During my military time in Africa, the suffering I witnessed had a profound effect on me. I saw people endure poverty, hunger and brutality, and the devastating effects of diseases like HIV/AIDS. I have an opportunity here to support the Burnet Institute and also inspire others."

To become one of the few and the first Australian to trek solo to the pole would be "a great source of pride", he says. But while there has been no shortage of moral support, financial support has been hard to find.

"People wish you a lot of luck and are in awe of what you're trying to achieve but I'll generate my own luck. I need their support. One of my biggest disappointments so far is that I've been unsuccessful in gaining sponsorship. I've had more support from Norwegian companies than I have from Australian corporations but I know that's because it's much more celebrated and understood in Norway than in Australia."

The expedition is expected to cost about $250,000. "That would underwrite the trip but a lot of that I have funded already. I can't expect sponsors to be knocking down my door. I have to demonstrate to them that I'm committed and that I believe it's all worthwhile."

If it comes down to selling his house to fund the trip, so be it. "That's something I'll have to look at seriously in a couple of weeks' time," he says. "Right now, the pole is the only thing on my horizon. Houses are things that will still be here when I get back."

Source: The Sun-Herald

[Fastgirl]

Trying to get a hold of the Adminitrator for Qantas to see is Qantas would pay for Toms luggage (110kg of it) Tom doesnt have the dosh to pay for it and im trying like hell to make it for free for him...anyone with Qantas contacts let me know.

[Desmo]

I just saw this thread.
Awesome stuff Deej and crew, thank you so much.

EDIT: And it is partially due to Tom and the fact he makes me feel like such an unmotivated humanzee that I have quit the smokes, and the reason I'll be training every day that he is gone.