For former Royal Marine Reservist and Territorial Army medic Craig Colclough, Christmas 2007 will arrive amid pack ice and frozen sea between Resolute Bay in Canada and the Magnetic North Pole.
‘Chasing the Aurora’ expedition is aiming to raise £50,000 for Royal British Legion and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association. The expedition is entirely self-funded by Craig, 37, with all money raised going to the two charities.
In addition to raising funds for good causes Craig will also be undertaking medical research. Every six hours he will collect samples of his own blood for later analysis to identify peaks and troughs in hormonal activity. This 700 mile round trip has never before been undertaken on foot in winter. Temperatures regularly reach as low as minus 40 degrees centigrade with minus 68 degrees on record. Re-supply or rescue from the air is impossible due to the twenty four hour darkness at that time of year. Craig will walk using a head torch and night vision goggles. In addition to total darkness, pack ice, blizzards and traversing glaciers Craig will be on the lookout for Polar Bears, the only bears who don’t hibernate and hunt over the frozen sea.
Craig Colclough says: “I began planning Chasing the Aurora two years ago and started training in earnest in 2007. I wanted to do something that had never been tried before and this trip is one of the few left. I am fitter now than I have ever been and at thirty seven this is perhaps my last chance to do something special while helping two charities I care passionately about. My wife is convinced this is an elaborate way to commit suicide.”
On November 29th Craig will fly from London Heathrow to Ottawa then on to Iqaluit in Nunavut, en route to Resolute Bay in the Canadian Arctic. After packing supplies Craig will then set off on his seven hundred mile round trip to the Magnetic North Pole returning to Resolute some time in early January 2008.
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