Training
The Polar Maidens team do not live near each other and many are not even in the same country!
They will each be training with their own trainers to an agreed programme, to ensure they have the level of fitness for the expedition.
The team have already managed to train together despite the miles that separate them. It is an essential part of understanding how each other works, their team dynamics and building trust and confidence.
Norway in May
In May 2018 some of the Polar Maidens undertook a training course in Finse, Norway. The training ground for every historic Antarctic expedition.
This is a comprehensive, rigorous course, both in theory and practice. The course incorporated a week on the ice which replicated the conditions the team will face in the South Pole.
They skied with pulks (loaded polar sleds) containing the weight of all food and equipment required for the trek and learning to work together under extreme conditions.
This was the Polar Maidens’ first individual and collective test of physical and psychological fitness.
Ireland in June
June 2018 saw some of the team travel to County Kerry, Ireland. Aileen Crean O’Brien (Tom Crean’s granddaughter) lead the walk of 250 people for a 10 hour, 20 mile endurance walk in honour of Tom Crean.
Starting at the base of Mountain Brandon, the route took in the aptly named ‘beast’ and ‘bitch’ peaks and finished at the South Pole Inn, Annascaul, Tom Crean’s original family home.
September in Scotland
In September 2018 the Polar Maidens went to the Highlands of Scotland to train under the supervision of the experienced polar explorer, Denise Maine.
The week saw them hauling pulks up and down hills and across rugged and exposed terrain. This week provided strenuous training and a week to bond as a team – this was the first time all five Polar Maidens had met each other and trained together. This was a great opportunity for the team to work together and test their fitness levels. Since then Dr Claire Grogan, fresh from her trek across Greenland, has joined as the sixth member of the team.
For now, they are back to training individually, with plans for training together in 2020 in advanced preparation.
Training Completed…
In December 2020 it will be time to take the journey to Chile, then on further to the ice runway in Antarctica and the Union Glacier Camp. The South Pole will be just 600 miles away now…
