Mark Kalch » Ed Stafford

Friday Stoke

Mark Kalch — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:25:49 +0000

Wow! What a week it's been. On Monday I was stoked to be able to stand in front of a packed Ondaatje Theatre at the Royal Geographical Society and lecture regarding my walk across Iran. The interest was so great that unfortunately folk had to be turned away at the door (even after filling the overflow room)! I hope that I did the topic justice to those that were able to get in. A massive honour for me to speak for the second time at the RGS as part of the popular Monday Night lecture series.

Last night I was humbled to attend a reception at Buckingham Palace for those involved in adventure and exploration. A real "who's who" in our little world. The usual suspects; Fiennes, Bonnington, Mears, Knox-Johnston. The TV crowd; Parry, Fogle and Cracknell, Grylls, Boorman. Assorted ne'er-do-wells; Saunders, Stafford, Humphreys, Moss and me I suppose. Meeting the Queen and Prince Philip was kind of cool but surely the stand-out for me was seeing Reinhold Messner in attendance. Old grumpy himself. Awesome!

Right, Friday Stoke. With my website going down this week and being laid up for a couple of days ill, I know I can always rely on Seb Montaz to help me out when trolling through endless clips does not seem all that inviting. Of course he has done it again. Enjoy the below and if you like you can download the full film via his website for a just a few quid.

I have one other big gig happening this week but it is difficult to know exactly when this one will arrive. It was supposed to go down yesterday but as yet, nothing. It dwarfs the RGS and Palace by far!

Friday Stoke

Mark Kalch — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:46:29 +0000

After last week's Friday Stoke I had imagined it would be back to normal (ie. less about me and more about proper cool folks). Well, apologies but this week it is all about me again, or more accurately one of my expeditions.

Expedition Amazonas, a human powered source to sea paddling descent of the Amazon River was, for me, a life changing experience. It showed me the sort of things I could achieve and on a simpler level, was a catalyst that led to me pursuing adventure and expeditions as a way of making a living. It was a tough descent, but now, I look back on even the hardest parts with a smile. Those uncomfortable times were where I grew the most. Where I learned the most.

So, I am stoked to be able to finally show below a little 3 min trailer about the journey. For one reason or another this footage is being turned into something useful about 2 years late, but, hey what can you do? I am just stoked to be able to relive the expedition again. Perhaps going back to what it was like on the river provided the push for me to decide upon the 7 rivers, 7 continents project. Whatever the case, check it out. I hope you enjoy. A 15 min cut of the footage just won top prize at the Gravity Adventure Festival in South Africa which was pretty cool.

On a side note, I leave France on Monday, headed to Tanzania via London to lead a pretty special group of people up Mount Kilimanjaro. It's a place that seems to put a very big smile on my face every time I step foot on it's slopes. Now, I know your grandma climbed Kili the other year and, for Pete's sake Chris Moyles and Cheryl Cole managed to top out, but you underestimate a nearly 6000m mountain at your own peril. Plenty of people summit Kili and get their photo taken at Uhuru Peak, but you know, plenty don't make it. Lack of prep or just bad luck dashes the hopes of many on the mountain each year. So, think about having a crack at the summit without the use all your limbs. Next week I will lead a mixed group of able-bodied and amputee trekkers towards the top of Kili, with one of our team being a quad amputee (yes that's right, quad). It will be an amazing, interesting and challenging climb for the trekkers as they try to reach the top of Africa and for myself as I try to get them there. I am so amped to meet the inevitable obstacles that will be thrown my way.

I won't be updating from Africa but will be sure to let you all know how it goes up on my return. I get a week at home afterwards, chilling and surfing before I head back out to take another group up. The things we do. Lucky I dig it!

Enjoy your weekend!

Modern-day explorers – top 5

Mark Kalch — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:31:39 +0000

MY. CURRENT. - top 5 (that is all). Things change, so don't take my choices as set in stone. It's a fine line in modern times between the definition of explorer and adventurer. Hell, I am seriously considering putting this divide into the too hard basket. The definition upsets one camp or another. For the purposes of my top 5 I have blurred the line a little and considered modern-day explorers to be a hybrid of both explorer and adventurer. I do not want to use this post to begin the endless argument over who is and who is not an explorer these days.

ex·plor·er
[ik-splawr-er, -splohr-] –noun
1. a person or thing that explores.
2. a person who investigates unknown regions: the great explorers of the Renaissance.

ad·ven·tur·er
[ad-ven-cher-er] –noun
1. a person who has, enjoys, or seeks adventures.
2. a seeker of fortune in daring enterprises; soldier of fortune.
3. a person who undertakes great commercial risk; speculator.
4. a person who seeks power, wealth, or social rank by unscrupulous or questionable means

*Both definitions from dictionary.com. It's not the Oxford English Dictionary but at least it's free!

My list is biased, one-eyed and no doubt differs from yours. I have definitely missed more than a few worthy "explorers" - scientists in the field, astronauts etc. I suppose my list contains those who I consider my peers, undertaking similar life journeys as mine (that explorer/adventurer hybrid I mentioned above). I have included both those who have been around a good long while and those that are in the process of establishing themselves (ie. on expedition right now!). Let me know who you think I have missed.

In no particluar order (except for number 1!)

1. Mike Horn - just google to check his resume and credentials. From his solo descent of the Amazon on a hydrospeed, winter north pole crossing and onto Pangea, he has more than earnt his stripes. I do understand I have a massive bias due to our shared exploits on the Amazon but, hey, what can you do?

2. Børge Ousland - sometime expedition partner of Mike and likes to mix it up between polar expeditions and 8000m peaks. Like Mike - hard man.

3. Benedict Allen - before going all "Hollywood" with Expedition Africa and Last Man Standing (kidding!) Benedict just went massively hardcore in South America, PNG and Borneo among other places. He actually manages a pretty descent explanation of modern day explorers here too. I want crocodile pattern scars so bad!

4. Wong How Man - this chap is the real deal. In an era of pretenders, Wong is a shining light. While he has confined most of his expeditions to China he has accomplished much and is considered his country's greatest living explorer. Not bad to be number one amongst 1.3 billion eh?

5. Ed Stafford - What can I say about this nutter? Almost 700 days and counting now! Ed and Cho have been hacking their way through the Amazon for so long now I wonder how Ed is going to handle being back in the UK! Not quite in the same league (experience wise) as the other 4 but I am really enjoying Ed's trials and his determination.

I know, I know - I'm crazy. I left out so and so. How could I forget whatshisname? Sorry Ran.