#Lastpole Expedition - Jhy Turley ARPS

Jhy Turley ARPS

Photography became a passion for me after a trip to Nepal trekking to Kala Patthar – a peak which overlooks Everest base camp. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but this adventure inspired a thirst in me for both adventure and photography.

Following this trip, I really started to learn how to take photographs; not just technically but also conceptually. Photography became a tool for me to explore and discover. It allows me to see the world and document it. On returning from Nepal, I sat and looked through the 14 rolls of film I’d taken and decided I needed to find my next challenge. This was in 2006. I discovered Jim McNeill, and The Ice Warrior Project, while randomly searching the internet looking for something different that would push my boundaries.

Jim is a veteran polar explorer. His experience spans 35 years, starting in the army. He was Sir Ranulph Fiennes polar consultant, trained BBC crew members on Blue planet, as well as serving as a firefighter. He also still has all his fingers and toes! Pretty good proof of his ability to operate in the harshest conditions on the planet. His mission with Ice Warrior is to take everyday people and train them to be polar explorers, before embarking on an expedition. However, these are not just adventurous journeys for the sake of adventure. There is always a scientific or environmental aspect to them.

At the end of 2016, I decided it was time for me to apply to join the team for #LASTPOLE.

You can’t simply buy a place on this expedition, turn up, train, and head into the Arctic. As a team member, we have to raise all the funds to cover training and the expedition. Our team is made up of an incredibly diverse bunch of people that include doctors, a data Scientist, designers, an engineer, a teacher, a researcher, a property entrepreneur, and a hotelier. These people come from all over the globe: India, Holland, Mexico, Scotland, England, Wales, Germany, and France.

Many people are unaware that there are 4 north poles; Geographic, Magnetic, and Geomagnetic North and, finally, The Arctic Pole of Inaccessibility. It is this fourth pole that #LASTPOLE aims to reach. The expedition is named as such because this Pole is the last truly significant place in the Arctic that man has yet to reach.

The expedition will leave from Cape Isachsen, on Ellef Ringnes Island in the northern territories of Canada, and head out on to the frozen ocean towards 85°48’N, 176°09’W, the Arctic Pole of Inaccessibility, defined as the point on the Arctic Ocean that is farthest from any land. The journey consists of 4 legs, each covering 200 miles of the 800-mile journey. For 10 hours a day, for 20 days, each team of eight will man-haul everything they need to survive. Along the way, we will collect data to be used by our scientific partners, which include the NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Centre), NASA, and the Met Office.

I originally joined the team for a great adventure, but it’s evolved into so much more. Meeting new people, learning new skills, and learning more about myself and who I am, has enriched the experience more than I could have imagined.

This year has been spent focusing on the core skills we need; camp craft, navigation, rope work, first aid, and researching the Arctic region. The next step will be to head out to Svalbard (one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, an archipelago on the tip of Norway) where we will put all these skills into practice, developing and refining them. Fundraising is also a hugely time-consuming activity, but vital to both raise the funds and also spread the word about the expedition.

This is also an exciting photographic opportunity that I’m trying to embrace fully. In the past, I’ve always used DSLRs, but this equipment is heavy and bulky. Weight is going to be a major factor for us. As a result, I’ve started to experiment with compact and smaller equipment. The harsh conditions are going to be really challenging for the equipment. I’ve already broken one new camera while on navigation training in Dartmoor!

Trying to document the process while actively taking part is also new to me. I’ve always been an onlooker, so this is a new and difficult aspect of my photography. I’m not going to be able to have too much of a plan, whereas I usually like to think about what kind of shots I want to capture. Training trips to Svalbard are going to be vital for me to experiment, and to learn how to integrate taking photos while also concentrating on the tasks at hand. I’m not sure how I will use the images, or what I will be able to capture. I’d like to somehow tell the story of the immense effort and human endurance it takes to gather such vital environmental data. Although I don’t normally do much landscape photography, the landscape is going to be very important to the story I tell. The Arctic is changing so rapidly. Just this year it was reported that “the Arctic’s oldest, thickest sea ice is ‘breaking up’ for the first time in recorded history”.

You can find out more from the expedition website: www.lastpole.co.uk

If you would like to support me please visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ jhy-turley

www.jhyturley.com