Meet the Team
Doc Martin
My name is Martin Rhodes, usually known as Doc Martin,. I’m a Sheffield-based doctor specializing in Polar medicine. I am writing to you from a windy Punta Arenas in Patagonia, where I am waiting for the weather to clear for my flight to Patriot Hills at 80 degree South in Antarctica.
This is where I first met Rosie when she made her solo South Pole expedition. I’ll be looking after the medical side of her expedition to the North Pole. This involves pre-departure planing and preparation of Rosie’s medical kit, field first aid training, and then, when she is underway, regular contact with Rosie by Iridium phone.
This contact is crucial, as the key to Rosie’s health
is awareness of her current condition so that we can ensure that
the inevitable small medical problems don’t escalate into expedition-
or even life-threatening ones.
The physical demands that Rosie faces are immense, and comparisons
fail to adequately describe the extremes to which she’ll be pushing
her body and mind….but imagine pulling a full supermarket trolley
with four broken wheels – then imagine pulling it in sand – then
imagine having to pick it up when it falls over and to heave
it up metres-high ridges of snow, and to swim across stretches
of water towing it – then imagine doing this for 10 or more hours
a day, for 60 days, day after day – and imagine this all in temperatures
that will freeze unprotected skin in minutes ….and finally imagine
do this on your own! Perhaps one can then begin to appreciate
what Rosie’s body will be going through…
The medical consequences of this are correspondingly extreme:
Nutrition
Rosie will require a huge energy intake. This energy is provided by food, specifically carbohydrate. She also requires protein for tissue repair and fats for proper cell function as well as energy. The challenge here is to balance her energy (calorie) needs with the weight of the food she pulls: if she takes all the food she theoretically needs she’ll expend more energy having to pull it all. On the other hand, if she takes too little food she’ll grind to a halt.
Injury and illness
Rosie will
inevitably suffer strains, bruises, and minor injuries and illness.
There is also the risk of serious trauma when pulling the pulk
over sastrugi, and as the body inevitably weakens, the risk of
infection, particularly skin and respiratory increases.
Cold
There is the ever present risk of cold injury, both to the body as a whole, and localized to a particular part - the former is hypothermia, the latter frostbite. Rosie’s body will adapt to maintain her vital core (brain, heart, kidneys) at the optimum working temperature (approx 37.0 degree C). If this core temperature drops the body is prepared to sacrifice the extremities (hands and feet and skin) and diverts warm blood from these parts to the core. This will lead to frostbite of the hands or feet.
Whilst working hard Rosie will generate vast quantities of heat as a waste product of muscular contraction, and even in very low temperatures she will not be cold. Surprisingly, perhaps, whilst working the biggest risk is that she will get so hot that she sweats. This sweat will wet her clothing from the inside, freeze, and she’ll lose heat rapidly. When she stops moving it’s vital therefore that Rosie gets into the relative warmth of her tent as quickly as possible.
Psychological
In many ways the hardest stresses that Rosie will face will be psychological. She is on her own. The effort is all her own. All the decisions are hers alone. She will have radio contact with the outside world, but this can often increase the feeling of loneliness. How can she reduce these stresses? Motivation, experience, confidence and training – and Rosie has all of these.
Tony Haile – Expedition Manager
Tony Haile, 29, grew up with the stories of his great cousin Frank Debenham, who was Scott's geologist in the Antarctic and subsequent founder of the Scott Polar Research Institute. It was an immense source of family pride and ignited a passion for all things polar that has never been quenched.
He gained a Masters Degree in International Relations at St. Andrews, Scotland, in which time he won his university colours and joined the St. Andrews elite athlete programme. From 1997-2000, Tony spent his summer months working as a bowman on ocean-racing yachts and managed to survive two major hurricanes on the Grand Banks, two knockdowns, a lightning strike and being dragged along under water, during a knockdown, in the middle of a hurricane.
In late 2000 he joined Team Logica as a bowman for the BT Global Challenge 2000-2001 'the world's toughest yacht race'. During the race Tony rounded Cape Horn and spent several months getting thrown about in Antarctic waters. He was also Team Logica's on-board cameraman and won several awards for his documentary footage, still photography and journalism.
In 2001, he switched disciplines to polar expeditions, being mentored by Geoff Somers, holder of the Polar Medal for his part in the longest Antarctic traverse in history (with dogs). Tony is a passionate expeditioner with extensive Arctic experience and in mid-2003 joined forces with Ben Saunders to create a two-expedition campaign - Serco Transarctic, 2004 and SOUTH 2007-8. Tony was Expedition Manager for Serco TransArctic and had full operational responsibility for the project.
Tony is the Expedition Manager for Rosie’s Mars North Pole Solo expedition.
Tori James
Tori James brings a wealth of expedition experience to the team. She previously worked for the British Schools Exploring Society based at the Royal Geographical Society in London and has undertaken many expeditions to cold and inhospitable parts of the globe. Most notably, Tori and her team ‘The Pink Lady PoleCats’ became the first ever all-female team to complete a 360 mile race to the Magnetic North Pole (different from the one Rosie will visit!) in May 2005. Her team finished 6th out of 16, beating several all male teams in the process.
In March 2007 Tori departs for Mount Everest. She is hoping to become the first Welsh Woman and youngest British Female to make the summit.
More information can be found at www.everest2007.net
