Pen Hadow rose to international fame when in 2003 he achieved his extraordinary goal to become the first person to trek solo, without resupply by third parties, from Canada to the North Geographic Pole – a feat which has not been repeated and thought comparable in difficulty to making the first ascent of Everest, solo and without oxygen. Within months he went on to become the only Briton to have trekked, without resupply, to both the North and South Poles.
Pen’s exploration and entrepreneurial interests had combined in 1995 to found a specialist polar guide service (The Polar Travel Company), which organised expeditions to the Poles; but it was in 2009 that he formed Geo Mission, the pioneering environmental sponsorship organisation, which delivered the multi-award winning series of Catlin Arctic Surveys (2009-11) investigating the rates, causes and global impacts of the fast-disappearing Arctic sea ice. Geo Mission now offers an environmental consulting service alongside developing new Surveys in the rain forest, mountain and tundra environments.
Pen currently advises FTSE250 businesses on the upgrading and communication of their environmental credentials, speaks to corporate and conference audiences on themes including human performance and environmental responsibility, and provides coaching to individuals and teams.
Pen’s journey began in the early 1960′s with a bizarre ‘polar conditioning programme’ overseen by his nanny Enid Wigley, who decades earlier had also been nanny to Scott of the Antarctic’s son, Peter (later Sir Peter Scott who founded the World Wide Fund for Nature, aka the WWF).
Years later, with his father’s encouragement, the same conditioning programme was applied to Pen at his home in the Scottish Highlands. Nanny Wigley continued to fill Pen’s head with tales of Scott and the other great explorers – ‘the Antarctic Boys’ as Pen came to know them.
Pen’s father also used to relate tales of sporting prowess and great deeds by their family’s illustrious ancestors, as far back as those who famously hid Charles II in an oak tree (hence the ‘Royal Oak’ pubs) when Cromwell’s troops came closest to capturing him. Among other notables was Douglas Hadow (19), a member of the party, led by Edward Whymper, that made the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865; and Frank Hadow who, in winning Wimbledon, introduced the ‘lob’ to thwart a master volleyer in the final – and is still the only Men’s Champion never to have dropped a set.
Pen discovered early the benefits that come with a high degree of compliance to sports training programmes, and applied these to his own extra-curricular endeavours. Aged 15 he devised a punishing training schedule to enable him to attempt a traditional school marathon, which in 1977 was long before marathons had become a public participation sport – his hero being the Ethiopian long-distance runner Abebe Bikila. He completed the route in three hours and later learned the route had not been done since 1927, 50 years earlier. It’s now become a major feature in Harrow School’s sporting calendar.
Things started to go awry for Pen back in 1979 when temporarily removed from school due to acute exhaustion, brought about by playing a series of rugby matches for Harrow while running a high temperature. This immediately led to post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) lasting 25 years, and associated chronic depression as his body and mind constrained his considerable ambitions. Given these physiological and psychological conditions, his solo North Pole mission was, indeed, a supreme challenge that unexpectedly broke him free of his PVFS. Going on to become the only Briton to have trekked, without resupply, to both the North and South Poles is testament to Pen’s determination to succeed in the most challenging of environments.
In the 1980′s Pen became the youngest-ever executive at Mark McCormack’s Sports Organisation, the renowned International Management Group (aka IMG), where he promoted the talents of
international sports stars and sports events. A decade later, following several polar expeditions, he set up the world’s first specialist polar guide service, opening up the Arctic and Antarctic to a wide audience with his pioneering travel business, The Polar Travel Company. His vision was to empower people from all walks of life to fulfil their polar ambitions.
Pen’s love of exploration and endeavour is infectious and he actively encourages others to push back their limits. In1997 he devised and organised the first all-women’s expedition to the North Geographic Pole. Twenty women, with no previous polar experience and from all backgrounds and age groups, were led in the field by two professional women guides to realise their dreams and walk into the Guinness Book of Records. In so doing, he changed the perception of what many thought was impossible in the polar regions. This pioneering project spawned the careers of a number of female British polar explorers who have gone on to lead the field globally.
In 2004 Pen’s bestselling autobiography was published. ‘Solo’ is a fascinating insight into the build-up and execution of the unrelentingly tough and hazardous two-month journey to the North Pole that led to him fulfilling his burning ambition and, by association, becoming a national figure through the global media coverage of his iconic achievement.
Pen Hadow is in considerable demand world-wide as a motivational speaker and delivers memorable, thought-provoking and engaging talks whether he is booked for after-dinner, award ceremonies or keynote business events. Pen speaks with passion and insight on subjects including the environment, personal performance, developing teams, motivation, resilience, risk/reward and overcoming adversity. Pen has inspired audiences across all sectors, tailoring his material to suit each client event. Pen’s style is entertaining and yet he delivers powerful business lessons forged from his pioneering expeditions on and off the ice.
For further information on Pen Hadow please contact Jo Uffendell M: 07966 429260
To download a copy of Pen’s biography, click here
Only person solo, without resupply by third parties, from Canada to the North Pole
Only Briton, without resupply by third parties, to the North & South Poles from their respective continental coasts
Founder and leader, Catlin Arctic Surveys (2009-11)
Awards
Honorary Doctorate of Laws (University of Exeter)
Honorary Doctorate of Science (University of Plymouth)
Best Global Adventure, 2003 (La Marca)
Top 100 Newspaper Front Pages (British Library)
Hero of the Environment (TIME magazine, 2009)
World Technology Award – Environment (2009)
TV, Radio & Online
BBC Four ‘Dear Diary’ – Scott of the Antarctic’, main contributor
BBC World Service, BBC World TV & BBC News Online: ‘World: Have Your Say’, featured guest
BBC Two: ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’, featured guest
BBC One: ‘They Think It’s All Over’, guest contributor
BBC One: ‘Breakfast with Frost’, guest contributor
BBC Radio 4: ‘Desert Island Discs’, with Sue Lawley
BBC Radio 4: ‘Following Phileas’, presenter of 5-part series
Media coverage of Solo North Pole and Catlin Arctic Surveys across all platforms of BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and many other international broadcasters
Regular contributor to news channels regarding: polar regions; climate change; and human adventure.
Publications
‘Solo’ 2004 published by Michael Joesph Ltd
In May 2003, the country was gripped by the fate of arctic explorer Pen Hadow, stranded with diminishing supplies on the ice cap after successfully reaching the Pole. Hadow was the first man to reach the North Pole alone and unsupported via the arduous Canadian route. Despite severe setbacks, he walked, skiied and swam for two months to fulfil a lifetime’s dream. Solo is the gripping, inspirational autobiography of a true British hero.
‘The Modern Explorers’ edited by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, Thames & Hudson 2011
Contributory chapter by Pen Hadow about the role of the modern-day explorer, which he did using the story of his leadership of the pioneering international scientific work conducted by the Arctic Surveys.
‘Catlin Arctic Survey 2009′ by Rod Macrae, Blurb/Geo Mission 2010
Foreword provided by Pen Hadow in this souvenir hardback which recounts the origination, delivery and scientific findings of the inaugural Arctic Survey.
‘Who Will Save Us?’ by Rebecca Morch – 2007
Foreword provided by Pen Hadow for what was the first book to introduce young children to the science behind, and consequences of, man-induced global warming – told through the adventures of Wise Old penguin and his young charges.
‘The New Green Consumer Guide’ by Julia Hailes – 2007
One of the highest-profile and best-selling books of 2007; the original Green Consumer Guide (1988) co-written by Hailes was the classic of its genre. Hailes’ updated version focuses on how individuals can change their daily lives to reduce their carbon footprint and their impact on the environment more generally. In it, Pen is featured as someone with a story to tell from first-hand experience about the impact that all our combined emissions has on the shrinkage and thinning of the North Pole ice cap.
‘Cold Feat’ by Duncan L. Eadie – 2007
Pen provided the foreword to Duncan Eadie’s book based on his experiences as he was catapulted from the concrete safety and security of London into the remote wilderness of the high Arctic on an extreme polar adventure.
‘The Seventy Great Journeys in History’ edited by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, Thames & Hudson 2006
As a contributor to this authoritative book, Pen wrote the ‘To the North Pole’ chapter which summarises the historic race on foot across the Arctic Ocean to be the first to reach the North Pole. It reviews the attempts by Franklin and Peary, but records that Sir Wally Herbert’s 1968-69 British expedition was the first indisputable – and almost certainly only – claimant.
‘The World’s Wild Places’ edited by Colin Prior, Constable, London 2006
As a contributor to this lavishly illustrated book of photographs by Prior promoting our natural world, Pen wrote the chapter introducing Europe. It gives a personal take on the impact of man-generated greenhouse gases on the North Pole ice cap, and explains the science driving global warming and the consequences of a disappearing ice cap.
‘Roald Amundsen’ by Tor Bomann-Larsen, Sutton Publishing 2006
Pen provided the foreword to this significant biography about the most successful polar explorer of all time – Amundsen. The book focuses on the character, endeavours and continuing influence of this polar giant. That he reached the South Pole ahead of Scott is widely known, that he was the first to reach, albeit by air, the North Pole is not. Amundsen’s complete list of polar achievements never has been, indeed never can be, surpassed.
The Junior 8 Summit (officially linked with The G8 Summit)
Pen was the key-note speaker at the inaugural J8 Summit in 2005 in Edinburgh. He has recently contributed a thought-provoking piece on the J8 website entitled ‘The Changing Colour of Our Planet’ to help stimulate debate amongst participating young people throughout the G8 community of nations on the subject of climate change and carbon emissions.
‘Shipwrecked on the Top of the World – Four Against the Arctic’ by David Roberts, Time Warner Books 2003
Pen’s review was featured in the front of this spell-binding account of how four walrus hunters survived shipwreck in Svalbard in 1743 with no more than the clothes and gear they carried for a day trip excursion ashore … for 6 years until the fortuitous arrival of another ship. One of, if not the most remarkable Arctic survival stories ever recounted.
