Photo credits: Ricky Mawdsley, colour edited by Haus of Hiatus.
Logo design: Haus of Hiatus
Frozen Dagger South Pole expedition
In November 2023, Sam Cox will embark on a unique solo and unsupported journey across Antarctica. Starting at the coast of Berkner Island and finishing at the base of the Reedy glacier, via the South Pole, this expedition is a total distance of 1,950km. As one of the last wildernesses this will a pure test of physical and mental endurance.
Consuming 7,000 calories for 75 days, this record-breaking route is over 400km further than any attempted before by a unsupported solo explorer. Sam will ski this route alone with no support and will enter the record books on completion. Only two people in history have ever crossed Antarctica solo and unsupported. No one has ever travelled this far whilst having completely unassisted movement.
Sam was raised in South Devon and throughout his school years developed a taste for the outdoors living close to both the beach and Dartmoor. This sense of adventure continued after he left school and joined the Royal Marines in 2010. He has tested himself throughout the globe’s harshest environments from the humidity of the jungles in Brunei, the heat of Central Asia, to the depths of the iciest temperatures in Norway. He will be using these experiences to help tackle the challenges of crossing 1,950km of Antarctic tundra and glaciers.
Whilst in Antarctica Sam will be collecting data regarding the toll it takes on his body and mind. This data will add meaningful research to significant scientific studies focused on human performance, sleep,and psychological stress responses whilst in an austere environment for a prolonged period of time.
This important research will aid in the understanding of individual strategies for emotion regulation in extreme environment for the space analogue community.
Sam will be supporting two phenomenal charities throughout the expedition: Movember and Rock2Recovery. Both champion positive mental wellbeing through proactive approaches.
Movember is the leading global charity changing the face of men’s health. They exist to stop men dying too young by tackling some of the most complex health issues facing men – mental health, suicide, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Movember’s purpose is to confront, challenge and change men’s health to save more men’s lives.
Rock2Recovery’s aim is to save and change the lives of those in the Armed Forces, the Veteran Community, the Emergency Services and their families who are affected by stress. The Rock2Recovery purpose is to inspire and coach towards a more positive future.
You can find out more about Sam’s incredible endeavour at his website, and see more about his branding here. The Antarctic endeavour is kindly supported by the following organisations:
Resilience Nutrition | Haus of Hiatus creative agency | Zero Six Zero mapping | Forty Below gear | Resilience Development Co | Savage Game Design | Augmented Everest | OWF | Sentinel Unmanned | White Space | Labrys
