Jun 28, 20183 min read

Felicity Aston MBE - Expedition Leader for The Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole

Felicity's Polar career began in the year 2000, when she travelled to Antarctica for the first time with the British Antarctic Survey as a Meteorologist. Aged just 23 she spent a continuous period of two and a half years (including two consecutive winters) at Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula to monitor climate and ozone.

Felicity went on to organise and lead numerous expeditions to remote places around the world, but particularly to the Polar Regions. Her expeditions have included the first British Women’s crossing of Greenland, a 6000km drive to the South Pole, a 36,000km drive to the Pole of Cold, and leading the largest and most international team of women ever to ski to the South Pole.

Felicity continues to explore, specialising in new and exciting ways to communicate the expedition experience to the wider world. Her Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition was the first to ‘Tweet to the Pole’ and material from her Pole of Cold expedition has been developed into a travelling art exhibition. She has written three books Call of the White: Taking the World to the South Pole (2011), Alone in Antarctica (2013), Chasing Winter: A Journey to the Pole of Cold (2014).

Most recently she was behind, The Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition 2018. Which was an international team of women from across Europe and the Middle East who set out to ski the last degree to the North Pole in April 2018. The expedition faced many physical challenges – with temperatures down to -40°C, polar bears and shifting pack ice - but the core purpose of the expedition was to foster greater dialogue and understanding between women from Western and Arabian cultures. In addition, the expedition worked to inspire all women to reach beyond the expectation of others to fulfil their own ultimate life ambitions.

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Show notes

First speaking back in November 2015!
Putting together expeditions to visit very cold places
Why the Arctic?
Spending the summer on a Russian Icebreaker going back and forth to the North Pole
Wanting to put together another expedition with a new set of challenges
The new challenges in the Arctic!
Her role on the icebreaker
The Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition 2018
Turning her idea into a reality
Taking the first step in finding a team
Putting it out on her website and getting over 1,000 responses!
Meeting the team for the first time at a training expedition in September 2016
Teamwork and why it is so important for expeditions in the Arctic
Trying to understand their motivation and why they wanted to do this challenge
September 2016 and the first time the team comes together.
Handing the cold and the extreme temperatures
Dealing with a cold injury and having frostbite
The expedition and what was involved
Having to be prepared for Polar Bears while out on the ice and dealing with the cold!
The journey to the pole - sponsorship, fitness and the costs involved.
Training in the desert and why there was benefits especially in regards to navigation and team bonding
The costs of the expedition & getting sponsorship
The challenges of having a large team of 12
Physical training…. and getting fit for the challenge
Mental fitness - and not wanting to be over confident or complacent
Leadership style and how Felicity leads and why she was not the guide
What Felicity learned from the expedition
Plans for the future
Documentary and books!
Advice for women who do want to step outside their comfort zone
Why there is never a good time to do what you want to do
The book she has been meaning to write for 10 years!!