IOL announces their first Vice President
We are delighted to announce that celebrated Polar explorer Conrad Dickinson, is to become IOL’s first Vice President. Conrad (an ex Army Captain), from Hexham, Northumberland has been involved in cross country expeditions for over thirty years. He has become a permanent feature in the international record books with his enthusiasm for adventure. He has shown his consuming passion for expeditions on treks to Greenland (four times), Iceland, Spitzbergan, Yukon (Mount Logan), Sierra Nevada (California), Siberia and Sweden. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society.
Conrad entered the record books 2006 when he arrived at the North Geographic Pole in just 52 days and twelve hours. He knocked 10 days off the British record for the fastest unsupported 775 km (482 miles) trek from Ward Hunt Island, Canada, to the top of the world.
Along with with 46-year-old Canadian ski champion Richard Weber – this was the first polar trek to have been done in snow shoes alone. Conrad is also one of the few people in the world to have achieved the ‘polar trilogy’ of conquering Greenland, Antarctica and the North Pole.
As part of another expedition Conrad attempted to make the first winter ascent of the highest mountain in the Arctic, Gunnbjorn Fjeld, Greenland, but was stopped by the extreme cold (-46C/-50.8F) and very strong winds. However the team did achieve an altitude higher than anyone has ever climbed in the Arctic during winter.
Conrad’s involvement with IOL started with an inspirational speech to the Northern Region conference and he is very happy to add his name in support of the aims of IOL - ‘The work that IOL does is fantastic; I am really impressed with the professionalism of its members and the work that they do accross the wide scope of Outdoor Learning’