Perthshire adventurer to present BBC Radio show

Nov 11 2011 by Greg Christison, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PERTHSHIRE adventurer Mark Beaumont will investigate how explorers keep themselves alive during testing expeditions in a new radio show.

‘Survival’, which is part of BBC’s ‘Explorer’s Season’, will look into how daredevils manage to emerge unscathed from some of the world’s most hostile natural environments thanks to their psychology and physiology.

And Mark, who will welcome Balquhidder mountaineer Vicky Jack on Monday’s half-hour long programme, explained he was no stranger to desperate situations.

Speaking to the PA yesterday, Mark, who lives in Glenalmond, said: “My hairiest experience in the Arctic was rowing into a very narrow lead of water only to find it was a dead end and that the ice had closed in behind us.

“We were quite a few miles from land and the sound of icebergs scrapping the boat’s hull is one of the worst things I have ever heard.

“It was the middle of the night and for a very tense 20 minutes it looked like we were stuck in middle of a vast ice field.”

During the show Mark will strive to discover what drives those that push themselves to the very limits of their physical and mental abilities and reveals what you should do if you do happen to fall off a mountain or get lost in a blizzard in the Antarctic.

He continued: “Whilst much of the world has now been mapped, traversed and scaled, adventurers and explorers continue to push the boundaries of what is possible.

“Why would you want to cycle round the world or row through the Arctic when it’s not essential for your survival?

“It's almost as if we're going out there to find out what we're capable of.”

Vicky, who was the first Scottish woman to scale the tallest peaks on all seven continents, has had her share of close shaves during her mountaineering exploits.

The 58-year-old nearly died in a blizzard in Antarctica after summiting the Vinson Massif, she has fallen off a narrow ledge 16,000 feet up on Alaska’s Mount McKinley and survived being smuggled through the world’s largest open-cast mine, where no women were allowed, in Indonesia.

But climbing Everest was the ultimate test of her determination. Within an hour-and-a-half of realising her dream Vicky turned back after making a decision that saved her life. The following year she returned to reach the peak.

She said: “It is quite interesting when you’re caught in an extreme situation, you slow down, don’t freeze, stay calm and think quite practically about how you will get out of the situation. It’s a survival instinct.

“It is natural, you just control your mind and become really focused.

“Turning back from Everest wasn’t carefully thought through.

“There were high winds, I couldn’t see a thing, had to cross a narrow ridge and I was exhausted. It was an instantaneous thought of, ‘I’m getting out of here’!”

She added: “I’m looking forward to the show, Mark is a delightful chap.”

Survival will air on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday between 2-2.30pm.