Polar Elite Foundation Members

   Aurora

• Emily Waddell
  

  Hi
  I would like to introduce myself as the Extreme World Races Polar Elite Foundation Manager.
  I hope that you enjoy being a part of an Exclusive Private Members' Club.
  This is your area. If you would like to see anything on this page then do not hesitate to let me know on +44 (0)1285 860440 or email polarelitefoundation@extremeworldraces.com
  I look forward to speaking with you.
  Emily
• Alexey Turchin
• Vasily Kaliazin

   Eclipse

• Bruce Manning
  

  I started climbing, skiing, mountaineering, and diving as a teenager and took up karate and shooting as a student. I hill run every week and enter mountain marathons and triathlons each year. Most weeks' training includes circuits, swimming and cycling. I recently took up white water kayaking before entering the New Zealand Coast to Coast race. I climb overseas most years in the Americas, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Nepal or Tibet. I have climbed various major peaks reaching 7,700m on the north side of Everest and summiting Lhotse at 8,515m. Working for the British Schools Exploring Society as Chief Mountaineer and later Chief Leader in South Georgia has been very rewarding. I now look forward to learning to kite ski and entering the inaugural Siberian Black Ice race.

   Crystal

• Daniel Bouskila
  

  I have been mountaineering since I was 12 years old starting in the hills of Derbyshire to the Alps, Himalayas, Tien shun range etc. and have a deep love of exploration and expedition planning & operation. I have also spent a lot of time getting involved in adventure racing and have participated in the GDF Suez Raid three times which is classed as the biggest corporate adventure race in the world and is a mu sport discipline so when I first met EWR it was a dream come true. They are great people who are like minded and who push the limits and make these incredible races possible for people like me and you.
  
  Thanks EWR.

   Associate

• Anastasia Kim
  

  Born to a Russian mother and a Korean father in the mountains of USSR that very soon became an independent country of Kyrgyzstan, I grew up in Siberia (unfortunately, in a city flat not in an igloo). Always hated sport, until sustained a spine compression from a small fall due to a lack of fitness. After 6 months of recovery started snowboarding. From that picked up surfing. Windsurfing, snowkiting and kitesurfing followed. Left home at 16 to pursue a dream of becoming a fashion designer and since then live in London. At age 19 found myself trapped in a small tent with 8 other adventurers in the blinding raging snow storm on the East coast of Svalbard. 48 hours of almost non-stop digging and an encounter with a polar bear followed and I fell in love with the Arctic. Since then I use every opportunity to come back, and have been able to do so for 3 years in a row: as a photographer for Varanger Arctic Kite Enduro 2010 and 2011 (called 'the longest, hardest and most extreme snowkite race in the world'), as a snowkiter, or as a solo adventurer dragging the sled in the cold vast whiteness. In 2009 almost by an accident climbed the highest peak of Europe, Elbrus. Later that same year participated in scientific expedition in Amazon Jungles. In 2011 became interested in mountaineering, spent 24 days on Denali, climbed Kilimanjaro and several peaks in Alps. At the moment preparing for a Polar survival training this December and looking forward to the Adventure Academy 2012. Siberian Black Ice Race is a great chance to strengthen my survival skills and visit family.

  I find a constant inspiration in the examples of great people like Ranulph Fiennes, Johan Ernst Nilson and my grandmother (who does not at all approve of things that I do).
• Ashley Baldwin
  

  The ordinary boy!
  Hi my name is Ashley Baldwin. I live with my girlfriend Nicki in Brighton UK. I was born in May 1968 and I'm one of 6 children! I currently run a small business installing AV systems and Home automation equipment.
  I have been very lucky to have back packed around some amazing countries. Travel is my passion. I love different cultures and religions. I'm never happier then when I'm in the back of an old bus heading to who knows where! But as I get older I want to do something amazing. I've never attempted anything like the Black Ice Race before. So I'm doing it for me, to see if I can! To see if just once I can be the extraordinary boy!
  
• Christian Modler
• Richard Humphries
  

  My name's Richard Humphries and I'm 24 years old. When I was 18 i went on a charity expedition to Kenya where I climbed mount kenya, and discovered my love for travel. I grew up in Chippenham, Wiltshire and then moved to Manchester to study Criminology and Sociology at university. Since graduating from university, I travelled the world for a year and visited 15 countries across 5 continents. It was an amazing experience and made me want to see more of the world. I recently spent 6 months working a winter season in the French Alps and I'm currently working as a British Sign Language communication for deaf students.
• Caterina Finis
  

  Born in 1982 in Dusseldorf, I grew up in Germany, went to school in England and studied in Hong Kong and Sydney. Since my graduation in Business Administration in 2005, I worked in the Real Estate Business and since 2008 as Investment Consultant in Paris.

  But besides my "serious office job", I am much more passionate about travelling and discovering the world. In June this year I quit my job and went off to Colombia to work in a volunteering project in Montebello. It was a great experience, great country and people, great culture - but also shocking viewing the miserable life of some of the kids.

  Besides travelling on land, I am also a great fan of sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, especially competing sailing on my father's KER 53 racing cruiser. This weekend, we will set off to compete in the ROLEX Middle Sea Race around Sicily, Lampedusa, and Malta (ca. 600 miles). The race is a true challenge due to the often changeable and demanding conditions. As a next step I planned to travel with the Trans-Siberian train through Russia, and Mongolia to China but after seeing the South Pole opportunity being challenged by weather conditions, assist in mapping out the best route, keeping safety as highest priority, compete against other drivers and follow the route of Sir Robert Falcon Scott of his epic voyage would be a great honour for me!
• Steve Taylor
  

  I'm 29 self-employed in software currently working in London. I've traveled quite a lot both personal and work, some tough travel in Siberia previously but nothing major. I'm a normal easy going guy and like doing different things in life, so I really do appreciate these sorts of things.
• James Van Der Hoorn
  

  I was born in 1987 and have always enjoyed setting myself difficult challenges, often with a degree of spontaneity. In 2007 I spent a year devoted to rock climbing around Australia, exploring new cultures and meeting all sorts of interesting people. I currently hold the Guinness World Record for the most countries visited in one day (12), by flying an old single engine plane around Europe landing in each one to get signatures from the people there. I''m also a big fan of extreme sports with qualifications in Skydiving, Kayaking, Skiing and Scuba diving. Having now graduated from The University of Leeds I''m looking forward to jumping back into another adventure, although I''m not quite sure which choice to take at the moment. Finally, I feel global warming is an issue nobody can afford to ignore and hope to promote energy saving principles through educating children and families about the future prospects of the ice caps, and how this will affect us.
• Karin Modler
• Felipe Iturralde
• Maria Jose Navarro
• Julian McPike
• Harald McPike
• Joann McPike
• Alex McPike