Author(s): Mark McCrum

Sport

This is an extraordinary story. Four soldiers, each a hero of recent conflicts who has suffered devastating injuries, taking on a challenge that even an able-bodied athlete would baulk at. A four-week trek, unaided, to the North Pole. The expedition - conceived as a way of demonstrating how remarkable our servicemen and women are and to raise funds for the rehabilitation of injured soldiers - will see the adventurers cover 300 miles of frozen Arctic Ocean, navigating vast swathes of ice rubble and pressure ridges as well as dangerous open water 'leads'. And all the time, they'll be keeping their eyes peeled for the notoriously aggressive Polar Bears that roam the landscape. Pulling in excess of 100kg each, and with every step fraught with risk, the participants' resilience will be tested to the limit. Each of the men tells their personal story in this book, along with that of the extraordinary expedition itself - the rigorous training, the meticulous preparation, and of course, the final, awe-inspiring voyage across the ice.