The
Geographer
RSGS Explorer-in-Residence
28-29
Spring 2014
On becoming an explorer
Craig Mathieson
“There are no words
which can describe the
sense of accomplishment
of a life-long goal.”
I made the decision to become
an explorer at the age of 12,
after reading Cherry-Garrard’s
The Worst Journey in the World.
Already a bit of a feral child, I
would spend many weekends wild
camping in the woods around my
home village of Buchlyvie, living
off fish caught in the River Forth
and the endless supply of rabbits
from the surrounding fields. To
me, even at this young age, it was
all part of training to become an
explorer one day.
South Pole is one of the greatest
privileges in exploration. I often
think about the actual moment
I reached the Pole and what it
took to get there – the training,
the sponsorship, the pain, and
the commitment from my wife
and children to help me achieve.
Therefore, instead of a sense
of anti-climax, it fills me with
an enormous sense of pride, as
well as giving me the privilege of
now being able to share my own
experiences with others.
no longer had
barriers, just
opportunities.
Unfortunately, being an ‘explorer’
was not on the list of career
options which I was given by my
guidance teacher on reaching 16
years old. Quite simply, “people
like you don’t do that sort of
thing” was the advice I was given.
However, I was never one for
giving up easily, so I decided that
the only person who could make
this work was myself; therefore,
over the following years, that’s
exactly what I did.
After the South Pole, I conducted
an extensive lecture tour of
Scottish schools. I would tell
the pupils of my experiences,
but at the same time ask them
who inspired them and what did
they want to achieve in life? Over
the many months of lectures,
I began to identify a section of
pupils within every school who
would have fantastic aspirations
but no confidence or belief that
they would achieve anything
significant in life.
I consider
myself to be exceptionally
privileged to have had the
opportunity to undertake my
expeditions. However, with this
privilege comes a duty. A duty
to pass on all the life lessons
learnt, to share the images I’ve
seen on my travels, and to inspire
the next generation. I now devote
all my time to establishing the
Polar Academy, a Scottish charity
which seeks out the ‘Chrises’ of
this world and gives them the
responsibility and trust needed
to enable them to join me in
scientific expeditions to the
Arctic. Whereby, on their return,
they go into schools and inspire
their peers with the message that
any goal can be achieved.
Starting by joining the military,
I was able to gain some of the
skills required for successful
exploration. However, I would
always seek out anyone who
could give me any advice; I would
listen and practise any new skill
until it became a natural instinct.
I would also read any book
which could help me get into the
mindset of being an explorer.
Needless to say, I began to see
the explorers of the ‘Golden Age’
as my role models. For me, the
professionalism and attitude of
Amundsen and Nansen shaped
the way I would plan and train for
expeditions, whilst the inspiration
to achieve would come from the
likes of Scott, Shackleton, Bruce,
and of course Sir Wally Herbert.
All the years of hard work
came to fruition when, on 28th
December 2004, having skied
730 miles, I reached the South
Pole. There are no words which
can describe the sense of
accomplishment of a life-long
goal; indeed, many people could
ask if, having achieved the Pole,
it left me with a sense of anticlimax. Nothing could be further
from the truth; to ski to the
This troubled me, so I set out to
demonstrate that anyone with
the right training could change
their attitude to achieve any goal,
regardless of previous beliefs.
Therefore, I took Chris Struthers,
a very normal, shy teenager with
a serious lack of confidence, on
a journey that would change his
life – skiing to the Geographic
North Pole.
Preparation for any expedition
has to be meticulous, but more
so when dealing with youths.
We trained hard, and over the
months I could see Chris’s
confidence grow. The expedition
was flawless and on 24th April
2006, shoulder to shoulder, we
reached the North Pole.
Chris returned to school, worked
hard, and used the skills he had
learnt to eventually gain enough
qualifications to be accepted
into university. A very confident
Chris and his mother visited me
last summer to say thank you;
they had just returned from his
graduation ceremony at Aberdeen
University. They explained that
the North Pole expedition had
changed their lives forever: life
There are
thousands of
youths all over
Scotland who
are just like
Chris when I
first met him. I
know, as I still
talk to schools
all over the
country.
Next time, I’ll write on where we
are at with the Polar Academy:
the selection of the pupils, the
training, and what it means to
them and their families and
communities to be part of
the Polar Academy. If, in the
meantime, you would like to know
more, please feel free to contact
me through the RSGS or on
01506 825115.
Craig