Nutrition has come a long way in 100 years, but in 1911 the value and importance of vitamins was not fully understood. In particular Scott’s team started the journey deficient in vitamin C and the B vitamins, whilst the wortleberry jam enjoyed by Amundsen’s team gave them a small amount at least. Daily rations during the walk to the Pole were pemmican, biscuits, cocoa, tea and 12 lumps of sugar. Pemmican is a mixture of fat and dried pieces of meat. It is mixed with water and heated to make a stew called “hoosh.” These rations did not provide enough energy. let alone variety.

Not surprisingly, after days on these rations, food was either talked about or dreamed about as the men were slowly starving. The most popular fantasty meal was well seasoned mince meat, wrapped in thick slices of bacon with plenty of fat and covered with buttery pastry layers, fried in lard and eaten piping hot. Vitamin C is not made by the body and so must be provided by foods. The well known deficiency disease is scurvy but long before this stage is reached muscle turn sore and weak, old wounds open and new ones don’t heal.

The B vitamins are involved with energy release, brain and nerve function. Amundsen’s rations included biscuits enriched with oatmeal and yeast – which would have provided a source of these vital nutrients. Scott and his team however suffered from the symptoms of B vitamin deficiency – anaemia, low energy, nerve damage, skin rashes, mouth ulcers, hellucinations and depression.

Constantly feeling exhausted, confused, with mouth ulcers and blisters that will not heal is bad enough at home but becomes intolerable whilst shivering in a tent in the Antarctic. Modern expedition food is now designed with a greater knowledge of nutrition and understanding of the power of food and performance. Food is vital to power the body and to keep the mind at peace. However, the adventurers and explorers I have met also seem to have an extra dose of mental strength which helps them to push their boundaries.

It is the New Year and thoughts turn to expanding waistlines and a resolve to eat less … or better. For others it is travel, and the yearning for adventure. Happily I can help with both.

I will be speaking at the Telegraph Adventure and Travel Show in London. It is a fabulous two day event, with a programme of speakers and plenty of outdoor gadgets and clothing to be tried, tested, or lovingly inspected. I will be speaking on Saturday 28th January (at 4pm, in Lecture Theatre 4).

My talk will take the audience on a journey … of my research findings and science facts about how altitude and different environments affect food habits. The Adventure Show programme is packed with stories about travels and incredible adventures around the globe. My story takes you behind the scenes to reveal some of the planning and preparation that goes on for a major expedition.

What you eat affect your performance, whether it is the mental performance of working effectively and coping with a stressful workload, or physical performance and having enough energy to get you where you want to be. I have worked with expeditions to Everest, and individuals who want to run a marathon … or walk to the North Pole.

If you would like some discount tickets for the Show (£6 per ticket, advance price, saving £4 on door price), please enter the code DRCHRISFENN when ordering online – www.adventureshow.com or phone 0871 230 7159 (calls cost 10p per minute + network extras) and quote code.

Looking forward to the Show, and giving my talk. If you come, and would like to discuss good food and the challenges of adventure, please come and say hello. If you can’t make it, please contact me to discuss presenting a talk to your group or company. This page  has more details about one of my presentations.

Thanks very much to Fiona O’Neill, Faculty Head HE/PE at Brechin Academy and Duke of Edinburgh Award leader who has sent me this account of the changes she has made since coming to my Eat for Fitness seminar. The photo above shows Fiona on top of her last Munro Sgurr Mor.

“I am a keen hillwalker and supported my training with a well known brand of sports drink powder. I was prone to nausea and headaches with an acrid taste left in my mouth after a day in the hills. Following a workshop with Chris I stopped this supplement and chose a natural pure fresh juice drink diluted to taste, with a pinch of salt added to it. It’s so much  more refreshing and has no side effects. I also made some additional small changes such as changing to decaf coffee and from margarine to butter. All in all some small changes, but the effect has been tremendous.”

My role is to give advice and practical suggestions about which foods should be part of the ration supply. Organising the food for a crew of 18 hungry people as they work hard to keep their yacht ahead in the race takes a lot of planning.

I’ll be keeping up with the crew as they sail and will keep you updated on their progress. In the meantime, here’s a post from the official website on the start of the race.

Along the way, I sampled traditional, regional foods – Cornish pasties in Cornwall, Devonshire cream tea in Devon, and Cheddar cheese in Cheddar – and visited as many “eco” places as I could.

One of my favourite stops was the incredible Eden Project in Cornwall. I fitted in a week’s work for Eden where I presented some talks for their “Around the world in healthy ways” campaign, and engaged visitors with my shopping trolley full of everyday foods. Whilst I was there I got the chance to travel along the longest zip wire in Europe (see pic).

When I finally arrived at John O’Groats I met a group of cycling GPs who had completed their journey in seven days. They were amused that I had taken more than three times as long, but I saw and learned so much along the way. I’d recommend it to anyone.

I am now a proud member of the Land’s End to John O’Groats Association.

Writing for Trail Walking magazine, I also took recording equipment and gathered interviews and kept an audio diary of my own experiences. With the skillful editing of Producer Mark Steven, these sounds were broadcast, as four nail biting episodes, on BBC Radio Scotland.

There is a large metal box on the summit – containing the highest visitors book in the world. Busy collecting interviews with my fellow trekkers on the summit, I forgot to sign the book. I therefore returned the next year, and climbed the mountain again just to sign the book. I wrote “Believe and Succeed!”

In 1998 I decided on a new challenge: to cycle across the United States. It would be a journey of 3,500 miles, solo – just me, my bike and my tent, across America. I started at San Diego, and dipped my back tyre in the Pacific Ocean and kept going East – up and over four mountain ranges, one 8,000 foot pass, through eight states, and across four timezones. I finished at St Augustine and dipped my front tyre in the Atlantic waves in Florida.The simple question of “why?” has a simple answer: “to celebrate being able to see.”

A few years earlier, I very nearly lost my sight. Both retinas had detached and, thanks to an emergency operation, I can still drive to work, run for a bus, and enjoy the colours of nature’s changing seasons. Imagine being blind. Every day events such as crossing the road, choosing apples at a supermarket, finding clothes that match, watching a football game or film at the cinema – or riding a bike – would all be very different and take time to adapt to. Since I was not a cyclist, the challenge of cycling across America would parallel the challenges of adapting to a life without sight, learning to use my other senses and having a different vision on life. I also wanted to raise £ 10,000 for a local charity North East Sensory Services (formerly Grampian Society for the Blind). Their work cannot bring sight back, but can help individuals lead an active and independent lifestyle.

America is a BIG place! It took me three weeks to cycle across Texas, but first I had to get across the Arizona desert. You expect it to be hot in a desert, but the temperature rose to a scourching 16o degrees f. I tucked my head down against the glare and started pedalling. I stopped at the only water stop, a gas station, hinged between sand dunes, and guzzled fluid to fill my body with water. My aim was to store as much water in my stomach and then fill several large bottles. These would add to the weight of my bike, which was already laden with 65 pounds of tent, sleeping bag, portable office, food and cooking equipment.Extra weight means extra effort to cycle, which means extra sweating.Perhaps I could have taken less water, but didn’t want to risk it. My fears were confirmed when I heard of another cyclist who had collapsed from heat exhaustion. He lay on the boiling tarmac for 20 minutes before he was picked up by a passing truck. In that short time, the sun’s rays were so fierce that they had melted the lycra in his shorts. He was treated in hospital for heat sickness and first degree burns.

My coast to coast adventure took 61 days. I got through eight bottles of sunscreen, 305 litres of water, 153 blueberry muffins, two T-shirts, three bottles of green slime (to help prevent punctures), and five inner tubes. I had 11 punctures, burned 218,000 calories and raised £ 12,000 for charity.

In 1993, a team of British climbers went out to Nepal, in the hope of climbing Everest 40 years after the first ascent by Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing. One of those climbers was Rebecca Stephens (pictured above, right) who, if she reached the top, would be the first British woman to climb Everest.

I was part of the support team. It was my job to meticulously plan the food that the team would eat before and during the expedition. It took six months of research, planning and procurement. I even found out what Hilary and Tenzing had eaten on their famous trip and included some of their choices in the mix.

As you can see from the picture, Rebecca made it to the top – an incredible achievement. I believe that it was something she ate, but I could be biased! Watching her achieve her goal and follow her passion for adventure, she inspired me to climb my own “Everest” – which was to reach the top of Kilimanjaro. I believe everyone has their own Everest to climb. For some it is the real thing, for others it is another challenge. I help individuals to choose the best foods to fuel their mind, body and soul – to get the most out of life and to reach their full potential.

I tell the story of this unique Himalayan expedition in one of my talks. You can find out how it was planned, which foods were taken, and why. It’s suitable for anyone fascinated by human endurance, adventure and travel. You can read more about it in Rebecca Stephens’s book On top of the world.

Dr Chris Fenn
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