Open Letter: game over
Dear All,
I never thought I'd have to write this message, but despite three years of total dedication and 'never give up' attitude, the North08/Journey South 2007 team and I have been forced to cancel our plans for the two projects. We planned to break the mould and achieve something different - moving away from the gimmicks and repetitive nature of the commercial polar travel of recent years. Ironically, it seems to have been this desire to do something different and push boundaries that created barriers that have caused us to literally run out of time. We came heart-breakingly close on more than one occasion to securing the funding necessary but were sadly let down.
Over the past three years, the team has achieved a great number of things, including:
- Raising in excess of £10,000 for cancer charities
- Creating a platform for male cancer awareness and further raising profile for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres
- Appearing live on national BBC, ITV, C4 and Sky television
- Achieved first ascents of five peaks in Eastern Greenland
- Writing in excess of 1,100 personally written sponsorship proposals
I plan to keep our website live for the foreseeable future in order to continue broadcasting our thanks to the hundreds of people who believed in us from the very beginning and whose support never wavered. They are:
Sincere thanks to you all. The team will certainly have exciting plans for the upcoming year - check back soon! On a personal note, I plan to join the Royal Marines Officer Batch in September 2008 but vow to return to the polar regions - there is unfinished business!
Yours,
Alex Hibbert
I never thought I'd have to write this message, but despite three years of total dedication and 'never give up' attitude, the North08/Journey South 2007 team and I have been forced to cancel our plans for the two projects. We planned to break the mould and achieve something different - moving away from the gimmicks and repetitive nature of the commercial polar travel of recent years. Ironically, it seems to have been this desire to do something different and push boundaries that created barriers that have caused us to literally run out of time. We came heart-breakingly close on more than one occasion to securing the funding necessary but were sadly let down.
Over the past three years, the team has achieved a great number of things, including:
- Raising in excess of £10,000 for cancer charities
- Creating a platform for male cancer awareness and further raising profile for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres
- Appearing live on national BBC, ITV, C4 and Sky television
- Achieved first ascents of five peaks in Eastern Greenland
- Writing in excess of 1,100 personally written sponsorship proposals
I plan to keep our website live for the foreseeable future in order to continue broadcasting our thanks to the hundreds of people who believed in us from the very beginning and whose support never wavered. They are:
Our family and friends
Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh - our Patron
Frank, Charlie and team from Eye Film and Television, and Sue from our terrestrial broadcaster
Steve Bull for never-ending support
DOXA watches
Gail and Dan from 131 Design for their enthusiasm and 'can-do' attitude
Tina Fotherby and team from Yes Consultancy for their belief in us from the very start
Kirsten Eriksen from the Danish Polar Centre
The Staff of the Danish Embassy, London
Tom and Tina Sjogren of ExplorersWeb
Peter Lyberth from Air Greenland Charters
Simon Harris Ward and Chip Cunliffe of the Vanco Arctic Survey
Craig Mathieson for the loan of equipment
TISO for equipment sponsorship
Kees and Brian from BeWell Nutritional Products
Captain Sean Chapple, Royal Marines
Trevor Green who designed our website
Dr. Mike Stroud and Sir Ran Fiennes
Shane and Nigel Winser of the Royal Geographical Society
Robert Callander
Lisa Parker of Hiscox Insurance
Matt and Jon from Greenland Expedition Specialists
Victor Boyarsky
Patrick Woodhead and Victor Serov of White Desert
Admiral Band, First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy
Brian Taylor of Taylors Cuisine
Mike, Dan and the staff of UCL's CASE
Bear Grylls
Pen Hadow
Clark Carter
Lewis McNaught
Alex Gough of the British Antarctic Survey
Charlie Newington-Bridges
The Oxford Print Centre
Stephen Ross from the Foreign Office
Our fantastic Mile Sponsors
Sincere thanks to you all. The team will certainly have exciting plans for the upcoming year - check back soon! On a personal note, I plan to join the Royal Marines Officer Batch in September 2008 but vow to return to the polar regions - there is unfinished business!
Yours,
Alex Hibbert