Ben Saunders

In 2001, British explorer Ben Saunders set out to reach the North Pole from Russia. At the time he was just 23 years old and thereby the youngest person to have ever ventured on such an expedition. Two years later, in March of 2003, Ben Saunders became the youngest person to make a roundtrip, unsupported, to the North Pole.

Ben Saunders wears the Polar Surveyour Chronograph, a watch, that has been worn on more polar expeditions than any other wristwatch. "I regard it as an essential item on my expeditions," says Ben Saunders, adding, "there are no batteries to go flat at -30 degrees centigrade!"

In February of 2004, Ben ventured on the Serco Transarctic Expedition, in an attempt to cross the North Pole on a journey from Siberia to Canada. The expedition ended unsuccessfully due to warm weather, which caused the break up of pack ice. However, despite abandoning his bid to cross the Pole from one end to the other, Ben did become only the third person in history to reach the North Pole solo and on foot. Veterean adventurer Reinhold Messner has called the 640-mile challenge “ten times as dangerous as Everest.”

In 2010, Ben will set out to achieve a solo speed record attempt on both Poles and the first return journey to the South Pole on foot – the longest unsupported polar expedition in history. Ben Saunders has been a Kobold brand ambassador since 2003. For more information on Ben's latest expedition plans and on his career as a motivational speaker, please visit transarctic.org or bensaunders.com.