Ranulph Fiennes

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go and listen to Sir Ranulph Fiennes speak in Liverpool Cathedral. Sat in the oppulence of that magestic building (which is unfortunately not the best place in the world to listen to anything really - the acoustics are attrocious), one of the most facinating people i've ever come across (in the form of the written word) spoke with great wit and impressive detail on some of the incredible aspects of a very full life. It was captivating from start to finish, and packed an awful lot in for just an hours worth of talk time.

If you are thinking 'So what? Who is this random fella?' then let me explain a little bit about who he is. Ranulph Fiennes princiaplly is an explorer. He has completed a series of expeditions over the years, the two most notable being the first (and only) circumnavigation of the earth via the poles and the first unsupported crossing of Antarctica (meaning that in an extremely inhospitable place where you burn in excess of 8000 calories a day they had to carry all their equipment and food with them for a considerable period of time, with no outside assitance). On top of those two expeditions, he has served in the SAS (Albeit briefly), fought for the Oman government against a much superior force, discovered the lost city of the Queen of Sheeba, and after suffering a severe heart attack proceeded to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days (that was 3 months after the heart attack), and made three attempts to climb Mount Everest (two unsuccessful, one successful). Oh and to 'cure' his severe vertigo, he climbed the North Face of the Eiger - which is essentially a very large sheer cliff that is so large you have to camp on the face itself to complete).

In essence the man is a dude, a true defination of The Machine. If you want to know more detail about his exploits then read his book Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. However he is a great example of someone who refuses to give up, be beaten, or be daunted by challenges. He explained that to get up Everest he simply adopted the principal that there was no top and that he would rather die higher up than low down. When he was crippled with severe frost bite, he decided to cut off the damaged tissue on his hands in his tool shed with a Black and Dekker blade, rather than wait for surgery in hospital. Insane!

As a matter of trivia he is also related to the actors Ranuph Fiennes and Joseph Fiennes, the former probably best known right now for playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter films.

It was great to go and listen to him speak though. Good stuff!