An Interview with Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Fiennes is the only man alive ever to have travelled around the Earthβs circumpolar surface (more people have been on the Moon). His record-breaking expeditions include travel by riverboat, hovercraft, manhaul sledge, skidoo, Land Rover and skiβ¦
Named by the Guinness Book of Records as βthe worldβs greatest living explorerβ, he has spent his life in pursuit of extreme adventure, risking life and limb in some of the most ambitious private expeditions ever undertaken. Amongst his many record-breaking achievements, he was the first to reach both Poles, the first to cross the Antarctic and Arctic Ocean, and the first to circumnavigate the world along its polar axis.
We asked him about his new theatre show βLiving Dangerouslyβ, where Sir Ranulph offers a personal journey through his life, from his early years to the present day, as well as his next challenge, relaxation time and his greatest fearsβ¦
βI only really worry about family financesβ
Youβre heading out on tour, what will you be talking about?
Iβll be talking about my life: my childhood and schooling, and training with the SAS (and being chucked out of the SAS!). Iβll be talking about my very first posting with the British Army, and being the youngest captain in the British Army β even though I didnβt deserve it β and how that inspired my love of exploring. Iβll also touch upon some of my favourite expeditions, one of which was finding an Arab city with my first wife Ginny that we spent 26 years looking for, and how, in the first year after we got married, we did our first journey together: a 2000 mile long boat trip down one of the toughest rivers in the world, in a rubber dinghy. Thereβs so much to talk about that I can only briefly touch on being the oldest Brit up Everest and the oldest pensioner in Great Britain to go up the north face of the Eiger! Iβve tried to get a good mix of polar exploring, and my other adventures.
As a man that seems to be fearless, can you share whether there is anything that you worry about?
I donβt really worry about expeditions. I only really worry about family finances. All those horses that Ginny loved! When we moved to Exmoor, we had lots of Aberdeen Angus cows and sheep, and that was quite profitable. But the horsesβ¦!
βWhen youβre a bit older, things start to go wrongβ
You have achieved a great deal, are there any expeditions or challenges you would still like to conquer? Was there one that got away?
There is one thing that I wish I had tried doing earlier. At the moment, I still hold the World Record of being the only person to have crossed the whole of that Antarctica ice cap, the whole of the northern ice cap and to climb the highest mountain. Itβs called the Global Reach Challenge and Iβm the only person to ever have done it. There are two other people who have nearly done it, a Norwegian and a Belgian, both of whom I am friends with now.
The record I would like to have broken is to cross all the ice caps and climb all seven of the highest mountains. Everest is the most difficult, Iβve done that. And if when Iβd done Everest I had done the minor ones, that would have been no problem. It was 2009 and I was in my 60s and quite fit, but when youβre a bit older, things start to go wrong. Your circulation heads towards your core so if you have ever gotten frost bite before, you are even more likely to get it again. The mountains that you can actually climb when you are in your 70s have to be much lower than the ones you could have climbed before. There are only three of them out of seven I havenβt done, so itβs very annoying. Iβm sure someone else will complete it soon.
βI had failed twiceβ
So you are quite competitive?
I am, and itβs not a good trait. When I was first asked to climb Everest, I said no because of my extreme vertigo. Then six months later my wife died and I just wanted to do something, anything to distract me. So I did months and months of training and then I got a heart attack when I was 300 meters from the top and my friend got hypoxia on the way down. I told the doctor when I got down to base camp that I was never trying it again but he told me that if you go up the other side, from Nepal, itβs dead easy!
Four years after that, 2008, I did that and nearly got to the top, didnβt get a heart attack, but the body of my Sherpaβs father appeared in the snow, as he had previously died trying to climb Everest. There hadnβt been that much snow that year so the bodies just reappear. It was awful. The next year, 2009, by which time I was an OAP, I had worked out why I had failed twice: I was being too competitive. The next time I tried, I went with a Sherpa who was so fit, there was no point in trying to be competitive. I went very slowly that time.
What do you do to relax?
To relax, I sleep! And listen to the music of Enya. In between my lectures I run around the Serpentine a couple of times. I donβt call it jogging though β itβs more βshufflingβ.
βI was too scared so I sent my wife upβ
In many peopleβs minds you are already superhuman β if you could choose a super power what would it be?
My super power would be to not have extreme vertigo! When I was in Dubai recently, they wanted me to go on the Worldβs Highest Zip Wire and break the record of going 160 mph, and I said yes because I didnβt want to be unpopular with the client. I sort of opened my eyes as we left the platform, but I then kept them shut for the rest of the ride! When I did the north face of the Eiger, I was being led by this guy who has done Everest 11 times. He is very clever at teaching his climbers how not to get vertigo temporarily. Itβs pretty simple β donβt allow yourself to think below your feet at all. It seems obvious but donβt look down! Last August at home, the gutters got full of leaves, and I was too scared so I sent my wife up and I held the ladder. The north face of the Eiger has killed off 80 people but I could only do it because of that guy. Can I have two super powers? I have pre-diabetes, and if I donβt behave myself, I could get Type 2 diabetes, meaning that I could never have sugar again. My favourite food in the world is vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce, so my super power would be that the I could eat all the sugar I wanted and still be healthy!
Who would you like to play you in the film of your life?
Ralph Fiennes or Joe Fiennes.
Which person do you most admire, living or dead and why?
One of the people I admire the most is the polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott. Iβve just written a book on him that tries to get to the truth of his wonderful career, as there are a lot of lies and rumours about him. He first discovered that Antarctica was a continent! But he had bad luck with the weather on his expeditions, and died in his tent. I also really admire the explorer Wilfred Thesiger, who carried out lots of expeditions in intense heat.
βI would have preferred to live in the pre-digital ageβ
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Honestly, I would invite my wife to my dream dinner party. Although I would also like to invite Jesus to make sure I havenβt wasted my time in believing in him. And maybe Stalin, Hitler and Mao so that I could poison them before they had done all their damage.
If you could go back in time, what time period would you travel to?
I would travel back to 1415. I would have preferred to live in the pre-digital age.
With the threat of climate change more apparent than ever, what would you urge the younger generation to change?
Sorting out the plastic in the ocean is a good start, rather than trying to tackle things you canβt even see. Everyone can do something about that, whereas something complicated like tackling carbon monoxide is more difficult to get the public interested in. If the whole of the motor industry had to switch to electric vehicles that would be good β then we would be heading in the right direction.
What is your next adventure?
Ah! The trouble with this question is that the enemy are constantly listening to what we are planning. If itβs a first, you donβt want to let anyone know, so unfortunately, I canβt divulge as to what I am doing next. Youβll just have to wait and seeβ¦!
Sir Ran Fiennes IS superman. NO-ONE has ever done as much exploring as heβs done. He is a legend in his lifetime ad a rΓ΄le model for people everywhere.