Carrbridge man gears up for solo South Pole expedition in memory of mother
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A Carrbridge son devastated by the death of his mother is going to trek solo to the South Pole to raise funds to boost the fight against the disease which claimed her – having been misdiagnosed for far too long.
Ben Weber, a freelance consultant who settled in the village last September after a business career in Brazil and India, is off on Monday to cross Greenland in preparation for his polar expedition in aid of Cancer research UK.
He has already spent gruelling months in Canadian and Scandinavian wildernesses to toughen himself up for the ultimate solo challenge.
"When my mother Marian died in 2018 I was devastated because she had spent so long being unwell while doctors told her it was arthritis, or diabetes, or whatever else they thought it was," he told the Strathy.
"It turns out she had long had an undiagnosed kidney cancer and by the time they knew it the disease was everywhere and there was nothing that could be done.
"I decided to get involved in trying to improve the detection and treatments and, while I've done lots of mountaineering over the years – Braeriach, here is my all-time favourite mountain – I decided to stretch myself and take on the 'big one'.
"I will be crossing Greenland with an eight-strong team – they won't let you go alone in that country, but I will then go down to the Antarctic coast in November and head off to the pole alone."
An Orcadian by birth, the compliance advisor has been around the world but in his heart of hearts always wanted to settle in the Cairngorms.
He will make his assault on the South Pole four months after his 41st birthday in July.
The 400-mile trek in Greenland is, he says, the perfect 'warm-up' for the 50-day solo effort nearly twice that distance to the southern tip of the world.
"I've camped out in winter and pulled tyres around here to mimic pulling my sled, as I will be hauling all my food and supplies, weighing something like 110 kilogrammes, in November," Mr Weber explained.
His website www.polarweber.com has all the details of his great challenge.
Ben will go east to west across Greenland, once again facing the hostile and harsh polar environment, with temperatures reaching down to -40C, and pulling his 80 kilogramme sled laden with supplies and equipment.
"That will set me in good stead for the big one. I am looking forward to it but planning all the way.
"During group training at Hvitserk in Norway, I took the opportunity to go on my own solo journey around the Ustaoset and Finse region, and up to the Hardangervidda Plateau.
"The journey to the pole is not just physical, it’s also psychological: travelling alone in the most extreme conditions; pulling the heavy weight of the pulk (a Nordic short, low-slung small sled) the entire time; the routine; pitching the tent again, firing up the stoves and heating the water for food with nobody else around and just the satellite phone and locator beacon as the only means to contact the outside world a thousand miles away.
"But I will do it and hopefully help to improve other people's lot in the process."
Ben has already completed several expeditions in the Arctic in the past few years despite not having ski-ed before 2014.
Driving force
Ben said: "Almost two years ago while I was living in Brazil, I found out that my mother had cancer.
"Initially the prognosis wasn't clear though within a couple of days we had found out that it was terminal as the cancer had spread throughout her body.
"Apparently it had just been growing for some years before it was diagnosed. Within ten days or so of finding out about it, she had passed away.
"It was a shock to the entire family – while she had had aches and pains with age, she had always been active and had seemed well.
"While some time has now gone by, the memories of seeing her suffering over her last few days are still very clear and very present, and am not entirely sure that those memories will truly ever fade.
"Several other friends I have known have also had their own battles with cancer, and of course, I am in a far from unique position."
Anyone wanting to support Ben on his epic journey can donate at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-weber1
