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| Sir Ranulph Fiennes 'very frustrated' after returning from Antarctic trek | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Sir Ranulph Fiennes has said he is frustrated after frostbite forced him to pull out of an expedition aiming to be the first to cross Antarctica in winter, but he will still be devoting all his energies to making the trip a success. | Sir Ranulph Fiennes has said he is frustrated after frostbite forced him to pull out of an expedition aiming to be the first to cross Antarctica in winter, but he will still be devoting all his energies to making the trip a success. |
| Revealing that he has spent five years preparing exclusively for the journey, and sporting a bandaged left hand, the 68-year-old serial adventurer nevertheless showed that he had not lost his sense of humour. | Revealing that he has spent five years preparing exclusively for the journey, and sporting a bandaged left hand, the 68-year-old serial adventurer nevertheless showed that he had not lost his sense of humour. |
| "I am very frustrated at being back six months before the expedition is due to finish," he said at a press conference, after flying back to the UK on Monday morning. "I am not good at crying over spilt milk, or split fingers, but it is extremely frustrating." | "I am very frustrated at being back six months before the expedition is due to finish," he said at a press conference, after flying back to the UK on Monday morning. "I am not good at crying over spilt milk, or split fingers, but it is extremely frustrating." |
| Fiennes was forced to drop out of the Coldest Journey", a 2,000-mile trip in temperatures as low as -70C, which is scheduled to begin on 20 March, after he fell while during training at a base camp in Antartica last week and developed frostbite after taking off his outer gloves in temperatures of -33C. He said a surgeon had told him two of his fingers may need to be operated on. | Fiennes was forced to drop out of the Coldest Journey", a 2,000-mile trip in temperatures as low as -70C, which is scheduled to begin on 20 March, after he fell while during training at a base camp in Antartica last week and developed frostbite after taking off his outer gloves in temperatures of -33C. He said a surgeon had told him two of his fingers may need to be operated on. |
| He now intends to dedicate his energies to raising money for the expedition's charity, Seeing is Believing, which aims to tackle preventable blindness. "Having spent five years on this I am going to make sure it succeeds," he said. | He now intends to dedicate his energies to raising money for the expedition's charity, Seeing is Believing, which aims to tackle preventable blindness. "Having spent five years on this I am going to make sure it succeeds," he said. |
| Fiennes was to have completed the expedition on skis with the remainder of the team in tractors with caterpillar tracks. The expedition will be the first vehicular winter crossing of Antarctica, if it succeeds. | Fiennes was to have completed the expedition on skis with the remainder of the team in tractors with caterpillar tracks. The expedition will be the first vehicular winter crossing of Antarctica, if it succeeds. |
| Making a lighthearted comparison to when the Australians accused Team GB of winning Olympic medals only in sitting-down sports, Fiennes said the Norwegians would no doubt now beat him to completing the crossing on skis, and then mock the fact that the British had done it using caterpillars. But the actor Joanna Lumley, who is on the Coldest Journey board of trustees, said it remained an "extraordinary … madcap" expedition. | Making a lighthearted comparison to when the Australians accused Team GB of winning Olympic medals only in sitting-down sports, Fiennes said the Norwegians would no doubt now beat him to completing the crossing on skis, and then mock the fact that the British had done it using caterpillars. But the actor Joanna Lumley, who is on the Coldest Journey board of trustees, said it remained an "extraordinary … madcap" expedition. |
| Fiennes suffered frostbite 13 years ago, which could have made him susceptible to another bout. But he said that in that time he had undertaken other expeditions in conditions harsher than last week's, including three to Mount Everest, without suffering any recurrences. | Fiennes suffered frostbite 13 years ago, which could have made him susceptible to another bout. But he said that in that time he had undertaken other expeditions in conditions harsher than last week's, including three to Mount Everest, without suffering any recurrences. |
| He said of his attempt to fix his bindings, which led to the injury: "I tried fixing them with my big overgloves on but I couldn't do a thing. You couldn't even peel a banana with those on. So I took off my inner mitts in order to be able to do the bindings up. | He said of his attempt to fix his bindings, which led to the injury: "I tried fixing them with my big overgloves on but I couldn't do a thing. You couldn't even peel a banana with those on. So I took off my inner mitts in order to be able to do the bindings up. |
| "People will say, 'Surely you know you mustn't take your mitts off completely.' But if [I hadn't], I'd have sat there, gone nowhere, and died of cold. It's just one of those things." | "People will say, 'Surely you know you mustn't take your mitts off completely.' But if [I hadn't], I'd have sat there, gone nowhere, and died of cold. It's just one of those things." |
| Fiennes batted away questions about his age and whether he would be retiring soon by joking that he could not answer questions about his future without his wife. However, he said that after he was named the UK's top celebrity fundraiser by JustGiving, having raised £15m, he had said to himself he wanted to raise £20m before retiring; the Coldest Journey has a target of $10 million (£6.6m). | Fiennes batted away questions about his age and whether he would be retiring soon by joking that he could not answer questions about his future without his wife. However, he said that after he was named the UK's top celebrity fundraiser by JustGiving, having raised £15m, he had said to himself he wanted to raise £20m before retiring; the Coldest Journey has a target of $10 million (£6.6m). |