Leo Houlding targets new horizon with snow-kiting expedition in Greenland Press Release

© Berghaus

Leo gets to grips with snowkiting and selfie taking  © Berghaus
Leo gets to grips with snowkiting and selfie taking
© Berghaus
British climber and adventurer Leo Houlding has embarked on a month long, unsupported 1,000 mile expedition across the Greenland ice cap.  Houlding will attempt to snowkite from Kangerlussuaq in the south west and finish in Qaanaaq, one of the most northerly towns on Earth.  He will be accompanied by highly experienced snowkiter Bruce Corrie.

Based in the Lake District, Leo Houlding is one of the world’s most renowned climbers.  Aged 35, he is already a veteran of a score of major ascents, most recently on the Mirror Wall in remote north east Greenland.  Houlding only started trying his hand at snowkiting a few years ago and is still learning the skills that he will be putting to use during his latest expedition, which will be a new experience for him.  

For the Greenland expedition, Houlding has teamed up with Bruce Corrie, who lives nearby in Kendal.  Corrie has been snowkiting for 28 years and is one of the UK’s foremost practitioners of the activity.  However, in contrast to Houlding, he has never been on an expedition of any scale.  Houlding and Corrie hope that the combination of their expertise and experience will help them complete 1,000 miles in Greenland over the next month.

Leo in snowkiting action  © Berghaus
Leo in snowkiting action
© Berghaus

Leo Houlding comments:

“Traditional polar travel has never really appealed to me - lots of suffering, little excitement, not much of a view.  However, throw modern snow kites into the mix and suddenly the balance of fun rapidly tips.  I’ve been playing around with kites for the last few winters and finally feel I can say that I am a competent snowkiter.  It’s not as easy as it looks – there is a lot of power in those big kites and a lot to be mindful of when travelling over terrain at speeds up to 50 mph with all kind of obstacles and hazards to manage.  It’s very literally going to be quite a ride for Bruce and me, and I hope that people will enjoy following our progress.”

Although communications with friends and family back home are expected to be challenging, Houlding and Corrie will send as many updates as they can, which will appear on a dedicated page on the Berghaus website.  Houlding will also share what he can through social media channels (Twitter - @leohoulding, Instagram - @leo_houlding, Facebook - facebook.com/leo.houlding).  In addition, anyone who is interested in following their progress will be able to use a live tracker.  It will go live as soon as they touch down on the ice later this week and will be available to follow here.  A short film about expedition preparations and training in Norway can be found below:

Bruce Corrie adds: 

“I’m a 51 year old, ‘stay at home’ dad and now I find myself heading out to the polar expanse of Greenland to embark on a month long expedition with one of the world’s top climbing adventurers – I do wonder how I got myself into this situation!

“I am experiencing a mixture of trepidation and fear with a very small amount of excitement.  We have a good plan, great equipment, appropriate skills and a flexible mind-set to cope with the inevitable problems that will occur.  Somewhere between a nightmare and a walk in the park is where it will be, and I am hoping for the latter.”

Leo takes delivery of a snow kite  © Berghaus
Leo takes delivery of a snow kite
© Berghaus
Leo and Bruce check in at the airport with their kit  © Berghaus
Leo and Bruce check in at the airport with their kit
© Berghaus

 




9 May, 2016
Basically just a publicity/marketing stunt then? Yawn.
9 May, 2016
why is this "news" when the complete tour of Greenland (4 or 5 times the distance) was ignored ? (see e.g. http://wingsovergreenland-fr.blogspot.fr/ )
It's pretty clearly labelled as a PRESS RELEASE from Berghaus.
9 May, 2016
Hmmm, I've been on here a while and don't really get the moaning about the gear reviews/press release stuff, but I have to say this felt much less clear. Announcing an expedition as basically a marketing ploy is much harder to seperate from the actual expedition reports and announcements that happen on here. I do think this kind of thing long term makes both the brand and the person involved look a bit less credible and more like a cash generating/grabbing tbh.
9 May, 2016
And actually it's not clearly labelled in the title, I totally missed it first time round, only after going back when you mentioned it did it seem more obvious. How about naming it: Product Placement and Advertising 'news': pointless 'expedition' by Leo Holding to promote the Berghaus brand announced.
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