News archive 2008

South Pole success for Lynsey

25 Feb 2008, PR 37/08

King’s second year medical student Lynsey Gawn has safely and successfully completed her remarkable expedition to the South Pole, making her the second youngest British person to ski to the Pole.  She marked her extraordinary achievement by ‘raising’ a King’s flag.

Lynsey, now 24, left the UK on 29 December and reached the South Pole on 22 January where temperatures were -44.3 0C. Part of a nine-strong team led by Mike Thornewill (the third British person ever to walk to both the North and South Pole) she was selected by responding to a television appeal for participants and was one of only three people chosen of the many who applied.

Now resuming her course, Lynsey says: ‘Coming back from a trip like this makes you think without limits. You realise that with determination and passion you can achieve anything you set your mind to. I was fortunate enough to meet some incredible people whose mind set was so inspiring. I am definitely planning to go back to Antarctica, hopefully to do a much bigger trip, I miss it so much already I can’t wait to get back on the ice!’

The team spent 20 nights in Antarctica, one of which was in an igloo built whilst storm bound. It was 24 hour sunshine while they there, and, coupled with the wind howling against the tent canvas, sleeping conditions quite challenging.

Lynsey comments: ‘It was truly the most spectacular place I have ever seen, a wilderness of beauty and peace. It is the least polluted place on the planet, and with no inhabitants it was a privilege to be able to ski in such a remote, untouched place. This year only 29 people have skied any distance to the pole, making it quite a unique adventure.’

At such high altitude it took the team more than three hours to get camp up and eat each night. To survive they had in excess of 4,000 calories a day, most of which they ate in the morning and evening. Whilst on the ice, they could only stop for a maximum of 10 minutes at a time, and then eat as many peanuts and bits of chocolate as they could, and drink isotonic fluid.

Frozen flesh

‘After seven and a half minutes of standing still my hands would be numb, and after eight minutes they would be really sore. You can’t rub frozen flesh, so for the remaining two minutes of each break I had to jog on the spot and try and get blood circulating in my hands again. The breaks were the worst part of the day for me.’

The team celebrated reaching the South Pole with a snow bath! They cranked up the stove in the tent to get warm, then threw off their clothes before running outside for a rubdown in the snow! Lynseys’s view? ‘It was fresh to say the least, but you only live once and have to do these things!’

She describes one of the most difficult days when training in Patriot Hills. ‘We set out in gale force winds with our skis and sledges to practice our pulling technique. Four hours into the walk the winds had reached 80 miles per hour, and when you’re walking head on into that in Antarctica it’s bitter! We were walking for six hours 32 minutes that day, and I was counting down the seconds to reaching camp!  That night the winds didn’t die down, and our tent got shredded in the storms. Three of our tent poles snapped, but fortunately we were able to save our home with a bit of crafty needlework!’

Four of the team did suffer with frostbite but Lynsey was fortunate to come home with all her fingers and toes intact!

In order to be as part of this nine-strong team she had to raise £24,000, £4,000 of which has been given by the College's alumni.

Notes to editors

Lynsey Gawn
Lynsey is a second year medical student at King’s College London. She also took her foundation year (FCNS) at King’s. Lynsey has been very involved in RAG week (The medical school’s designated week for ‘raising and giving’ to charities. In 2007 Lynsey raised money for local london hospitals, and she was nominated ‘top ragger’ making over £3,000 in total for charities like the starfish appeal which helps children with liver disease.

Before that, she studied for a degree in psychology at the University of York. When she was at York she went to rural Romania to work with street children and provide first aid in the gypsy community. She has now been there three times.

Principal’s Discretionary Fund
Lynsey was awarded a grant of £4,000 through the generous support of King’s College London alumni, who each year, make unrestricted gifts in support of the College's mission to provide our students with a world class learning experience. The Principal’s Discretionary Fund allocates unrestricted gifts to the College to areas where the need is greatest throughout the academic year.  Alumni support of the fund allows unexpected opportunities to be grasped and helps students to undertake exciting projects and challenges.

King’s College London
King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher 2007) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King’s has 19,700 students from more than 140 countries, and 5,400 employees. King’s has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an annual income of approximately £400 million. An investment of £500 million has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.

King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres - more than any other university.

Further information
Melanie Gardner, Senior Public Relations Officer, Public Relations Department, King's College London. Tel: 020 7848 3073; email melanie.gardner@kcl.ac.uk

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