RECORD BREAKER

Anatomical Concepts supports Paralympian to break Antarctica Records

On 12th December 2022, Paralympic athlete Karen Darke, and her team, will depart the UK to embark on a 150km hand-cycle and sit-ski across the Antarctic snow to create the ‘Pole Of Possibility’.

Inspired by a serendipitous connection to the number 79, Karen discovered that the co-ordinates 79°S, 79°W led to an area of Antarctica that no-one has been to. It is here that she wishes to create a new ‘Pole’ - The Pole of Possibility (POP). This World-First and Guinness World Record breaking journey aims to explore personal and planetary possibility around mindset, technology and sustainability. Carolyn Jones of Anatomical Concepts UK Ltd (ACUK) explains why they decided to become key sponsors of this record breaking attempt. “We recognised immediately that ACUK has similar values to that of POP. We firmly believe that human-spirit combined with human-ingenuity can lead to results that are super-human. Karen and her team are perfect examples of this.” At the age of 21, Karen had a life changing rock-climbing accident that left her paralysed from the chest down. Her spirit of adventure, and love for nature, helped her overcome adversity to become a GB Paralympic gold medallist and undertake numerous expeditions including hand-cycling across the Himalayas, and climbing one of the World’s biggest rock walls - ‘El Capitan’. There is no doubt that the Pole of Possibility will be Karen’s biggest adventure to date!

This will be the first attempt by anyone to hand-cycle the frozen continent, and to make it even more challenging they will be crossing virgin plateau ice rather than the hard-packed road to the South Pole.

Her paralysis means that she will traverse the terrain on a specially adapted ICE Trike with ZTrikes hand cycling mechanism, and a backup sit-ski if it becomes impassable. This will be the first attempt by anyone to hand-cycle the frozen continent, and to make it even more challenging they will be crossing virgin plateau ice rather than the hard-packed road to the South Pole. Even if she has to switch to the sit-ski, Karen believes she will set the record for the longest Antarctic journey by a paraplegic. “Nobody knows what the conditions will be like down there,” says Karen, “but hopefully with the right tools and the right team I can show anything is possible.” Karen’s team on this journey into the icy Antarctic wilds is film-maker Mike Webster who will record the expedition through a documentary film, and Professor Mike Christie of Aberystwyth University, who will use the expedition as a research platform to demonstrate the impacts of climate change on the Antarctic continent and how this has wider impacts to people and nature across the world. Carolyn continues, “Every time I speak with Karen I’m in awe of her strength of mind, her ability to problem solve, and genuine desire to connect with people. Although we don’t work with her directly as a client, we recognise these qualities in many of the people we do work with - individuals, families, clinicians and legal teams. Its a privilege to be part of these conversations.” “Being part of the Pole Of Possibility, enabling this adventure, is also a privilege. Everyone at ACUK will be thinking about them over the Festive Period and we look forward to sharing their story of success in the New Year!”

You can learn more about Karen Darke and the Pole of Possibility on her website: www.karendarke.com/the-pole-of-possibility