Henry John R Cookson,

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(born 16 September 1975) is a British polar explorer and adventurer. On 19 January 2007 he, alongside fellow Britons Rory Sweet and Rupert Longsdon, and their Canadian polar guide

Paul Landry Paul Landry M.B. (born September 6, 1955) is a French-Canadian polar explorer, author, and adventurer who is the only paid man to ever reach three Geographical poles in a single year. Biography A Franco-Ontarian from Smooth Rock Falls in the Nor ...

, became the first team to reach the southern

pole of Inaccessibility A pole of inaccessibility with respect to a geographical criterion of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach according to that criterion. Often it refers to the most distant point from the coastline, implying a ...

(POI) by foot, the last visitors being a research team using tracked vehicles & planes in 1965.

Early life

He was born in Wimbledon and attended the Ecole de Roche,

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

, and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He briefly worked at investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Scott Dunn Polar Challenge

In 2005 he was persuaded to enter the Scott Dunn Polar Challenge as the third member of Team Hardware, alongside Rory Sweet and Rupert Longsdon. Despite all being novice polar explorers, they defied the odds and won the gruelling 360 mile race to the magnetic

north pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

, breaking the course record in the process and finishing four hours ahead of the nearest competitors, a team of a Royal Marine and two Army Commandos.

Team N2i

Following the success of the Scott Dunn Polar Challenge, the trio decided to turn their sights on an expedition to the Antarctic Pole of Inaccessibility. Training began in 2006, and Canadian Paul Landry joined the effort. On 19 January 2007, 48 days after setting off from

Novolazarevskaya Station Novolazarevskaya Station (russian: Станция Новолазаревская) is a Russian, formerly Soviet, Antarctic research station. The station is located at Schirmacher Oasis, Queen Maud Land, from the Antarctic coast, from which it is ...

, the four reached their goal, after

kite skiing Snowkiting or kite skiing is an outdoor winter sport where people use kite power to glide on snow or ice. The skier uses a kite to give them power over large jumps. The sport is similar to water-based kiteboarding, but with the footwear used in ...

1,100 miles to their destination. Upon arrival, they discovered the most visible remains left behind from the previous Soviet expedition in 1958, and the only indication that they had reached the POI - a bust of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, which had been fixed to the chimney of a Russian built hut. For their endeavors, they are in the ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' as the first people to reach the Pole of Inaccessibility without using motored craft.

Walking With The Wounded

It was announced in 2010 that Henry had been approached by Simon Daglish and Edward Parker to sign on as an expedition guide for

Walking With The Wounded Walking With The Wounded (WWTW) is a British charity to help injured former British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, ...

, a charitable expedition to the north pole aimed at raising funds for injured servicemen and women. The expedition patron was

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

, who stated his intention to join the expedition for its final days should his military commitments allow.

References

External links

* http://www.teamn2i.com * http://www.cooksonadventures.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cookson, Henry 1975 births Living people British polar explorers Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society People educated at Hawtreys People educated at Harrow School