The Last Great First

In October 2022, climate advocates, doctors and polar explorers, Gareth Andrews and Richard Stephenson, will set off to ski 2600 km, pulling their 200 kg sleds with all their supplies, coast to coast across Antarctica.

They will endeavour to collect crucial climate data as they make their way slowly across the continent.

If successful, approximately 110 days later they would have achieved “The Last Great First” and provided scientists with a unique dataset to help to address climate change.

Svalbard Training Expedition

Skiing out in the wilds of Svalbard was an incredible experience, one that was made all the safer by the training I received from #firearmsafe.

It is compulsory to carry a firearm for polar bear self-defence as soon as you leave the town of Longyearbyen in Svalbard. A firearms permit is required from the Svalbard Governor's office which is only issued to those who can demonstrate adequate experience and safety training. Whilst I had some prior experience with firearms, I don't hold a New Zealand firearms licence and I initially wasn't sure how to meet these requirements.

I reached out to Nik at #Firearmsafe and was blown away by his response! He was incredibly helpful and professional. He immediately set about organising a bespoke training course tailored perfectly to my requirements for Svalbard. He was able to source exactly the sort of rifle I would be using for me to train on and designed a programme addressing both my firearms safety requirements and practicing the drills I would need if I had to use my firearm as a last resort.

I was able to meet the Svalbard Governor's requirements and more importantly, when I picked up my firearm in Longyearbyen it felt very familiar and I was able to handle it competently and safely all thanks to Nik's training. Luckily I had no need to use my rifle but I am sure that if it had been required, I couldn't have been better prepared.

Thanks #firearmsafe!

Richard Stephenson

One of the things we both identified was the need to test firearm safe handling whilst wearing cold weather gloves and eye protection. Richard brought a selection of gloves with him to the range, and we tested them all to see which pair allowed the most dexterity when handling a firearm.