Tarka L'Herpiniere
Born(1981-09-19)19 September 1981
Yeovil, England, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Occupationsexplorer, athlete, motivational speaker, filmmaker
Known forUltra Endurance World First Expeditions
Websiteprimaljourney.com

Tarka Michel Bernard L'Herpiniere (born 19 September 1981) is a British explorer, ultra-endurance athlete, motivational speaker, and filmmaker who holds several endurance records.

L'Herpiniere spent his early years climbing, skiing, skydiving, paragliding and BASE jumping before turning his hand to large-scale expeditions. Initially, these were mountaineering expeditions including Mont Blanc, Aconcagua, and Cho Oyu before developing an interest in the polar regions. In 2004, after several successful small scale expeditions to the Arctic, he attempted to become the youngest person ever to reach the North and South Poles, unaided and in succession, but due to sponsorship withdrawal, the project could not be completed.

In 2006, he attempted to summit Mount Everest without oxygen. At the North Col (7,020 m) L'Herpiniere developed HACE and had to be evacuated. In 2007, he, along with his now wife, became the first person to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China.[1]

In 2008, L'Herpiniere cycled over 8,000 km through Africa on a 30-year-old bicycle with no brakes or gears to promote the charity Re-Cycle. In 2009, he completed the longest crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap by a British team.

In 2014, L'Herpiniere, along with Ben Saunders, replicated Captain Robert Falcon Scott's 1,795 mile trek across Antarctica from Scott's cabin on the coast, to the South Pole, and back.[2]

Background and history

L'Herpiniere was born in Yeovil, England shortly before moving to Tignes in the French Alps. He is the eldest of three siblings and returned to England to be educated at Cheltenham College after obtaining a sports scholarship. In 1996, he was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before attending Brunel University and the University of Bath.

He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a mentor of the British Schools Exploring Society and has used his expeditions to support a number of charities including: Make-A-Wish Foundation, Cancer Research, Practical Action, Merlin, and Re-Cycle.

Marriage

He was married to Katie-Jane (Cooper) L'Herpiniere. They became engaged during an aborted attempt to cross the Patagonian ice cap from north to south unaided in 2009.[3] She was also his companion on his trek across the Great Wall of China. Now divorced.

Expeditions

Year Expedition
1995 His first summit of Mont Blanc (aged 13 or 14).[4]
1997 Cycled 1000 miles from Cheltenham to Nice, France (aged 16).[5][6]
1999 Ran 8 marathons in 8 consecutive days down the west coast of France carrying all his equipment.[5][6]
4-man team to summit Mont Blanc.[6]
2001 35-day expedition to the North / East coast of Svalbard.[7]
Winter mountaineering expedition to the Andes.[5]
2002 Expedition Leader of a 23-day expedition to Cornwallis Island.[4]
2003 Solo expedition to Devon Island.[7]
Solo Svalbard expedition.[4]
2004 Solo 27-day expedition to Russia.[4]
2005 Unsuccessful Bi-Polar expedition.[5][6]
Unsupported crossing of the Alps from France to Switzerland.[4]
Climbing expedition up Mont Blanc in training for Mount Everest.[6]
2006 Climbing member of EverestMax; The longest climb on earth. From the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan (−400m) to the summit of Mount Everest (8848m).[5][6]
2007 4500 km trek through the Taklimakan Desert and over the Qiling Mountain range to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China.[5][8]
2008 2-man expedition off the North / East coast of Spitsbergen.[7]
8000 km cycle expedition from Djibouti to South Africa.[6]
2009 Polar research and support station as part of the Catlin Arctic Survey.[9]
Completed longest British crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice cap during the Rivers of Ice Expedition.[10]
2014 Completed 1,800 mile trek from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole and back, with Ben Saunders

Expedition filmmaker

Year Film Release Ref
2008 The Great Walk of China[11] February 2009 release
2009 The African Way[12] February 2010 release
2010 Rivers of Ice November 2010 release

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dore, Nathan. "Tarka L'Herpiniere - Famous Faces". www.famousfaces.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Scott Expedition | To the South Pole and Back - Antarctica 2013/14". The Scott Expedition. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "Wedding bells for ice rescue pair". 29 September 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Primal Journey". aboutus.com. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Tarka l'Herpiniere". Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Tarka LHerpiniere : Rivers of Ice | Expedition Patagonia". Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 "Ella Windsor - Articles". Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  8. ↑ "Couple trek Great Wall of China". 17 May 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2019 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  9. ↑ Profile, catlinarcticsurvey.com. Accessed 25 February 2023.
  10. ↑ Cooper, Tarquin (14 October 2009). "Patagonian Andes: Triumph over adversity". Archived from the original on 17 October 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Great Walk of China Trailer". Vimeo. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  12. ↑ "The African Way Trailer". Vimeo. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
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