Ranulph Fiennes - explorer

Miscalculating risk for a polar explorer-turned-mountaineer can be lethal – judgement in this man’s world means the difference between living and dying. It is rare for him to give up on a goal, but he also knows very precisely when he has to stop if he is to survive. Although he admires great courage in anyone, and detests the inevitable criticism when a rare project fails, he says ‘It’s important to know when to turn back: better a live donkey than a dead lion’.
For nearly 40 years, Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Bt, OBE led expeditions that set benchmarks for modern exploration and broke world record after world record. The biggest was the three-year Transglobe Expedition, when he and Charlie Burton became the first people to circumnavigate the world over both Poles. To make these things happen, Fiennes needs every skill, behaviour and characteristic of the entrepreneur and the leader. Once the huge goal has been set, the process of planning, organising and executing the venture is an exercise in extreme project management – the equivalent of creating a substantial SME operation from a standing start.
The in-built penalty clauses are somewhat steeper than usual, and the contracts he offers team members are uncompromising. ‘People can’t be plugged in and tested like computers, and there is no way of knowing in advance how they’ll react under extreme pressure. The secret is to paint a very black picture of what is in store. If it’s not as bad, they feel lucky. If it is, and they whinge, I can say “I told you so, up front.”’
He is intensely loyal to family and friends; far from being a loner, as one might imagine, Fiennes is an easy, sociable man off duty, a teller of good stories and bad jokes, a bon viveur who will then go out to run or cycle for two hours, regardless of environment or weather – because that physical and mental discipline is what keeps him fit, alert and alive. He is also increasingly strict about diet, having given up pleasures such as smoking, red meat, cream and – hardest of all – chocolate.
In 2003, Fiennes had a massive and completely unforeseen heart attack, but recovered fast, and four months later, with Mike Stroud, ran seven marathons in seven consecutive days on seven continents. It is a trait of his, succeeding against the odds, and in the face of warnings and prohibitions.
He is not fearless, but doesn’t allow fear to stop him. Climbing the dangerous north face of the Eiger in March 2007, Fiennes had to deal with his life-long fear of heights. Climbing to within 300m of Everest’s summit ridge had failed to cure it, but the Eiger has a 6,000 ft vertical rock face and other horrific obstacles. At the start, Fiennes said ‘it’s hair-raising – not my cup of tea at all.’ After reaching the summit, he said of the vertical climb, ‘My mind crumbled – it was a dizzy vortex maw which I couldn’t stop looking at. My policy of not looking down just wasn’t possible – there was nowhere but down. I think I will have nightmares about it for a long time............