Challenges

Charity Challenge Dog Sledding Journal 2011

October 31, 2011

To go Dog Sledding in the Arctic is to go on an adventure very few other people do. Charity Challenge’s Head of Operations accompanied by a trusted friend and guinea pig for the trip, Phil Booker conducted a reconnaissance trip to assess our new Dog Sledding Challenge. For both, this was a whole new experience with no pre-conceptions at all about what would be involved. The following is what Phil had to say about it all:

January 2011; I am preparing to go on the proverbial “trip of a lifetime” of which strangely, I’ve had several.

The most obvious, but not the only challenge in the Arctic, is the environment, and the imagination was working overtime. Miles and miles of snow and ice, blizzard conditions, piercing cold, polar bears and penguins, I was expecting it all. A little bit of homework soon revealed we were not likely to come across the latter two but the others were all probable.

Charity Challenge provided a list of essential and potential clothing and equipment needs. At this point, we had no idea how many dogs we would have on each sled and how far and in what conditions we would have to carry our luggage. That said, it was critical to prepare for the worst (read coldest!).

Perhaps the most difficult balance to make was to avoid overspending on items of clothing and equipment that would never be used again. For this, I soon discovered Army Surplus stores were perfect.

One of the stipulations made by local guides and official sledding operators, Kent and Jordana, was that cotton is pretty much a no-go area and you might be surprised at how much we rely on cotton in the UK. Thick wool it was then. So looking like pre-sheared sheep, off we trundled to Kiruna, the northern most city in Sweden.

Flying into Kiruna Airport at the dead of night (being the last two people to leave the airport that night, we literally turned the lights out) we first met Kent and Jordana the next morning after a comfortable night’s stay at a local hotel.

The previous night’s temperature, recorded at the airport, had been -19c, so we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by early morning sun and a balmy -13c. Packed into a car that resembled a tank we soon discovered that special driving skills were required to negotiate this snow-covered landscape effectively and Kent showed us the full range. Continue Reading…

Responsible Tourism

Charity Challenge, Climate Care and Carbon Footprints

October 27, 2011

In these times of foreign travel, where journeying abroad is the norm, climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing us all, with the potential for significant community, biodiversity and environmental consequences across the world. To take responsibility for the impact our business has on the climate (emissions from the office, and flights for Charity Challenge staff and our passengers’ flights) we are offsetting the carbon emissions from our business through Climate Care.

Who is Climate Care?

Climate care is one of the oldest businesses in the carbon market.  Since 1997 they have been reducing greenhouse gas emissions on behalf of companies and individuals. Reductions are made through a range of projects around the world that not only make real verified reductions in carbon emissions, but also make a difference to people’s lives.

How many tonnes have we offset?

During 2008 and 2009 our customer and staff flights and our business operations generated 4381.68 tonnes of carbon emissions, which were all offset by Climate Care on your behalf.

Who else benefits?

The offsets we purchase on your behalf help to fund a portfolio of projects in the developing world.   In many cases these projects are situated in countries where we have challenges.  The projects not only reduce carbon emissions but also  improve the lives of those living locally which in the long term benefits us all, by providing clean technologies to parts of the world where emissions are growing most quickly.

Cambodia Improved Lao stoves summary;

An example of one of the projects our contributions have been invested in is the Cambodia improved cook stoves Project.  This aims to transform the cooking market in Cambodia, overcoming many barriers to achieve its goal: developing the stove, developing the sales channels, improving sales techniques, marketing the stove and management training.

Replacing the traditional Lao stove with a stove with improved efficiency helps to reduce the demand for charcoal by as much as 21%.

On top of reducing the carbon emissions, the project has social and economic benefits:

  • The project is building the country’s capacity in technical skills in the manufacturing of the improved stove.
  • By reducing the amount of fuel used for cooking, the project enables stove users to spend less on fuel to cook, thereby saving valuable income.
  • The new Lao stove reduces harmful smoke and soot in the kitchen, improving the health of its users.

The reductions we have made through buying those offsets is equivalent to Grounding 16 full flights (assumed 348 passengers) from London Heathrow to New York JFK airport.

Click Here if you’d like to have a look at the Climate Care website, and if you want to keep up to date on our latest news and promotions, check the Charity Challenge Website, subscribe to the blog via the RSS button and subscribe to our mailing list by entering your email address in the box on the right hand tool bar.

Challenges

New Challenge Profile – Cardamom Mountain Trek!

October 10, 2011

Location

The Kingdom Of Cambodia (as it is officially known) is located in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Only recently re-opened to tourists, the region of the Cardamom Mountains extends from Koh Kong Province on the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast Dâmrei Mountains, and boasts the colossal peak of Phnom Aural, which reaches up 1,813 metres (5,948 ft) high!

Culture and history 

Cambodia has had, to put it mildly, a chequered history. It’s famous for its status as part of the ancient Khmer Empire, but these days it is well known for its recent suffering under the rule of dictator Pol Pot, which saw Cambodia isolated for many years as it endured one of the most barbaric regimes ever seen. The ramifications of these dark times are still evident today in the “The Killing Fields”, which are a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime.

But despite this, Cambodia now boasts a tolerant if slightly conservative society, and has a rich and diverse culture with noticeable French and Indian influence. These influences can be seen the culture and architecture of Cambodia’s bustling capital city Phnom Penh, in areas such as the ‘Old French Quarter’ and lively waterfront ports.

Terrain 

The terrain of the Cardamom region has a bit of everything!  And ranges from grassy hills to dense tropical forest, to swamps, waterfalls and jungles!

 

Wildlife 

Cambodia has an exciting array of exotic wildlife such as bats, Elephants, Tigers, Leopards, Crocodiles, Samba Dears, Wild Boars, Hornbills and Dragon fish to name but a few!

What to expect

The Cardamom Mountain trek is currently graded at level “challenging”, which means that you won’t be exposed to any extreme altitudes, and you don’t need to be body builder fit to complete the challenge, but don’t be fooled, this isn’t a walk in the park, it is a trek across mountains! So be prepared to wade across swamps, trek for hours and generally do a lot of uphill walking!

But coupled with this is the chance to witness some truly spectacular scenery of waterfalls, mountains and jungles, as well as the opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of capital city capital Phnom Penh, and simple village lifestyle of Chi Phat.

Find out more!

If you think this challenge is for you, click here to check out the Cardamom Mountain itinerary, fact files, Q&A, costs and much more!

Latest News

The Charity Challenge Blog!

September 6, 2011

Here at Charity Challenge, we find ourselves always discovering good stories – of life changing journeys and remarkable feats of endurance, and handy tips on top fundraising techniques and kit you cannot make it out of the door without. And we enjoy nothing more than to talk about the latest news in the travel and charity sectors.

So the decision to launch our own official Charity Challenge blog came about very naturally. We are very pleased to announce that, after a lot of work, this post marks the first of what we hope will be many exciting blog posts. To celebrate the occasion, we are also launching our new photo competition – ‘capture your challenge’

A good photo can tell more than a million words, and we’re after the photographs that best sum up our charity challenges. We have some fantastic prizes on offer, the overall winner – who we feel has taken the very best photograph – will win a Berghaus Freeflow Pro 40 Rucsac worth £100 in addition to a voucher worth £250 that is redeemable for their next charity challenge expedition. 5 runners up will each receive a £20 high street voucher and 75% off a photobook. Also every month I will choose my personal favourite picture as “photo of the month” and the winner will receive a much coveted Charity Challenge Buff! So when you get home from your challenge, be sure to send us your best snaps.

To enter the competition, please email your chosen photographs to mai@charitychallenge.com. Please view the terms and conditions here.

Stay tuned to the Charity Challenge blog (subscibe by RSS by selecting the orange icon on the top right) to see which picture can cut the mustard to become photo of the month, and to read some informative and we hope entertaining blogs brought to you from myself, the Charity Challenge team, the diaries of our team leaders and from our expert partners at Cotswold Outdoors, The Altitude Centre’, Nomad travellers Stores, Berghaus and most importantly from our challengers themselves.

I’d love to hear all your thoughts on our new venture into the blogging sphere, so let me know in the comment box what blogs from us you be most interested to read.

If you want to keep up to date on our latest news and promotions, subscribe to our mailing list by entering your email address in the adjacent box.