Ranulph Fiennes

“As a rule, anything that is pretty you avoid when on an expedition in the polar extremes. Normally anything other than white means a hazard such as a crevasse.”

“I go on expeditions for the same reason an estate agent sells houses - to pay the bills.”

“Rivalry is one of the factors pushing me. While my back was turned, the Norwegians managed to achieve the first Arctic crossing in winter. I didn't want the same to happen in the Antarctic.”

“While I was serving, I worked as an adventure training officer, teaching soldiers how to ski, canoe and climb.”

“No one will pay you for planning an expedition at first: you have to work in pubs at weekends so you can pay the gas bills. I joined the Territorial Army, which paid me when I turned up to drill nights, and so did my wife.”