"Running 1,400 miles in four winter months of polar dark, mostly at minus forty below zero, clothing protects me like fur does for my dogs. Through an entire Arctic year we experience a temperature range of 81°C (30°C above to minus 51°C). I consider my footwear special too.

"I'm on my feet training for long periods of time for journeys where my fitness is paramount. I've survived near death situations because of my fitness. It's saved my life. I don't like injuries that prevent me from training. I haven't had a running injury for years since using Sorbothane innersoles. Don't expect any training shoe to give you injury free training. Buy what running shoe you want, they all come with innersoles fit for the bin.

"My Sorbothane innersoles absorb foot impact shock from all my activities whether I'm walking in London, training in the park or hammering over frozen sea ice. Sorbothane innersoles help insulate to keep feet warm too, even in brutal cold.

"You might not want to train through an Arctic winter but we all want to be injury free to gain healthy well-being benefits from whatever activities we choose."

 
"Arctic winters bring 24-hour darkness. The dark can be so black it's like being nailed inside a coffin. Sometimes I can travel by the light of the moon and swirling northern lights. Sometimes not. That's when I use my Petzl head-torch to penetrate millions and millions of wind blown glittered flaying ice shards to watch the dogs' footings or changes in ice conditions. Below the tree line I watch out for fresh wolf and moose activity. On sea ice I watch for polar bear prints or their kills and am careful not to come between adults and cubs."

 
“To select goggles and sunglasses is a serious undertaking where I live. Unprotected eyes do not cope well with hurtling snow or intense Arctic daylight. Prolific tear flow from spindrift feels like shards of glass in the eyes and 24-hour summer daylight has a tendency to burn out retinas. Not good.

I need goggles and sunglasses that can work in cold 24-hour dark polar winters and 24-hour summer daylight. So I choose to wear ones from Julbo”.

 
"Nobody wants cold, sore feet and that is why my ski boots are made by Alfa in Norway. The Alfa Mørdre Pro boots are unique. I adore these boots. They are outstanding for telemark skiing in exceptionally cold conditions, making them the only boot of their kind.

This soft telemark boot has uppers made from two layers of Cordura, a 75 mm Vibram sole and has a special midsole that can withstand extremely low temperatures. Flexibility is the secret to these boots because rigid footwear equals cold feet. The lacing and buckles make for a snug fit with a simplicity that can be relied on in cold, remote locations. No plastic to crack and break at the most inopportune time."

 
"Intuition Liners offer the world's most extensive line of warm, comfortable, high performance boot liners. I favour three models; the Pro-Tour, the Universal and the Mukluk.

The Pro-Tour is a tall lace-up liner. The tongues are removable with soft or stiff options. The Universal is a shorter wrap-around design meaning there is no need for adjustment. When I am training lead dogs or puppies I sometimes wear mukluks made from moose hide or seal skin and inside of these go Mukluk liners from Intuition.

Intuition Liners are the warmest and most comfortable footwear liners I have used in all my years living in the Arctic. All the Intuition models I wear are warm, comfortable, featherweight but strong and combine stability with support, in what otherwise has always been a very difficult area to keep happy and healthy in Arctic cold."

 
"For polar expeditions, the physical and mental make-up of the Greenland Dog has no equal. Ancient Greenlanders suffered indescribable hardship but the living legacies these people left behind in Greenland today are the dogs: Greenlandic icons.

There are some people who still choose to live an isolated life of deprivation and simple needs. And there are some who choose to live a life of expeditions. I combine the two. I live in Greenland’s high Arctic where 280 days of the year temperatures are never above freezing.

I have no interest in following other peoples' footsteps. My 22 dogs and I have enough to do on our own.

In my job I don’t often go home at night to a warm bed. Rest means a pit in the snow on sea ice that would not be warm or comfortable if it wasn’t for Multimat"

 
“Never trust a satellite phone. Sure enough handsets change but guaranteed reception does not. It remains dreadful, not very good if you want your life to depend on it and since ACR Electronics, Inc. make the best personal location beacons available worldwide I carry my ACR PLB at all times.”

 
"I have my own weather device from Kestrel Weather Meters to measure wind speed, temperature, altitude and barometric pressure when I am on journeys, out of range of accurate weather forecasting. The device is compact, easy to use, light and stows away in a neat case".

 
"On journeys I ski beside my sled, on sea ice and up and over mountains, equaling the speed of my dogs as they take care of business and we pile on the miles. This keeps me warm. But, the cold does strange things to equipment.

At forty below zero, hundreds of miles from home, a broken ski binding can mean a cold day and is about as welcoming as facing a charging polar bear with a dud rifle. These are situations I avoid at all costs. You might not have to deal with Arctic cold or polar bears but a broken ski binding will always be something you do not want to have happen. That is why I use Voilé 3-pin telemark (backcountry) ski bindings.

They are beautifully made.

There is no such thing as a groomed trail where I live. I ski hard everyday and that is why I know that these bindings are a pleasure to use."

 
"I make all of my own tug, neck and mainlines with the best polyethylene hollow-braid rope available, supplied by Snowpaw."