We are proud to have British explorer David Hempleman-Adams as our expedition patron. Over the past 20 years David has been involved in an incredible number of adventures including being the first to complete the Explorers' Grand Slam of climbing the highest peak in all seven continents, plus travelling to both the geographic and magnetic North and South poles. More recently he has turned to balloning, with expeditions such as flying across the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans and over the Andes. Born in Swindow, David's interest for expeditions began with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, for which he holds a Gold medal and is currently serving as Executive Officer. David's next challenge is to fly a single engined Cessna 11,500 miles from the Artic Circle to the southern tip of Chile, enduring extremes of temperature and covering vast distances with no runways. More information about David is available on his website, http://www.coldclimates.co.uk.