School Lecture: “Impossible is Nothing”

Date: Friday 29 January 2010

The Senior School was treated this afternoon to an inspiring lecture by an inspiring speaker, James Hooper . Even though scarcely older than our U6, James won the admiration of all as he described two major achievements in his life. When aged only 19, he became the youngest Briton to reach the summit of Mount Everest, an adventure he undertook with his friend, Rob Gauntlett. Following the pair’s joint completion of the first ever natural-powered pole to pole expedition, for which James won the National Geographic Adventurer magazine’s “Adventurer of the Year” award in 2007, Rob was tragically killed in a climbing accident in the Alps last year – very shortly before he had been due to speak as last year’s lecturer. This added an edge of sadness to the presentation, and underlined the very real dangers the adventurers had run.

James proved a magnetic speaker. Supported by slides of breathtaking beauty - slides of mountain peaks, polar icebergs, desert wastes and raging seas - James told the stories of these two adventures simply and directly. The expeditions arose from a school cycling club trip to the Lake District. James and Rob enjoyed the physical challenge, and looked for a project that would keep them challenged. Being the youngest Britons to climb Everest was the chosen target, and so the dream was set – despite the fact that neither had climbed before! Three years later, years full of preparation, training, fund-raising, set-backs and A-levels, the box was ticked and Everest conquered.

A similar mode of thinking led to the challenge of travelling from the North to the South Poles using natural power only, a challenge dreamed up in the flat period when the euphoria of having mastered Everest faded. Rob and James were experienced cyclists, but wanted to develop other skills, for example of seamanship, and what better way than to go half way round the world?

The narratives of both expeditions mixed fascinating vignettes with sobering fact. For example, plans to walk over the flat frozen surface of the sea near the North Pole had to be abandoned because a sharp increase in the rate of thawing of the ice rendered it unsafe. James pointed out that this was a frustrating obstacle to their expedition – but a life-threatening challenge to the Inuit hunters whose help they were enjoying.

The challenges were not only physical. Raising the funds necessary for both journeys was not easy, and indeed a very real threat to the pole to pole walk came when money completely ran out part way through. The underlying message that I hope our pupils took away was the aspect of the mental challenge, which provided the title “Impossible is Nothing”. Two determined young men had woven a dream for themselves that a few set-backs were not going to disturb. When every step was a labour up Everest, they kept going. When funds proved difficult to raise, they redirected their approach and continued. Faced with several potentially serious mishaps that might have tempted others to give in, they refused to take the easy way out. James’s final words summed it up: Throw yourself in, always be positive, solve the problems, be energetic. If you have a dream, no matter what, embrace it. Do it even if others doubt you.”

The very warm reception afforded spontaneously to James said it all. He had engaged and inspired us all.

JEM