when Alicia Hempleman-Adams was eight years old, she became the youngest person to travel to the North Pole. But that was on a plane when she visited her father, the British explorer David Hempleman-Adams. Now the 15-years-old has decided to follow in her dad's frozen footsteps. Next month, Alicia is going to set off on a journey to the Arctic that could put her in the record books, as the youngest person to walk to the North Pole. Alicia won't be alone. Four others, including her physical education teacher, are also going to walk the 200-mile route across Baffin Island in northern Canada.
she has been training hard for the journey. she has been walking a lot with a heavy backpack, and she's also been practising pulling a sled long distances. It's going to be pretty cold, she said. It's 20 °C at the moment, and it might get to -30°C. But i think we are prepared.
She's half my size and a teenager.
Alicia has to be well-prepared if she wants to be like her dad. David Hempleman-Adams, 48, has been travelling in the Arctic and Antarctic for 25 years. He has walked to the South Pole once, and the North pole twice. in 2000 he was the first to fly in a balloon onver the North Pole. He has also climbed the highest mountains in all seven continents.
Mr Hempleman-Adams said that it took a long time before he agreed to let his daughter go on the trip. I am a little worried. It's going to be very hard. she is half my size and a teenager, so I think the cold will be a big problem.
alicia's mother is also trying to stay calm about the trip. She thinks that alicia is too young to make the journey. Mr Hempleman-Adams said, "my wife has always thought i'm silly to be an explorer." And when his 90-year-old grandmother heard of the latest plan, she shouted, "oh,no,not again!"
he said, "if Alicia does not finish, it's not a problem. she's got the rest of her life to do it. You have got to enjoy it. There's no other reason for doing adventure."
what advice does he give his daughter? take it easy, he said.