Some words on Children in Crisis

What a wonderful charity with a wonderful aim!

"giving each child the right to quality education". 

A unimaginable 72 million children never go to school with more than half of them in countries devastated by war.

I strongly believe that giving them an education will help transform their life, their community and their country. If every child can learn in a safe, non-violent environment, where boys and girls are treated equally and their human rights protected,

it is                    a huge step against poverty.

Children in Crisis is present in seven countries : 

. in the United Kingdom and Italy, it is delivering interactive drug and alcohol education within education centres. 

. In Africa, (Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia) it is building schools and training teachers with emphasis on the HIV/AIDS problem in Sierra Leone, and girl's education in Liberia.

. In Afghanistan, it is working towards children protection, their rights and their education.

. In China, they are running community projects and training midwives.

Their philosophy is:  

"that the greatest progress towards the global goals to end poverty will be made by focusing on the hardest to reach and the most vulnerable". 

I totally agree to this and I think that it is right to concentrate on the part of the population which faces daily discrimination, namely young children, but with emphasis on young girls, and women.

Thank you to all of you who are supporting me with donations or encouraging me with nice words and for sharing my vision of a truly educated world.

So cute!

I went to Hyde Park to train on rollerskis this morning and the cutest thing happened to me. While I was crossing the road, this French family started to talk to me. The mother loved the rollerskis and wanted to know where she could get them. The father asked me if I was training for something, so I told them about Greenland. Their little girl who must have been 4 years old asked me how Greenland was and I told her that it was a country covered in ice. Now in French, ice and ice-cream are the same word, "glace". And she looked at me and asked me: "Which flavour?" How cute is this?


Came back home really happy, not only because of this little girl, but because the 1 and a half hour I did felt really easy. My balance is much much better, I pace myself really well and I was not exhausted at all. Hopefully this will still be the case in 2 months...


For the day to be perfect, the only thing which still has to be done is for France to beat England at Twickenham... Allez les Bleus! I'll be there screaming for my team!!!

My team

I am lucky to have with me 2 of the best Norwegian guides. They have been part of the succesful NORUK expedition to the North Pole in 2009. 

Per-Thore Hansen used to be in the army and is a great leader and motivator. He is also one of Norway’s best dogsledder (musher) and expedition guide. I met him when he was our guide on the dogsledding trip I did in Norway last year to raise money for the Right to Play. I was truly impressed by his leadership and extreme command of any situation. His dogs are the cleverest and best behaved huskies you will ever meet. 

Petter Thorsen is a great skier and was in the Royal Norwegian marines. He also runs ATE "Arctic Training and Expeditions" camps in Norway where he runs different programs to train people how to survive and operate in an arctic environment.

We will have a doctor, lovely Emma Alcock on call at all times here in the UK to give us instructions on what to do in case of injury. Emma was the doctor on my dogsledding trip last year.

Our HQ will be manned by Per-Thore’s wife Hege, who seems to be an amazing woman who has been part of many expeditions and is a very experienced musher (she was doing a very tough dogsledding race last year for the first time and finished it well) and a kayaker. She is also finds the time to raise 2 children.

Busy day

Had a busy day today with lovely Antonia, who is looking after all my PR. We first went to the offices of the "Right to Play" and had a very good meeting about the many ways that they can help me raise my profile with the aim of getting more donations, and then went to see the head of a big PR company who helped with the planning and timing of the campaign. It was extremely helpful and I feel much more relaxed now as I think that it is a great plan which makes sense. Instead of starting our offensive now, he thinks that it is much better to wait until just before the crossing itself, thus focusing harder on a shorter period of time.


I find this ideal as it allows me to really focus on my fitness for the time being and not waste my energy pursuing too many goals. He even asked if the patrons of both charities would not be tempted to walk the first day with me, which I must say would be a fantastic endorsement. But we still have a lot of time before we have to decide what to do.


Petter Thorsen called while I was in a meeting and I had the impression that on one hand, he loved the fact that I was getting media attention, but on the other hand, was worried that I would not be focusing enough on my fitness. In order to get the permission for the challenge from the Inuit authorities, he had to prove that I was not a complete novice and had some challenges under my belt!! Fingers crossed, they will allow me to start the crossing!!

A bit overwhelmed...

I have ten times more respect now for international and olympic athletes as I had before starting this challenge!!


I find it very difficult to train mentally and physically for such an enormous challenge while normal life still goes on around me. I have not escaped on a "training for Greenland" planet, which means that my training comes on top of normal life as a mother, daughter, friend, etc... 


I still have to shop, cook, take care of the children and spend time with them, arrange doctor's or dentist's appointments, enquire about school, drive, answer the phone, walk the dogs, plan the refurbishment of the house (etc, etc... for the household), 
and try to get as much PR exposure  and sponsorship as I can to raise a maximum of money, which means go to meetings, write letters, mails, this blog (etc, etc...), 
and of course, train really hard, enquire about the expedition and nutrition (more meetings, phone calls and mails), plan the trip to Norway making sure someone I trust is here to look after my household in the meantime (etc, etc...).


Like the old say "so much to do, so little time!!!"

Back in London

Back in London working on my fitness, but also on the awareness of the challenge. It is really important to keep in my mind that my aim is to help some of the most disadvantaged children in the world, by bringing them education and propel learning, development and self-esteem through sport and play. In our societies, we take the right to education, health and democracy for granted. Unfortunately this is not the case in a lot of countries where wars, natural disasters or corruption are the norm.


It would be easy to turn a blind eye, but I cannot do this, as children and women are suffering and are the innocent victims. I try to put myself in their shoes and imagine the courage that it must take to decide to escape such countries and to make the often horrendously difficult journey to refugee camps.


By setting up schools, playing fields and community buildings, Children in Crisis and the Right to Play help rebuild societies by bringing mothers and children out of their grief and isolation and by slowly restoring their trust in men, giving them tools to take their future in their own hands, as well as bringing a smile on their face. And for me, a child's smile is what life is about!

Last day of training in snow! La Valle Perduta

Today was again a beautiful day but we had to leave early afternoon to be back in Megeve in the evening, so we decided to do a shorter faster stint on skins and try to find some powder. We started again from the Punta Idren and went up to the Refuge Montova. There we went down a very steep slope to the Valle Perduta (we had to put the rope as it was icy and rocky). But at the bottom, we finally found some beautiful powder and for twenty minutes, it was really nice. The bottom part of the run was a nightmare of narrow path, rocks, roots, and ice where it was impossible to relax for a second (a little bit like playing a computer game). After lunch we drove back to France and today I will fly back to London, where training will be in the gym again. Next time I'll see the snow will be during my arctic training week in Norway starting on March 12th.


Thanks a lot to all of you who are following this blog and supporting me. The children of Children in Crisis and the Right To Play, need all the help you can give them and  I would be so grateful if you could pass along this blog to anybody who you think might be interested in sponsoring me.

Full day climbing up the Glacier du Lys - no time for lunch!!

We left Champoluc at 9am this morning under a blazing sun, and had to cross to Punta Indren, which took us much more time than planned (we lost about 1 hour due to Italian lift organisation...). We then skied to the foot of the Montova Refuge. We put the skins on at alt 3180m and started our long climb which took us past the Montova Refuge, then on the Garstelet Glacier (at the foot of the Pyramide Vincent) past the Gnifetti Refuge where we had some tea. Then we joined the Lys Glacier and went up for another 2 hours, past amazing seracs where we really had to speed as they are so dangerous especially in this sunny weather.
On glacier, the progression is much slower as we have to put blades on the skis so that they don't slide on the ice. We also have to take on much more material in our backpacks (crampons, harness, rope, ice pick) in order to be ready for any emergency, which makes them really heavy. We finished our climb at altitude 4257m at the Col des Lys and I must admit that I had not much energy left in my body with the altitude and extra weight, so much so that the last 100 meters were a real mental fight! 

Punta Dufour

Lyskamm and Matterhorn

We had to go back down to Greyssoney (Staffal) in order to catch the last cable car and chairlift home, so had no time for lunch. We had to ski down 2500 meters in just 1 hour after such a long climb. My legs were killing me on the way down and I still don't know how I managed to ski so fast, but here we are safe in the hotel.

Bettolina Pass

Much less climb today , only 2 hours, but in powder snow and in rocky terrain which is much more tiring. The visibility was also very poor for most of the day and we started in thick fog. However when we reached the Bettolina Pass in the Greyssoney Valley, the sun shone and we had a beautiful powder run to the little village of Staffal.

Tomorrow will be a big day with a long climb up 2 glaciers to the Pyramide Vincent (4230 m), which is one of the 4000 meters of the Monte Rosa massif.

I feel that my training is really going well.

The going gets so tough!

The village of Champoluc is very charming with its old chalets and our hotel is right on the main square. We left today from the ski-room and after a 5 minutes walk were at the foot of a little path going up the forest. My mountain guide and I put the skins on our skis and set off towards the Perrin Pass. At first it was  up an icy narrow path like yesterday, where technique was important so as not to slip and fall. After 50 minutes, we reached a plateau with a lovely little chapel.


Another very short burst brought us to a lovely little hamlet very beautifully restored where we had our first pause of the day. There was a little church and it was so lovely.




We were however only just over one hour and 400 vertical meters into our climb of a total of 1050 meters. From then on it went up gently first along a road, then up a meadow and finally next to a little stream that we had to cross to go on up towards our goal. I was very proud to have managed to do so without falling into the water, which would not have been very funny... Second pause for hot tea and rest!


We pushed along up a steeper hill and it was horrendous going. The base layer of the snow was like sand and we would either slip back or sideways. We were unbelievably slow and tired. It was like going up 3 steps, going back 2. But, again I thought about the children that I hope to help and the reason for doing this challenge and again it gave me strength. I just went on and on. At the top of the hill, we were both exhausted, but I just wanted to go on and push myself another 150 meters uphill so that we would have climbed 1050 meters. We stopped at the foot of a rock which looked like an indian american totem and we both named it "extreme mother".

 I think that we were right to push ourselves, as not only did we see three chamois (mountain goats) which was so beautiful, but had the only decent powder of the holidays on these 150 meters!! 


The rest of the skiing was done in terribly unstable snow (the sand base layer), and we even had to put the skins back for another 45 minutes to reach the piste and ski back to the hotel as there was not enough snow to ski through the forest.

1100 vertical meters to Tournalin mountain hut

Good news, it is snowing!! Not much though but we see snowflakes falling from the sky... Just enough to cover some very very treacherous ice..

Today's start was from the other side of St Jacques (alt 1500m). We went through a deep forest, up a tiny path  which wound up gently. However there was some ice and it was really very tricky to go over it with the skis.

To the delight of Christophe my guide, I fell flat on my stomach and was really stuck there. He had to come

 and help me!! Very ladylike... and it was just after one hour

We went up for another 2 hours in a mixture of forest, bad snow and road to reach the refuge of Tournalin. We did not stop as much as yesterday and I could take a good steady rythm, and we reached what I thought was the refuge, but in fact was a cabin. We still had another 300 vertical meters to go and they were the steepest. In those 45 minutes something amazing happened. 

It says God sees all

I thought about the children I was doing this for and it gave me the willpower to go on. In fact we went up real fast, the fastest we've climbed so far!!  After a well deserved lunch in the refuge, we skied back to the car in the most horrible powder snow ever. But going through the village I saw a message on the church which I love and I hope it's true (see picture). 

Training in Italy - 1200 vertical meters to Mezzalama refuge

Champoluc is a lovely little village in the valley of Aosta at the end of the Val d'Ayas. It is really a very little resort but it is at the foot of the Monte Rosa massif and it is a beautiful area for backcountry skiing

We started this morning under a beautiful sun at 11 am at the end of the valley past the tiny hamlet of St Jacques. We parked the car (alt. 1700m) and put the skins on our skis. Off we went up a road with lots of bends for the first 2 hours covering a lot of distance but few vertical meters. Although we were going up, it was a gentle climb and we could keep a regular rythm, so it was not too tiring. We stopped for a bite and a drink










and very soon, it was time to go again. This time it was a much steeper incline. We did a 50 minutes stint and reached a plateau where we had another bite. We were at the foot of a steep hill that we went on to climb and it was very hard (can you see me going up in the picture on the left?).

I was really tired and it was great mental training as I had to go on, and in order not to get disheartened, I just focused on the snow right in front of my skis and not on how much there was still to climb! Another stop for bite and drink and of we went,




and after 4 hours 

we finally reached our target (alt. 2900m) and I was really happy!! 

But what a first day!! Thank God, back at the hotel I had the best massage that I ever had in my life and felt much much better and my legs are ready to go on tomorrow for another day of backcountry skiing

A friends description of the challenge

I was talking to a friend today who has done this for 2 days only but she found it very extreme and tiring!! From her description,

The fatigue is extreme, the body aches from pulling such a heavy weight, the cold is numbing and yet there is so much to do, especially in the evening. Everything is frozen and the temperatures are inhumanely cold, but we have to set up camp, work, eat, sleep and function in this environment.

She was very glad when her challenge ended on the second day and she slept in her hotel room.

I will do this for 3 weeks!!! It is the first time in my life that I am doing an extreme challenge and I must say that it will probably take all I've got to do it! 

Why I am doing this...

I am crossing Greenland on skis in May, pulling my sled to raise money for "Right To Play" and "Children in Crisis". 

www.righttoplay.org.uk and www.childrenincrisis.org

I strongly believe that the world is a community and that children are our future. So for me, it is absolutely necessary that children all over the world acquire social skills and education, and have access to medical care if we want to have a chance of bringing inter cultural understanding and respect in the world.  

We are all in the world together and not against each other. So I am trying to raise as much needed money as I can with this sponsored challenge. It will take a minimum of 3 weeks and I think that my limits will be thoroughly tested..

I would be delighted if you would sponsor me for as little (or as much) as you want at: 

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/sabinediederichs

                                

Name, nutrition and training

I have been told that "polar mum" does not sound very energetic, and my challenge is very energetic....Shall I change it? I like "arctic minx" but does it sound serious enough? My challenge is very serious!!!

The new name could take into consideration the following: extreme challenge, extreme temperatures, mother, french, the arctic, one step at a time, ski, snow, ice, etc... Please send me your suggestions!!

Does someone know about nutrition? Or if you know someone who does, could you send him or her my blog address, as I really need help! After training hard in the gym today, I did a smoothie and was very proud of the ingredients until I tasted it... Horrible...... I put nuts, eggs, milk, strawberries, oat flakes and a yoghurt! I thought it had loads of proteins... I'm not sure! The only thing I know is that now I feel like I'm 8 months pregnant... Thank God I'm done with training for today!

Lucy and Roxy

My training regime is go to the gym everyday and go on the cross-trainer for 1 hour . Then on Mondays and Thursdays I work with a personal trainer for an hour, and Tuesdays and Fridays I do yoga for an hour. On Mondays and Wednesdays I walk my two lively dogs in the park for 2 hours. But is it enough? Anyone with experience on this kind of challenge? 

"Polar Mum" is born

On May 1st, I will change name, and as Polar Mum, will attempt to cross Greenland on skis for 2 charities. I will brave freezing temperatures, the wind, the sastrugis (snow formations created by the wind and look like waves). Did I mention that I will be pulling a sled charged with a tent, a gas stove, food, some clothes and toiletries, and which will probably weigh a modest 67 kilos (argh!!.. heavier than me!). The crossing should last 3 weeks if all according to plan.

I have been doing a lot of search on the internet and was wondering if anybody had the answer to this question (as I don't have it):

1. Has there been a French woman who has done this crossing?

Many thanks to anyone reading this, as I need a lot of encouragement! I'm going to bed to be in shape for training tomorrow...

"Polar Mum" is born

Today Polar Mum is born! In less than 3 months, I will be crossing Greenland on skis, braving freezing temperatures, wind, sastrugis (snow formations made by the wind and which look like waves) and maybe even polar bears.. All this on thin skis which have a "skin" attached underneath (the skin is actually made of fabric, very much like heavy velvet) so that they can go backwards. Sorry I almost forgot!! I will be pulling a sled with all the equipment I need (tent, gas stove, food, shovel, some clothes and toiletries..), all in all it should weigh about 67 kilos........ argh!!!  Dday is May 1st 2011. If all goes to plan (including the weather), we should be on the other side of Greenland 3 weeks later. My aim is to raise money for 2 charities, "Children in Crisis" and "Right To Play". To know more about them go to www.childrenincrisis.org and www.righttoplay.org.uk. They are both wonderful and need all the help they can get.