Portsmouth to turn Spinnaker Tower yellow for record breaker’s cause

10th August 2011

An iconic Portsmouth landmark is set to turn it’s sail yellow tomorrow evening to show support for Richard Parks’ 737 Challenge which is raising funds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Former Wales flanker Richard Parks who recently climbed, skied and trekked his way in to the record books as the first ever person to stand on the highest summit on each of the world’s continents and stand on all 3 poles in the same calendar year is returning to Portsmouth tomorrow to thank some of the people who helped him prepare for his world first 737 Challenge, whilst Portsmouth’s iconic landmark; Spinnaker Tower is set to turn yellow in support of Richard’s challenge which is raising funds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The record breaker spent days last summer dipped in to the University of Portsmouth’s cold water immersion tanks to prepare him for the cold and hostile conditions he was due to face on his epic journey.

The deprivation training, an integral part of Richard’s preparation which led to his success involved Richard spending 3 days in the cold water immersion tank making him clinically hypothermic to analyse how his body and equipment responded to extreme cold.  Richard stated; “The training at the University of Portsmouth was actually focused around the possibility of me falling in to the arctic sea ice on the North Pole leg which I knew would be very hazardous.  But actually the immersion tests really helped me when I fell down a crevasse on the first day of Denali in Alaska.”

Richard’s 7-metre crevasse fall was one of the key moments of the 737 Challenge.  Already climbing with a frostbitten toe from Mount Everest, Richard spent an hour and a half trapped in a crevasse soaking wet with the dripping ice falling on him.  Unable to move, pinned to a ledge, which had broken his fall, Richard spent every minute moving limbs and digits to try and avoid getting further frostbite.

He added; “If I had got further frostbite in that crevasse, it could have been all over.  I was getting pretty close to clinical hypothermia down there and one thing I couldn’t afford to do was panic.  Having the knowledge of already being hypothermic and all the testing I did at the University of Portsmouth in the cold water immersion tank really did come in to play down in the crevasse.  Having that experience gave me the ability to react to the situation and although it was a scary, I was able to stay calm and make rational decisions”.

“It was really tough as I was pinned to the ledge by my sled so I couldn’t move and I was shivering quite badly knowing I was very close to Hypothermia.  But having been through this before in Portsmouth last year, I had the confidence from the knowledge of how my body reacted in this situation”.

Richard will visit the University of Portsmouth tomorrow afternoon and greet the University staff who helped him prepare for the challenge.  He will then make his way over to Gunwharf Quays and to the Spinnaker Tower landmark in the evening to watch the Tower turn yellow in support of Marie Curie Cancer Care, the cancer charity which Richard is raising funds in aid of.

Finally Richard added; “I am so grateful for all the support I have had from all over the UK.  It will be awesome to go back to Portsmouth to thank all the staff at the University and to have the Tower turned yellow for Marie Curie is fantastic.  I hope the awareness helps me raise more funds towards my £1m target and to have such an iconic landmark in the UK backing my cause is amazing”.