I’m happy to announce that Mountain Designs have agreed to continue their on going sponsorship for up and coming expeditions.  Mountain Designs have supported me since my first expedition 4 years ago and I have worn and used their gear in both Antarctica and at the North Pole and found it incredibly reliable for the Polar regions.

I want to thank everyone at Mountain Designs for all their help and support.

A young climber named Rick White had a dream and in 1975 he launched a company named Mountain Designs.

His goal was to provide quality goods for adventurers like himself and started distributing out of a small house in Brisbane. Mountain Designs was created in response to Australians increasing interest in the international mountaineering and rock climbing scene. It is this “Heritage born of the Mountains” philosophy which has been a consistent image for over 30 years.

Our unique heritage is the soul of Mountain Designs and our label the spirit. A product bearing a Mountain Designs label will continue to represent quality and function suitable for the worlds adventure playground – the outdoors!

I arrived home from my brief yet exciting visit to New Zealand’s South Island last week after 10 days of jumping off bridges, flying helicopters, whitewater rafting and hiking amazing glaciers. It was easily one of the most beautiful places I have visited and I really can’t wait to get back over there next winter for some snowboarding.

I ducked up to the Hunter Valley to speak at an MBF conference on Friday morning which was my last presentation for the year and I am now fully focused on my up coming polar expedition in March 2008, there is always so much to do in preparing for an expedition and at times I often feel overwealmed but I really do enjoy watching these things come to life and it makes me realise just how lucky I am to do this for living.

I will officially announce my plans next week so you will have to wait a little longer for the finer details but I can say that I will be back up in the high Arctic!!

Training is now the priority and even over the Xmas period I plan to be working hard. I have a photo shoot on Coogee beach on Tuesday morning and I have been told they want to see me dragging my sled across the soft sand. I always get some strange looks when training like this but it’s as close as I can get to simulating dragging my sled across the ice so I can put up with the stares. I will post some photo’s next week

Just a quick post. I’m currently sitting in Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand having just thrown myself of a 43 metre bridge…BUNJY, with out a doubt one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I will post some photo’s and a more detailed blog next week when I get home…Love this place.

Last Friday night I was lucky enough to attend Splash! – The Great Southern Oceans Zoofari which is The Taronga Zoo Foundations major event for 2007 and was held in the grounds of Taronga Zoo which is with out a doubt one of the most amazing locations in the world.

The night was full of great food an amazing view across Sydney Harbour and of course it raised a significant amount of money for the new Great Southern Oceans Exhibition.

The Great Southern Oceans is by far the most significant investment in Taronga Zoo’s 90 year history. This massive precinct pays homage to our marine mammal and bird life and the significance of the Great Southern Oceans often described as the “lungs of the world”.

Covering 1.2 hectares of the harbour side of Taronga Zoo, visitors to this amazing precinct will have an experience second to none. From swimming with the seals to sitting in the new 950 seat seal discovery theatre, The Great Southern Oceans offers visitors an interactive and educational experience like no other.

A replica Antarctic Research Station will alow visitors to experience the wonders of Antarctica and it will house panoramic underwater viewing of the Leopard Seals and Little Penguin pools.

The Great Southern Oceans will only strengthen the reputation of Taronga Zoo as one of the leading zoos in the world and I can’t wait to visit when this stunning precinct is complete.

I received confirmation of a naming right sponsor for my next expedition on Monday, news which as you can imagine I was over the moon with. I can’t say anymore just yet as there are still a few bits and pieces to be finalised however I will be officially announcing things very soon so stay tuned for more.

On Tuesday I was invited to speak at the Telstra top executive conference at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney about my North Pole expeditions. I have worked closely over the last month with the Telstra Senior Executive team and the day was a great success.

Wednesday saw me fly down to Melbourne to speak at the National Young Leaders Day at the Melbourne Convention Centre. Also speaking on the day was AFL legend Glan Manton, Mike Martin the GM of The Halogen Foundation, Dr Michael Hewitt-Gleeson Co founder of The School Of Thinking and Olympic Gold Medal winning swimmer Brooke Hanson. The day was MC’d by TV personality Wes Denning and with 2000 people in the audience the day had a great vibe and I personally had a ball.

I am happy to announce today that Dirty Dog Sunglasses have agreed to supply me with sunglasses and goggles for my future expeditions. I wore Dirty Dog Sunglasses on my previous North Pole expedition and found them incredibly reliable and extremely well suited for for the Polar regions.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Adam Sieders and Dirty Dog for their support.

Dirty Dog sunglasses was founded in 1980 by a collective of leading scientists and designers. From our dedication to innovation a sunglass unsurpassed in style and performance with the discovery of TR90 – A light weight and virtually unbreakable compound. The lenses were also decentralised for optimum visual performance. Dirty dog is in demand from successful sports people as a sunglass that can be relied on to perform in extreme conditions. When an athlete is pushing their body to the limit, they can be confident their eyewear is not going to fail them. For that we can thank the Dirty Dog team, who work to produce the best for those who want to perform at their best.