Posted 30 January 2022

The admittedly-unusual job title of “adventurer” means that my exploits often land me in dangerous places or potentially lethal conditions where my life can depend on the equipment I carry. Over the last decade, I’ve taken on a number of expeditions in extreme environments, both hot and cold, that has sometimes proved much harder than necessary due to insufficient, inappropriate, or simply inferior gear.
Charlie map
Charlie map

I vividly recall the angry crop of saddle-sores I accumulated while cycling several thousand miles through the Southeast Asian monsoon without padded cycling shorts, and the gaping, weeping cracks that opened up in my heals when walking across the Gobi Desert in an ill-suited pair of walking shoes that all but fell apart. In Papua New Guinea I pinballed down ferocious whitewater in a small, inflatable and hard-to-manoeuvre kayak, almost drowning twice as a result. Perhaps most memorably, as a reckless 23-year-old I spent a winter solo camping in Tibet with a “fake” sleeping bag picked up in Katmandu for under £60. Those long, sleepless, shivery nights have stayed with me and left me determined never to endure -40˚C with substandard kit again.

So it is with tremendous pleasure (and a huge relief) that I announce this new collaboration with TUNDRA. This winter I will face Arctic Siberia’s brutal conditions equipped with the best possible protection: Tundra’s Arctic Elite sleeping bag. Tundra sleeping bags have been tried and tested in the harshest conditions.

Charlie Snow
Charlie Snow

This is exactly what I need as Yakutia (a Russian region equal in size to India) is the world’s coldest inhabited place and I can expect temperatures down to -55˚C on this three-month expedition.

I will ski 1,000 miles along the Lena River’s frozen surface from Yakutsk to the Arctic Coast with the goal of visiting and documenting the Yakut people who have lived and herded reindeer in the region for centuries. With the climate now changing, increasingly erratic weather systems (summer wildfires and rapidly melting permafrost) are infringing on the Yakut’s traditional modes of existence. The permafrost is the world’s largest terrestrial carbon sink, containing over 1.6 trillion tonnes of carbon, so the difficulties that the Yakut face now are also harbingers for imminent issues facing the wider world.

Charlie Snow 2

Charlie Snow 2

In keeping with this focus on the sustainability of our climate, I am thrilled that Tundra fills their made-to-order sleeping bags exclusively with ethically-collected goose down of the highest quality. The Artic Elite sleeping bag also has a companion Vapour Barrier Liner and Waterproof Cover to ensure the down stays dry during longer expeditions. With a Tundra bag in my sled, I can’t wait to get to Yakutia and start the journey knowing that I’ll stay not just alive, but also comfortable through the savage Siberian nights.