Into The Wild Meets: James Ketchell

Is there enough adventure in your life? James Ketchell is on a mission to inspire people to be more adventurous by setting and achieving difficult goals, as well as raising awareness for the ELIFAR Foundation. His Pushing Limits project will take him rowing across the Atlantic (again), climbing to the top of Mt Everest (again) and cycling around the world.

Image courtesy of James Ketchell

Into The Wild: What’s the story behind the creation of your global triathlon ‘Pushing Limits’?

James: Being told I cant do something is actually what created the thinking behind my pushing limits project. I was lying in hospital after returning from Everest and a friend of mine said I bet you cant do this! I thought long and hard about it, broke it down and realized that it was possible.
 

Into The Wild: What motivates you to push yourself to the limit?

James: Life passes you by very quickly, I remember when I was 18 and now I have just turned 30 and it doesn’t seem that long ago. I find the more I push myself out of my comfort zone the more rewarding life becomes.
 

Into The Wild: What initially sparked your interest in adventure travel?

James: I have always had an interest in adventure travel but I think what really sparked my interest to action was my motorcycle accident that I had five years ago.

Into The Wild: We have a lot of young travellers volunteering at Frontier; do you have any advice for them or anyone who would like to travel and explore?

James: My advice would be to take opportunities when they come your way in regards to travel. Don’t be put off by the sound of something if you’re not sure. A lot of the time things generally turn out to be a lot better than you might think or not quite as hard as you were worried about.

Into The Wild: What are the benefits of travel and exploration?

James: Probably one of the biggest things I would say you can get out of travel is the experience of world culture that you just wouldn’t get without travel. This certainly made me realize how lucky I was with the things I have and do!

Image courtesy of James Ketchell

Into The Wild: What advice would you give someone looking to escape the humdrum of everyday life?

James: Absolutely go for it. The one thing that you can never buy back is time.

Into The Wild: How did your motorcycle accident affect your views on life, travel and experience?

James: It made me realize that you only live once and that I wasn’t invincible. It also made me want to do more with my time.

Into The Wild: What are the physical and mental challenges you face on an expedition?

James: The physical challenges are not so bad after a while and that’s something that you get used to. Quite often the mental challenges are far harder than the physical challenge. Physically all you’re doing is repeating a process eating, climbing/rowing, sleeping and that’s about it. Mentally the brain is thinking all the time about how far you have to go, what you are going to do next, when will this be over. Trying to enjoy the expedition is the key as I always look back and think to myself, ‘didn’t time fly by’.

Into The Wild: How do you prepare for an expedition?

James: One of the most important things with expeditions is being organised with your personal kit. Making sure you haven’t forgotten anything. Do you know how to use everything that you intend to use, have you got spares, what’s your back up plan if something goes wrong. Then there are the simple things like physically training to ensure you’re at least at a good level of fitness before you start.

Into The Wild: Have you always been a keen explorer or is it an interest developed later in life?

James: I would say I have always had an interest in adventure and the outdoors from an early age. I used to get in trouble for building camps and lighting fires when I was younger.

Into The Wild: What has been your proudest achievement?

James: Rowing into English Harbour, Antigua at the end of the Atlantic Row after 110 days on my own and completely running out of food.

 

Image courtesy of James Ketchell

Into The Wild: You’ve rowed the Atlantic and climbed Everest before, what compels you to repeat the challenge?

James: The row was a great experience, being in the middle of an ocean is probably one of the most amazing places you could ever be with all the different wildlife that you will see. Everest was physically very hard but it is the culture and people that make me want to go back.

Into The Wild: What was the hardest part of rowing the Atlantic? What was the best?

James: The hardest part was dealing with the very slow progress and realizing that 3000 miles is a very long way when you can’t row much faster than walking pace! The best experience for me would be getting to experience the amazing wildlife and witnessing some of the best night skies that is possible on the planet.

Into The Wild: What was the hardest part of climbing Everest? What was the best?

James: For me coming back down from the summit was the hardest part. The adrenaline and excitement of reaching the summit have gone and the realisation kicks in that you’re only half way and a very long way from safety. The best is sitting in the mess tent after a hard day and looking back on what you have achieved that day whilst drinking a cup of tea.

Into The Wild: How can your story inspire others?

James: I think my story just shows people that ordinary people can push themselves to do special things if you really want to. 

Into The Wild: Who has been your inspiration in the past?

James: To be totally honest I’ve not really thought about this before but it would have to be the old school adventurers really. Although he is far from an adventurer I look up to my dad.

Into The Wild: How has it been in your experience to see so many diverse cultures and meet such a range of people?

James: Absolutely fantastic having been fortunate enough to have met many different people it has made me realize how lucky I am with the things I have done and seen. Also I appreciate simple things like clean clothes, fresh water and good food that’s readily available.

Image courtesy of James Ketchell

Into The Wild: You have a focus on education which echoes Frontier’s motto of conservation, education and exploration; how do you plan on getting young people involved in your journey?

James: I will be updating a blog whilst I’m away in 2013 so plan to share the journey via my website www.jamesketchell.net I will also provide teachers with resource packs about the project, places I’ll be going things I will be seeing and cultures I will be experiencing.

Into The Wild: What will be your most vital piece of equipment or backpacker item in the triathlon next year?

James: Um probably my iPod! Try rowing or cycling for 12 hours a day with no form of entertainment, its quite difficult.

Into The Wild: How important is conservation and sustainability to travel and exploration?

James: It’s a difficult balance – it is vital that we work together to preserve the environment that sustains and enriches our lives, but I also believe that it is through our appreciation of the world that we gain understanding and the motivation to work together. I believe that we should not restrict our opportunities to explore but that we should tread carefully when we do so.

If reading this has left you hungry and inspired for an adventure of your own, why not check out the wide range of adventure travel and volunteering opportunities offered with Frontier. From dolphin monitoring on board an old wooden ship in Italy, to learning the ins and outs of the journalism industry in Buenos Aires, there's bound to be something to satisy your urge to get out there and see the world.

By Maria Sowter