Blog written by Maria

What do you usually do in the mornings? We – testing our sleeping bodies for resiliency… In our words, morning is the “favourite“ part of the day for participants of the Selection Camp. “We won't be jogging in the mounains today“ – so much sugar in this phrase for us! But… Martin (the person who is responsible for our bodys' health and spirits') wouldn't have been in character if this happy news would be the only one: “We won't be jogging in the mountains today… we will be jogging circles on the hill up the stairs – one just for pleasure, three more – on the clock. One, Two, Three… Go!“

Difficult and hard. Somebody is flying, somebody is jogging, somebody is walking, but nobody is done. Straight ahead, step by step – finish! We did it! Cool! “Congratulations, guys!“ – the same voice – “go up to do exercises!“

Ok, push-ups, sit-ups, stretching… are finished! Cool! We did it! However just as the image of breakfast comes to my mind, I hear Martin say: “Good job! Let's improve your results – three circles more as fast as you can!“ My eyes immediately focused on his face – smiling, but not joking… So, jogging again. In Russia we have a phrase:“If you enjoy sledding downhill, then you must enjoy pulling the sled up as well“ During the rest of the jogging, this was the phrase that kept through my mind….

On the way back to the hotel, I had a funny conversation with Siqi:
− Siqi,look! The sunrise is sooo beautiful!
− Oh! really, but I didn't notice this at the start of the morning…
− Me too…

….There is one belief that if you have learnt to ride a bicycle once, you can't forget how to do it. Today I had an opportunity to check my abilities during the rapeling exercise. The last time I had to rapel down a cliff was 5 years ago, when I was on the sport-tourism team. However my body still remembered the movements as if it was yesterday!

Even if I tried it before it doesn't mean that I didn't find something new. I,ve rapelled down hills, but not on such high mountains as the Swiss Alps. Just imagine: a steep slope right beneath your feet, a raging river below, sparkling mountain peaks in the distance and a blue sky overhead!

We didn't go down to the river, but even half of this distance was great. When you sense your body working, have an open mind, and explore something new, you feel that you are alive. Especially when the team on the ground is waiting for you with congratulations and applause. Yes, together we are ready for any rescue, adventure and future experiences!

Blog written by Brandon

Squeak Squeak

`That can`t possibly be my alarm. Do they do fire drills in Chateux d`Oex? I`m pretty sure I have another 4 hours sleep left in me until I must arise.`

The constant barrage of physical activity must have taken its toll on me because I was gravely mistaken. The time was 6:33 and my roomate Roman was already parading around the room in his underwear frantically getting dressed. I managed to drag my somewhat lethargic vessel out of my bed, and pranced downstairs for another enthralling and testing bout of morning exercise.

This light and leisurely commencement of the day quickly exploded into a familiar lung-bust and thigh-thrust that we have grown accustomed too. Time trials around the church area left everyone feeling rather damaged as we raced each other and ourselves at a pace pushing our maximum for a number of minutes. It is at times like this when I am happy that I listen to musicians like Flo Rida and the Beach Boys because their lyrics played constantly in my head- giving me motivation to continue. Once we were finished, Martin took us through a series of physical strengthening exercises and promptly instructed us to go through the whole regime again…

That was tough.

The day did ease up thereafter as we had a highly informative presentation on camera usage, photography and the infamous `rule-of-thirds´which will help us document our future expeditions in great style. After this, we had a practical session where we were instructed to take photos of our new Wenger knives. The photos were interesting, ranging from the `celebratory-group-picture` to the mysterious `apple-slicing-picture` which will surely attract great interest. The photos can be seen on www.facebook.com and will soon be up on the yep website.

In the afternoon we had the scintillating prospect of abseiling down a 50m cliff into the Swiss abyss, smoothly (some of us) making our way to the bottom while being surrounded by some sensational mountain peaks covered in snow. I guess this was the reason I brought my handy disposable camera as the photos were being clicked away faster than a mountain goat in Ethiopia can descend from a stalking predator.

Since then, we have been fed some typically delicious, nay nutritious, food and have been briefed on our glacier adventure tomorrow.

If i continue writing this blog I will miss out on some much-coveted sleeping time, so for now I will lay my heavy head down in bed as I look forward to another tantalizing day tomorrow.

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We ready to lift anchor and sail of to Canada. It's going to be a long hard trip against the wind for more than 12000km. We had a very successful stay and we are leaving behind great friends and a 5 year Project. Follow us daily as we sail via the Philippines to Vancouver. Thanks to all that made our stay in Asia an unforgettable time of our life.

I'm back on my baby Pangaea after an amazing trip to India where i helped with the preparation of the Indian cricket team for the world cup. Tomorrow I will start the pacific crossing to Canada.

The ice cold air struck our lungs as we started our morning jog. Little did we know, that this would be the hardest one so far. More running than jogging… we went up the steep and twisty road. Martin even boldly proclaimed : “this is the hill that separates the men from the boys “.

After a morning of learning about map work and a small orienteering hike our day continued with the much expected MAYO clinic test. Although we had the first part done yesterday, there was still plenty to do. Some of us were quite nervous, because it’s important to be able to give one’s best. We began by measuring our body fat, which was done with pliers, taking the thickness of our skin at different places. Various different tests were also done like a lung test, a flexibility test, some very many push ups and sit ups and sitting against a wall with just one foot on the floor for as long as possible. Once we were as far as that we went outside where some more testing that was awaiting us. One of them was a sprinting test, there was also quite a funny thing that happened, Felix was running the agility and when passing the finishing line, he just managed to avoid running into all the YEPs standing around but couldn’t find his balance, fell over and was covered in dirt. After that the last big challenge stood ahead: The twelve minutes endurance run! During these twelve minutes all of us gave our best and once it was finished all of us felt really relieved.

In the evening we had a talk from Andy and Bryan, the PH.Ds from the MAYO clinic in Minnesota, USA. They were telling us all about the influences the cold has on human body’s. The most interesting part came at the very end, when they asked for three voluntaries. Brandon, Kim and Ariane thought they would do it. Ariane had to push wait, Brandon had do a reaction test and Kim had to put chess figures onto a board. The time and strength was noted. Then guys from the MAYO clinic brought a box filled with ice cubes and water, in which the three had to stick their hands for eight minutes. After eight minutes with some very cold hands they had to do their tasks again. Then we compared the results and where quite impressed how slower and less strong one functions when one’s cold.

After such exhausting day all the YEPs fell asleep immediately…

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I hate running down hill – it is easy and gravity is on my side, but there is an ever present thought weighing on the back of my mind: what goes down must come up. It was a dark morning and with heavy eyes and heavier legs we fifteen stumbled out of the Hotel de Ville. Martin’s shadow, a German shepherd by the name of Winnie who serves as our constant stick gnawing companion, matched us stride for stride across iced over pastures under the seemingly vigilant watch of the magnificent Swiss Alps. Down and down we went, below the town of Chateau d’Oex and across a narrow bridge, quivering and rocking with one of our every steps. Now in the wooded gully formed by the River Sarine with month old ice dwelling on the past glory of a once proud existence as snow and, perhaps out of spite, refusing to give our shoes purchase, there was only one way to go: up and back into the town of Chateau d’Oex, back to the Hotel de Ville. Now regretting the too-easy time we had been “blessed” with descending into this chilled river valley, we plodded one foot in front of the other up and up and back to the warmth and full stomach prepared for us by the wonderful and ever-helpful Mike Horn team.

Several hours later we found ourselves once again preparing for a run. This run, however, would be very different from our early morning adventure. This exercise would have one objective- to take us to the point of absolute exhaustion in as close to twelve minutes as possible, all the while recording the volume and O2 concentration of our breath. This test was performed by PH.Ds from the prestigious MAYO clinic in Minnesota, USA. We put masks over our mouth and nose and were made to run on a treadmill as the speed and incline were steadily increased until we were sprinting up a moderately sloped hill. We were made to run until we felt like dropping dead, and then we were made to run some more. Between our burning legs and the fog which began to settle in the space around our eyes, we felt like we were living the definition of pain. And then it was over. Suddenly and with little warning, we were done. As the pain began to leave us and our perception of reality began to return to normal, we steadily began to realize that the world was not, as we had been so sure of only minutes before, about to come to a crashing end. With the pain, the world had been simple, for only the pain and a desire to push through it had existed. Now, the world came rushing back: all of our worries and concerns and more than that- an exhilarating realization that we were in Switzerland, we were living life to its fullest, and we were without question the luckiest people alive.

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Our 19th day started off with a bit of bad news – Floren had gotten ill since there was a quite an outbreak of water-borne illnesses in the region. Dmitri and Shruti took her to the hospital in Bhubaneshwar while the rest of us continued the painting of the school, and making sure that the children implement the new hand washing system. The next day, our last day at the school and our last full day in India was a very busy day! We took the little boy with eye problems to the doctor again and got his diagnoses. Then we went and got him some glasses fitted – he was so chuffed with his glasses, he just couldn't stop smiling when he got back to school.

After that we took some homeless people floor mats and blankets, and bought their children toys. At school we had a meeting with the headmaster, and the entire school did a lovely presentation for us and presented us each with gifts – Gandhi's autobiography, flowers and a beautiful cloth which the children themselves had embroidered. We had a party with the children and gave them some sweets and more stationary as a parting gift from us.

Shanti, a 4 year old girl who attends the school had a terrible fever, so we decided to take her to the doctor. We went to Shanti's house in the village and asked her mother's permission. With Shanti, her mom, her sister and her cousin we then headed off to the doctor, where Shanti was examined. The doctor said that it was flu and he prescribed some medicine which we then bought and took Shanti and her family home. Everyone was so grateful to us and we were invited into Shanti's home. Shanti, with her mother and father
and sister all live in a 2m x 3m room with a single bed which they all share, yet despite their poverty , they were very hospitable and had bought us each a juice. It was a very humbling experience and one that I will never forget.

Luckily Floren was feeling better and was able to return to Puri for our last evening together. We had a lovely dinner and after that we all headed to bed for our last sleep before heading back to our respective countries.Since we were all only flying out the afternoon, we went to a Buddhist temple in Bhubaneshwar, where we got some very interesting photos. Mr Barik, our coordinator in India, took us out for lunch to thank us for all our hard work done at the school. We were taken to a large, beautiful hotel where we
had lunch at one of the various restaurants. Sadly it was time to say goodbye after lunch, and a few tears were shed but it was time to say goodbye. We hope our efforts will have made a real impact on the childrens' lives and we hope that the teachers, headmasters and children will apply what they have learnt.

We have all learnt so much more of India than a travel book could ever describe and it was most certainly a life changing experience, making us all appreciate all that we have so much more. We are so grateful to have been given this opportunity and I know that every single one of us will remember this trip for the rest of our lives.

From Hoang Duc Minh,Vietnam

7 a.m. We all got up, and nobody were lated. Since it was cold, all the team were very excited to start the jogging. Everything seem to be okay at first, then I found that it was a challenge to me when we started to run up the mountain. I tried my best to keep the distance with the whole team. Most of the team were abled to maintain the speed, but after a few minutes, some of us had to slow down. It was really a challenge for us, a challenge of our limitation. Each time I feel that I couldn't run anymore, I see that the break point is not so far ahead. Then, I keep running. Finally, we reached the goal. After the last break, all the team run down the mountain. It was the most beautiful jogging I ever have in my life. The top of all the mountains were covered with snow, the sun was rising up from behind the mountain. The air was cold but fresh. There is smell of grass, the cow, and the land in the air we breathed in. I saw the happiness on the face of other team members. Yes, we have won the challange and achieved our award.

9 am, we gathered at the seminor room to welcome the instructor team of Mercedes – Benz. Our main activity of the day: Mercedes-Benz Eco Driving Experience. After watched a short clip about the history of Mercedes and listen to a presentation about eco-driving, we split up into 3 groups. Every people have one turn to drive a Mercedes’ car. Our instructor only observe us and calculated our fuel consumption and average speed.

13:30. After the lunch, we came back to the seminor room, this time we are given 6 silver rulers on how to drive a car economically, and envrionment friendly. It is very simple, but effective. We were also introduced to new technology of Mercedes: The F-Cell. It is amazing: No CO2 emission, reliable, efficiently and it’s really strong. The problem is it’s cost: not reasonable. But it showed us: how we can be different to change this world, to protect our planet.

16:30. We were back to our car and the driving. This time, it was totally an amazing. I had a feeling that my intructor became a different person. He start to talk, talk and talk about what is the real right way of driving a car. Lot of information came to my head. I was very impressed with his word: “Driving from A to B without accident doesn’t mean that you know how to drive a car”. Then, all of us put in practise what we had just learned from him. Statistics showed that we all reduced our fuel consuption while increasing our average speed. I want to say that my intructor is the best driving teacher I ever met. We all thanks you very much.
20:00, we were introduced to the Mayo Clinic’s fitness test that we will be doing next 2 days. It will be very challenging since it will test all of your limitation (balance, speed, durable,…). I am nervous, but I am also excited too. Each challenge is an opportunity, right?

From Ariane, Canada

6:30. We got up and it was still pitch black outside. With our shoes tied up and our bodies still sleepy, we went out for our first morning exercise. We jogged up hills and stretched a bit, which felt really good after a long day of travel. It was quite challenging for many of us, since we don’t all live in coutries where mountains are part of the landscape. The sun rose as we ran up the hills of Chateau-d’Oex. The wind was sharp and the warmth of the sun heated us up. We soon distanced with each other, our paces being all different. When we all arrived at the top, the view was breathtaking. We admired the landscape and soon headed back down. There’s no better feeling to me than running down the street in Switzerland with a bunch of amazing people on a bright sunny day. I mean, could any better situation exist? It just felt amazing.

After a quick shower (I swear it took me something like 3 minutes), we had our well earned breakfast. And then, we had real first activity: The Mercedes-Benz driving experience. We started out with a presentation about eco-driving. After, we split up in 3 groups and all got the chance to drive a Mercedes’ car. Our instructor was calculating (with a tiny machine called the ecoLOG) our fuel consuption. Since the weather was so clement, I got the chance to drive the Mercedes’ cabriolet and honsetly, it felt incredible to drive this car! We went back inside to get an introduction on how we can drive more ecologically and reduce our footprint on the planet.

They gave us tips that are really easy to follow and frankly useful. Later, they also informed us about the new energies that Mercedes are trying to commercialize. The one that really impressed me is the F-cell energy. It’s basically hydrogen that makes the car roll. You just need to fill your tank like any other car to make it work. Unfortunately, there’s only few of these “hydrogen stations”, so it is currently hard to rely on these cars. I find it inspiring to see how progress is leading us and how international companies like Mercedes-Benz are taking environmental issues seriously. I just wish we could invest more, as a society, to promote this kind of green energy. It’s presently really expensive to get those cars but I’m optimistic that whitin a few years, it will be cheaper and more accesible to people. If we could all reduce our fuel consuption, it probably wouldn’t change the world, but it would at least bring us a step closer to an environmentally-friendly planet.

I could write a lot about that, but I’ll just make it short. After receiving our tips, we went back in the cars and actually put in practise what we had just learned. Statistics showed that we all reduced our fuel consuption without altering our speed. In fact, we almost all increased our speed the second time. So let’s say that it is evenly fun to drive ecofriendly!

Tonight, we are to be introduced to the Mayo Clinic’s fitness test that we will be doing tomorrow. Of what I’ve read about the previous selction camps, it’s supposedly quite challenging. So I guess I’ll have another short evening and try to sleep as much as I can in order to be in great shape!

Generally speaking, the group dyniamic is pretty good. It’s incredible to meet people with the same mindset as you and to be able to share with them your story and your philosophy. It’s only the second day and what I’ve experienced so far has exceeded my expectations. I’m sure the remaining days will be as equally amazing as this one. So, I’ll just keep enjoying my time here and appreciate every every second of it.

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D Day is here at last!!!

Today, 16 young adults arrived in Château-d'Oex, Switzerland for the Magnetic North Pole Selection Camp.

The new arrivals had a relaxed afternoon. They became acquainted with their fellow YEPs and familiarised themselves to their new surroundings and the members of the Mike Horn Team.

The team retired early this evening , all no doubt very tired after their long trips. A wise decision as tomorrow the activities start! A busy 10days lie ahead for everybody involved.

"Its exciting to finally meet the other YEPs that we have been chatting to over the YEP Community since such a long time now. It's so great to be here and to start the camp with the Mike Horn Team and other like-minded people. It's going to be an awesome 10 days!" Maria, Russia.

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High-profile adventurer Mike Horn, who had a session with the Mahendra Singh Dhonis in Calcutta, exactly a year ago, is again with Team India.

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