A slice of the action
Zena Farrington has had her fair share of life’s ups and downs, and many would buckle under the strain, but she has found her fighting spirit – in the Arctic of all places.
Born in Hampshire, her father died when Zena was young, and she was raised in relative penury by a resilient mother with strict puritan values. Her mother became a nanny and Zena has remained close to the children she was raised alongside. Educated at a Catholic school she learnt to keep her head down and by the time she left at 16 she was tough, independent and self-reliant. Not notably academic she took catering qualifications and became a chef. However, her fiancée was involved in a car accident and fell into a 6-year coma which led to a change of direction so she could stay near him. She took part-time, temporary jobs at a series of newly emerging computer companies. Self-taught, she realised she had a gift for computers and was soon responsible for highly sensitive computer data for IBM.
Already passionate about ecology, Zena joined an excursion in 1988 around Lake Victoria in Africa for 6 weeks. It was a revelation and planted a seed of aspiration and a desire to do more for our planet. She went on CND marches, began recycling long before the word was commonplace and bucked against the wasteful materialism of the eighties. In 2002, following an unhappy relationship, Zena travelled to the Himalayas and joined an expedition to Everest base camp, where she fell in love with Nepal and the Nepalese people. On her return to the UK she decided to leave IBM and joined the Ministry of Defence, yet again working with complex, sensitive systems. She enjoyed her job but after the death of her mother in 2014, she had a desire to realise untapped potential, and moved to Devon where she started a new chapter - in education.
She enrolled at South Devon College to study animal management, learning about all aspects of animal husbandry from elephants to dogs. She had a special interest in ocean life and progressed to a marine biology foundation degree before gaining a Bachelor of Science in marine zoology. Zena thoroughly relished the academic life but was hampered by a fall not long after her move to Horrabridge, when an injury to her head left her unable to walk. Sadly, she had to take a break from college but with the support of her new neighbours and chiropractor Andrew Greg, she gradually improved and was able to graduate in 2018.
Last May, Zena was looking for a pair of walking boots and dropped in on the Ice Warrior BASECAMP outlet in Princetown. Her interest was piqued by an information flyer for the next expedition to the Arctic - #LASTPOLE, an expedition to the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility, the last ‘world first’ to be claimed in the polar regions. Founded by Jim McNeill, Ice Warrior has trained over 350 people and undertaken ground-breaking expeditions to retrieve data which is helping scientists discover more about global climate change. #LASTPOLE involves four teams trekking more than 800 miles across treacherous sea-ice to the furthest point from land on the Arctic Ocean, to collect vital data about the state of the ice, weather conditions, levels of pollution and the distribution of polar bears.
Zena signed up for the next training session to be held on Dartmoor and began preparing for the rigours of life at the extreme. Earlier this year she joined the latest group in an epic training mission in Svalbard, Norway. Staying at their base camp as well as in tents, they endured a fortnight of high Arctic winter in moonlit darkness. Temperatures of -32 were recorded inside the tent and the group had to undergo hypothermia exercises which left them all in painful disorientation. They learnt navigation and survival skills, and how to pull a ‘pulk’ sled, which carried their kit and food for the duration. It was incredibly difficult and pushed Zena far outside her comfort zone, but it was also an amazingly rewarding experience, teaching her a great deal about herself. She discovered a resilience and determination she did not know she possessed, as well as drawing inspiration from the camaraderie and collaborative team spirit. The expedition is essential if we are to better understand how our climate is changing, and Zena is hoping to utilise life experience of nature, alongside her computer skills to further promote the Ice Warrior quest.
Nichola Williams
For more information about the expedition go to lastpole.co.uk, ice-warrior.com, or Smithsonianmag.com: The ‘Pole of Inaccessibility’ Has Eluded Adventurers for More Than a Century.