Ann Daniels - Speaker

Ann Daniels is a world record holder and one of Britain's leading female polar explorers. Starting as a mother of young triplets without any outdoor experience, pure hard work and belief prompted Ann to be selected instead of over 200 more experienced women to participate in her first North Pole expedition. Ann believes in living fully and taking opportunities as they appear. Not letting the fear of failure stop her from having a go, with no previous outdoor experience and as a mother of 18-month-old triplets, Lucy, Joseph and Rachel, she beat off fierce competition from over 200 other women on a tough Dartmoor selection weekend and was chosen to join the first team, of the McVities Penguin Polar Relay. A unique relay expedition of women sledge hauling to the North Pole. The first team of four women with two guides were tasked with crossing the toughest sections of ice in the coldest weather to give this record-breaking expedition the best possible start. This unique expedition started several world record-breaking expeditions that would see Ann rise in Polar Exploration. Fired up by her experiences in temperatures cold enough to freeze skin instantly, Ann and four colleagues from the relay went on to organise and accomplish a 700-mile expedition across Antarctica, the windiest, highest, and bleakest continent on Earth, to become The First British All-Women’s team to ski to the South Pole. She became the first British female North Pole guide, leading men and women in the most extreme environments on the planet, and whilst guiding one such North Pole expedition, had the dream to make the whole journey to the North Pole from land. It was a feat only completed by a few expeditions and never by an all-women’s team.