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ABOUT SILVERTIP

SILVERTIP Expedition & Diving Management provides consultancy, training and underwater filmmaking services to the expedition, film and television industries.

Our highly experienced team provide the expertise, equipment and enthusiasm required to work in some of the world’s most challenging environments.  To find out more, browse the what we do pages.

SILVERTIP is committed to providing education about conservation of the natural world and our living oceans.  Visit our Google Ocean and eco-aware pages for more information.

In 2004 Hannah joined a British expedition to explore the isolated Wakan Corridor in the northeast of Afghanistan in search of the source of the River Oxus. The strip is walled by the Hindu Kush in Pakistan to the south, the Pamirs in Tajikistan to the north and the Karakorams in China to the east. The upper regions of this mountain valley can only be reached on foot by crossing several 15,000ft passes and has rarely been visited by westerners. Part of the research was to take DNA samples of the nomadic tribe people there to establish their genetic links to Alexander the Great and his army.

Later that year Hannah turned to a cold desert in an epic 56 day expedition skiing the 730 miles and 10 degrees from the coast of Antarctica to the geographic South Pole. Crossing the vast and monotonous expanse of one of the harshest environments in the world the team of five battled with physical and mental exhaustion, frostbite, injury, hunger and some of the lowest temperatures on earth.Far from taking it easy after her Antarctic adventure, in September 2005 Hannah set sail from Liverpool as a Watchleader aboard Glasgow Clipper in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. She raced with the fleet from Liverpool to Cascais in Portugal, Salvador in Brazil, Durban, Fremantle and Singapore. Half way through the next leg to China the boats were diverted to The Philippines with major keel issues and the race was delayed for two months for a rebuild.

While the boats were being rebuilt Hannah and her partner David Pryce returned to his home in Australia and bought the 20m aluminum expedition schooner The Blizzard.

They formed their high latitude sailing company Blizzard Expeditions and eventually did not return to the Clipper Race.In November/December 2006 Hannah returned to Antarctica and once again skied from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, but this time solo and unsupported. She set a new world record for the journey of 39 days 9 hours and 33 minutes.In October 2007 Hannah and David embarked on their first full season with The Blizzard sailing from Australia across to Chile and from there around Cape Horn and down to Antarctica, then back to Australia via the Falklands, The Kergulens and the South Magnetic Pole, thus completing a full circumnavigation of Antarctica in a season.

In February 2008 Hannah set out solo from Ward Hunt Island in the North of Canada in a first attempt at soloing to the North Pole. Just over two weeks in she had a dramatic fall into the ice and seriously injured her shoulder and back and was forced to retire. She is now once again fully fit and in training for her next attempt. 

‘Like’ the new Expedition Medicine Facebook Group

Guest speaker – Hannah McKeand, renown Polar Explorer     http://www.hannahmckeand.com/

TRAILTREKKER is the 100km team challenge across the Mourne Mountains and Cooley Peninsula.

Teams of four must trek through the night to complete the course in under 36 hours.

It’s an amazing experience that combines endurance, navigation, determination and teamwork!

If you are interested in working and supporting this event and espiecally if you live nearby contact Gemma Philips at gemma@acrossthedivide.com

Staff start and finish in London

An event medic is required 0900 hours Wednesday 14^th July until 1900 hours on Monday 19^th July – meet in London and travel to Brussels with rest of staff and then travel home from Frankfurt to London

Pay £300

All accommodation, food, travel to Brussels and return from Frankfurt paid for

Ideally the doctor must be able to cycle each of the four days and bring their own road bike along with them.

Must hold a full driving licence also.

Please contact gemma@acrossthedivide.com  as soon as possible if you are interested.

The latest foreign course to gain accreditation through the WMS and the ACCME is the Diving and Marine Medicine Course, which this year will be in the Maldives. So not only do you get to have a fantastic, educational and exciting adventure but you also gain 20.25 CME points as well. There are only 2 places left so if this interests you, please drop us a line soon

Our foreign courses always run on a fairly fluid timetable, but this year’s Desert Course in Namibia was certainly more fluid than expected. Having never seen rain in the desert before, we had rain every day bar one, most of it torrential. A storm on the second night tried its hardest to blow down/away most of the tents and the large tarps put up by Faan, our local agent. His cooking staff had never experienced such a storm and then still managed to produce a hot meal for us all shortly afterwards.

We still had a great week. The group included some extremely experienced medics and everybody contributed to the learning.  A fascinating demonstration of snake handling from Stuart involved his venomous and non-venomous snakes and a parabusis scorpion.

We trekked in some seriously hot conditions and at times were lucky with cloud cover. One unexpected bonus was coming across a deep pool of water in a bend on a (usually permanently dry) riverbed giving us the chance to swim in the desert – magical. The view from the high peak of the Doros Crater Rim was well worth the walk in. Out final night out was luckily under the beautiful Southern Cross and the other stars as the clouds finally relented. We walked past fresh rhino tracks and saw herds of zebra, springbok and flighty ostriches as we drove out. Faan looked after us impeccably as usual.

Mother Nature surprised us again at the end of the course when the volcanic ash prevented Mark and I, and many of the course participants from flying home at our intended times. The latest person home was 10 days late and one participant endured an epic 3 day flight/train/train/ferry/train/ferry/train journey. At least we are all getting used to the unexpected.

Caroline Knox