Adventurer Sir David Hempleman-Adams has called for compulsory extra-curricular activities for young people to get them out of the “death loop” of sitting in their bedrooms.
Reflecting on his escapades so far, the British explorer, who turned 70 on Saturday, recalled failing on certain pursuits as many as four times and advised youngsters to get out of their comfort zones and face failure.
Concerns for Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Sir David also spoke about his friend and fellow adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, 82, who has not been seen in public for two years. Sir Ranulph is said to have been moved to care homes in Wales and Cheshire in the past year under an assumed identity, but his current whereabouts are unknown.
Sir David called him a “wonderful friend” of “many, many, many years”, and said he wants to see him but that the situation is “complicated” and “we don’t know all the facts”.
He wrote an article about Sir Ranulph in the Telegraph last month, and said he sought to highlight the probability that there are many other vulnerable people, who are not famous, who may find themselves similarly isolated.
Social care concerns
“It’s only going to get worse,” he told the Press Association. “We’ve got an ageing population. Have we got the right people trained?”
He said adult social care “absolutely” needs to be boosted and backed Andy Burnham’s proposals for a NHS-style social care system for England. “I think he’s absolutely right that we should invest a lot more into our social care systems for the country,” Sir David said.
Combating youth anxiety
Turning from the older generation to the younger, the explorer advocated for getting children out of their comfort zone as a way of combating anxiety.
“I think for different reasons, Covid and other reasons, we’ve got a generation of young people who become anxious,” he told PA. “They’re struggling in society and, I’m slightly biased, but I think if we can make it compulsory for everybody to do the Duke of Edinburgh Award, or Outward Bound, or something similar to that… if we can give them something so they realise they can get out of their comfort zone and survive then the next time they get out of their comfort zone they push it a little bit further and a little bit further.
“Every young person going on all these schemes or who do this will benefit from it because you don’t want them sitting anxious in their bedroom and not getting out. I think it’s a death loop.”
He said it would not have to involve the outdoors, but just something to encourage youngsters out of their bedrooms and trying something new.
On the fear of not succeeding, he said: “I often say there’s no such thing as failure. The only person who failed in their life was the person who knew they could do it in their heart, but then didn’t try it.”
Adventuring career and future plans
Sir David, from Wiltshire, became the first person to complete the “adventurers’ grand slam” of climbing each continent’s highest mountain and reaching both the North and South Poles. He also led more than 30 expeditions to the Arctic, completed a historic solo balloon flight to the North Pole and set 42 FAI world flying records.
His thirst for adventure and the unknown persists, as he said he has the mind of a 21-year-old in the body of a 70-year-old. The next frontier he plans to explore is Great Britain, mentioning some dangerous sounding ballooning in the Scottish Isles in particular.
“It’s a cliche but every man’s got their own Everest,” he said. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s getting out of bed or trying something new in this country, keep going until you’re 110.”
