Fiennes, Ranulph (Twisleton-Wykeham) 1944-

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FIENNES, Ranulph (Twisleton-Wykeham) 1944-

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced Fines; born March 7, 1944, in Windsor, England; son of Ranulph (second baronet; a lieutenant colonel and regimental commander in the Royal Scots Greys) and Audrey Joan (Newson) Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes; married Virginia Pepper (an explorer), September 11, 1970. Education: Attended Eton College. Religion: Christian. Hobbies and other interests: Langlauf (cross-country ski racing), photography.

ADDRESSES: Home—Greenlands, Exford, Minehead, West Somerset TA24 7NU, England. Agent—Ed Victor Ltd., 6 Bagley St., Bedford Square, London WC1B 3HB, England.

CAREER: Explorer, author, and lecturer. British Army, 1965-70, began as lieutenant, became captain in Royal Scots Greys; served with Special Air Service, 1966, and Sultan of Muscat's Armed Forces, 1968-70; became captain, R.A.C. Leader of British expeditions to White Nile, 1969, Jostedalsbre Glacier, 1970, and Headless Valley, British Columbia, 1971, of the first surface circumpolar journey around the earth, 1979-82 (reached South Pole December 15, 1980, and reached North Pole April 11, 1982), and of five unsupported expeditions toward the North Pole between 1985 and 1990. Executive consultant for Western Europe, Occidental

Petroleum Corp., 1984-90. Has appeared on television and in documentary films; broadcasts over British Broadcasting Corporation.

MEMBER: Guild of Vintners, Garrick Club.

AWARDS, HONORS: French Parachute Wings, 1968; Dhofar Campaign Medal, 1968; Sultan of Oman's Bravery Medal, 1970; Krug Award of Excellence, 1980; Man of the Year Award, 1982; Livingstone's Gold Medal, Royal Scottish Geographic Society, 1983; Gold Medal and honorary life membership, Explorers' Club of New York, 1984; Founder's Medal, Royal Geographic Society, 1984; Polar Medal, Her Majesty the Queen of England, 1984, with Bar, 1995; D.Sc., Loughborough University, 1986; elected to Guinness Hall of Fame, 1987; Polar Medal, 1987; ITV Award, 1990, for the "Event of the Decade"; Order of the British Empire (OBE) for "human endeavor and charitable services," 1993; honorary doctorate, University of Central England, 1995; Millennium Award for Navigation, Explorers Club (British Chapter), 2000.

WRITINGS:

as sir ranulph fiennes

A Talent for Trouble, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1968.

Ice Fall in Norway, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1972.

The Headless Valley, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1973.

Where Soldiers Fear to Tread, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1975.

Hell on Ice, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1979.

To the Ends of the Earth: The Transglobe Expedition—The First Pole-to-Pole Circumnavigation of the Globe, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1983.

(With wife, Virginia Fiennes) Bothie, the Polar Dog, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1984.

Living Dangerously (autobiography), Atheneum (New York, NY), 1988.

The Feather Men, Bloomsbury (London, England), 1991, Morrow (New York, NY), 1993.

Atlantis of the Sands, Bloomsbury (London, England), 1992.

(Photographer, with others) Mike Stroud, Shadows on the Wasteland, J. Cape (London, England), 1993.

Mind over Matter: The Epic Crossing of the Antarctic Continent, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1994.

The Sett, Heinemann (London, England), 1996.

Ranulph Fiennes: Fit for Life, Little, Brown (London, England), 1998.

Beyond the Limits: The Lessons Learned from a Lifetime's Adventures, Little, Brown (London, England), 2000.

The Secret Hunters, Little, Brown (London, England), 2001.

ADAPTATIONS: To The Ends of the Earth: The Transglobe Expedition—The First Pole-to-Pole Circumnavigation of the Globe was adapted for film.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Captain Scott (a biography).

SIDELIGHTS: Adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes organized and led the Transglobe Expedition, the first to cross the earth from pole to pole. Fiennes relates his experiences in To the Ends of the Earth: The Transglobe Expedition—The First Pole-to-Pole Circumnavigation of the Globe. "Lasting from 1979 to 1982 and preceded by four years of planning and practice, Transglobe was a stunning success, especially considering its paltry budget and hand-me-down gear," declared Washington Post Book World contributor Dennis Drabelle. The reviewer continued, "Fiennes may dangle too many participles, but his account of the adventure evokes it wonderfully well. In the action passages his writing is often inspired."

Fiennes once told CA that his 1990 expedition toward the North Pole set the existing world record of reaching the furthest north—eighty-nine miles from the Pole—unassisted. He added that in 1992 he co-led the Ubar Expedition which discovered the lost city of Ubar in Oman, and in 1993 he led the Pentland South Pole Expedition, which achieved the first crossing of the Antarctic continent unassisted, also qualifying as the longest unassisted polar journey in history.

Mind over Matter: The Epic Crossing of the Antarctic Continent describes Fiennes's 1,500-mile journey with Mike Stroud from the Atlantic coast of Antartica, November, 1992, to the Pacific Coast ninety-five days later. Dragging 485-pound sleds with the necessary supplies for the entire journey, Fiennes and Stroud withstood extreme cold and wind, hazardous landscape and starvation to complete their trek. "Another gripping account of endurance and adventure," reported a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Library Journal contributor Pamela Bellows pointed out Fiennes's inclusion of the history of Antarctic exploration in his account and praised Mind over Matter as a "fascinating book [that] will be enjoyed by adventurers, armchair travelers, and Antarctic researchers."

Two of Fiennes's novels have mysterious origins. He calls them works of fiction, but claims that they are based on true stories. The Sett covers events supposedly told to him by Alex Goodman, a stranger who contacted him after reading The Feather Men, believing that Fiennes would do justice to his story. The Secret Hunters, which is about a man searching for those responsible for killing his parents during World War II, was inspired by a diary Fiennes says he found in an abandoned hut in the Antarctic in 1995. Miranda Haines, writing in Geographical, called The Secret Hunters a "horrifying thriller told by an extraordinary man … [an] incredible story all the more amazing for the truth that underlies it."

Among Fiennes's many accomplishments is his generosity in raising over five million pounds for charity. According to Linda Richards's interview with him in January Magazine online, Fiennes is especially proud to have initiated the building of both the first multiple sclerosis research center in Europe and the first specialist breast cancer clinic in Europe. Because of his charitable efforts, in 1993 Queen Elizabeth awarded him the Order of the British Empire (OBE), the nation's highest honor.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Contemporary Heroes and Heroines, Book 4, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2000.

periodicals

Booklist, September 15, 1998, p. 246.

Geographical, July, 1995, p. 229; November, 1996,p. 20-21; October, 1999, pp. S3, S7; February, 2001, p. 14; January, 2002, p. 98; March, 2002,p. 7.

Guardian (London, England) November 6, 2001, "Profile: The Iceman," p. 6.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 1994.

Kliatt, March, 1995, p. 61; September, 1998, p. 4.

Law Institute Journal, April, 1995, pp. 374-375.

Library Journal, August, 1994.

New York Times Book Review, September 10, 1995,p. 50.

People Management, March 8, 2001, p. 4.

Publishers Weekly, May 16, 1994.

Spectator, April 27, 1996, p. 34; June 22, 1996, p. 36.

Sunday Times, November 4, 2001, Louise Johncox, "Cold Comforts of Life below Zero: Interview,"p. 3.

Telegraph, October 26, 1996; December 12, 1996; December 20, 1996.

Time International, December 24, 2001, p. 66.