FIENNES, Randulph Twisleton Wykeham, Sir [*1944-?] -- British explorer, adventurer, 3° Baronet
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OBE (1993)
Sultan's Bravery Medal (Oman, 1970)
Founder's Medal (Royal Geographic Society, 1983)
Polar Medal, with bar (1995)
In 2000 he attempted to walk solo and unsupported to the north pole. The expedition failed when his sleds fell through weak ice and Fiennes was forced to pull them out by hand. He sustained severe frostbite to the tips of several fingers, forcing him to abandon the attempt. On returning home, his surgeon insisted the necrotic fingertips be retained for several months (to allow regrowth of the remaining healthy tissue) prior to amputation. Impatient at the pain the dying fingertips caused, Fiennes removed them himself (in his garden shed) with an electric saw (his first attempt using a hacksaw met limited success). WIKI
When [his wife] heard that Ran was to have five fingers amputated because of frostbite, she commented, "Oh damn, now we'll be shorthanded on the farm." [reported in her obituary in The Guardian]
Now, that's pluck! 
Chronology |
1969 | Hovercraft expedition up the White Nile |
1970 | Expedition on Norway's Jostedalsbre Glacier |
1970 | Sultan's Bravery Medal |
1979-1982 | With Charles Burton, first people to visit both poles by land (Transglobe expedition) |
1983 | Founder's Medal |
1984 | "World's Greatest Living Explorer" (Guinness Book of Records) |
1992 | Discovered the lost city of Ubar in Oman |
1993 | OBE |
1995 | Polar Medal, with bar |
2003/06 | Massive heart attack, with double bypass corrective surgery |
2003/10-2003/11 | Runs seven marathons in seven days on seven continents |
Selected Works |
Associated |
- 3C: ¤FIENNES, Joseph [*1970-?] British actor
- 3C: ¤FIENNES, Ralph [*1962-?] British actor
- 3C: ¤FIENNES, Martha [*1964-?] British film director
