Helen Spencer – Vet, Polar Explorer & South Pole Ski Adventurer

Meet Helen Spencer, a veterinarian from Kent who swapped clinic life for the extremes of the world. From hiking in Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Yemen to caring for orangutans in Borneo, Helen has chased adventure across the globe.

In this episode, she shares her journey to ski the last degree to the South Pole, including:

• Training, kit prep, and polar skills courses
• The physical and mental challenges of long polar expeditions
• Coping with loss, vulnerability, and finding strength on the ice
• Lessons in perseverance, confidence, and small steps toward big dreams

Helen's story is a testament to courage, resilience, and pursuing your goals—even when the journey is long and demanding.

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Show notes

• Who is Helen
• Being based in Kent
• Growing up on a farm and having a lot of freedom 
• Becoming a vet
• Wanting more adventure 
• Working for the charity: World Wide Veterinary Service 
• In her free time loving to travel 
• Leaving school and travelling with her backpack, and staying in hostels 
• Starting to do a few solo and group expeditions
• Hiking in Afganistan, Madagascar, Mongolia, Yemen, Palestine, North Korea
• Recently skiing the last degree of the South Pole
• Building her confidence with travelling 
• Earning enough money to go f www.interrail.eu/en
• Having a budget of £10 per day
• Spending time in Borneo looking after Orangutans
• Being a shy, farm kid growing up and being better with animals than people 
• Having 5 years at university 
• Having a neighbour who had a zoo and spending time helping out at the zoo
• Knowing what she wanted to do when she was 5
• Building internal confidence 
• Hiking in Afganistan's Wakhan Corridor
• Why expedition are about the people you meet as well as where you go
• Getting the balance right between being social enough but also having time for herself 
• Needing time out and making sure she has her own tent
• Having a 10 day tolerance on expeditions 
• Her goal to ski to the the pole in Antarctica and where the dream came from 
• Being fascinated by polar history 
• A week long polar skills course in Finse, Norw