Julian Johnson, downing a pint of beer as part of his training, says going to the magnetic North Pole will make a change from sitting in a windowless basement trading US government bonds. The manager of the London office of Aubrey G Lanston, a subsidiary of Industrial Bank of Japan, says the six-week trek, beginning in April, will be aided by two skidoo vehicles, three airborne food drops, and the expertise of the team leader, David Hempleman Adams, one of the UK's foremost experts on Arctic expeditions.
Johnson made the last 10 of this novices' challenge, which will be filmed by the BBC, from an original 400 applicants who saw an advert in the newspaper. During the six-month selection process the Cambridge University rugby blue underwent a host of physical tests including a two-hour spell in a freezer in London's Smithfield market. His 14 years of experience in the bond markets will not be totally useless either. "You've got to take risks and put up with mental and emotional pain on a trip like this," he smiles, noting temperatures get as low as -50 degrees Celcius.
But before departing on their 300-mile journey to Ellef Ringes Island, the current site of the magnetic North Pole, the team must spend a day on a police rifle range.