NEWPORT auctioneer and extreme adventurer Paul Fosh is making the final arrangements before heading into the life-threatening sub zero conditions of the Arctic Circle.

The owner of Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions, he is taking part in the inaugural Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra.

He will be attempting to walk 500km - roughly 315 miles - pulling all his gear in a pulk, a type of sled, to complete the race.

The event starts from the village of Overkalix, in the region of Norbotten, Sweden, at 9.30am on Sunday, March 6, and finishes 10 days later on Wednesday, March 16.

Mr Fosh will be hoping to raise thousands of pounds for Wales-based homelessness charity Llamau.

He said: "Llamau is an incredible charity. If you have five minutes, please take a look at their work, it is truly life-changing.

"I'm looking to raise at least £5,000 for Llamau and I'm at around £3,800 so far. If everyone who sees this story donates just £2 I will smash my goal." 

No stranger to the extreme demands of Ultra events, Mr Fosh was thwarted in his most recent attempt due to coronavirus.

Last year the explorer was primed to take part in the 2021, 430-mile Montane Yukon Ultra, the harshest and coldest ultra race on the planet.

He said: "These extreme Arctic ultra events tend to have a completion rate by athletes of around just 20 per cent compared to say a race people may have heard of called the Marathon des Sables which has a completion rate of around 80 per cent.

"Conditions are so brutal that in 2018 just one of the 23 competitors, who began the full distance race, made it to the finish line.

"Frostbite is a constant peril hanging over every racer. One year an experienced ultra-runner from Italy lost part of both legs and an arm to the condition.

"The Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra is something for which I have been in training for months and now the time is here I'm raring to get going."

The Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra event requires the individual to look after themselves, in temperatures which can plummet to minus 20 degrees as they jog, walk and crawl over some of the world's wildest and coldest terrain.

There can also be the threat of wolves or even wild bears.

"The Lapland Ultra is the first of its kind in the country," Mr Fosh said.

"It'll involve a lot of deep snow work and the use of snowshoes and skis, which isn't what competitors traditionally use in The Yukon."

"A lot of people underestimate the mental challenge of an Arctic Ultra event.

"When you're walking at night, you could be anywhere. You've just got your head torch beam to follow.

"Competitors often complain of hallucinations amid the relentless wilderness. I've 'seen' all manner of hallucinations and heard strange sounds. Between the checkpoints competitors are completely on their own."

To support Mr Fosh in his fundraising campaign, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-fosh1