Real hard men
We've all seen the "hard" chavs who run at the first sight of danger, but what about the real hard men in the world?

On a polar expedition (1914), Ernest Shackleton's ship was trapped by ice. He took a few men and sailed a small, open lifeboat 800 miles over the most dangerous seas in the world, landed on an island and climbed mountains thousands of metres high (through entirely uncharted territory) to reach the nearest human habitation on the other side of the island. He then returned to rescue every last man stuck on the ship.

Then there's Ranulph Fiennes (another polar explorer for those who don't know) - he got frostbite in his fingers. Eventually he got so fed up with them aching once he was home that he cut them off with a hacksaw in his garden shed, then went back to watching the football on TV.

Or a guy I know from up North (former open water windsurfing instructor) who broke his foot wakeboarding, to the extent that the bone stuck out of his foot. He put electrical tape over it and carried on for another hour before driving himself to A&E.
( MatJ LOOK, Tue 13 May 2008, 22:17, 2 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

a hard man
is good to find ;)
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Sat 17 May 2008, 11:39, Reply)

My great, great uncle
Was on the Shackleton voyage (The Endurance one), and indeed, was one of the small crew who journyed the 800 miles to Elephant island (I think it's called). All the pictures of him I've seen, he looks like a grizzled adventurer too.

I like to think I've inherited some of his adventuring genes. I'm, however, a crap adventurer, and only been abroad 4 times, so it seems doubtful. Bah!

Good question!
( LemonEntryMyDearWatson This time, Moriarty, the hand is on the other foot, Thu 29 May 2008, 14:57, Reply)