A former soldier who was left with severe burns following a petrol bomb attack in Iraq is to take on an “epic” 500km (300 mile) Arctic expedition alongside three fellow veterans for charity.
The challenge will mark 20 years since Karl Hinett, a member of the Staffordshire regiment, suffered life-changing injuries following a petrol bomb attack on his warrior tank in Basra, southern Iraq.
Mr Hinett, 38, sustained 37% burns to his face, hands, arms, legs and stomach and went through 16 operations over five years to recover from his injuries.
The team will take on the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra in Swedish Lapland in March, which will see them trek through snow and ice-covered rivers, lakes and forests over 10 days to raise money for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.
“I’m very excited to get out as a team, traversing the wilderness, being out for 10 days,” Mr Hinett, from Tipton, in the West Midlands told the PA news agency, at Jadat Adventure in northern Sweden.
“Being the 20-year anniversary of my injury, I wanted to do something that sort of almost celebrated it and I wanted to raise funds for SSAFA who help people like myself.
“It is born from fire and celebrating in ice.”
“I never would have imagined from that day, from when I got injured, almost losing my life, that it would have played out this way,” he said.
“For the past 20 years, I’ve been very lucky, being able to summit mountains over 8,000 meters.
“I’ve had the privilege of running over 170 marathons, been to some incredible places in the world, but I don’t think any challenge is going to be quite like this, purely because of the environment, the distance.
“It’s going to be one epic but one difficult challenge.”
To prepare for the gruelling challenge, the group took part in an Arctic training programme in Burtrask in northern Sweden in January.
During their week-long training programme, they practised skiing over a frozen lake while pulling a sled carrying all their equipment behind – them including their tents and rations.
They also took part in nutrition workshops and practised lighting stoves and pitching tents in heavy snow.
He has said this upcoming challenge is set to be his hardest yet.
“Compared to the other expeditions I’ve done this is probably going to be the hardest, because it’s short, sharp, brutal, long distances, in short times in extreme environments,” he told PA.
Fox, who is an advocate for mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the veteran community, credited SSAFA with helping him when he left the military.
“I left the military in 2012 and suffered quite significant mental health issues, PTSD and without organisations such as SSAFA, I genuinely wouldn’t be here today,” he said.
“The reason we’re doing this is because there are people that are in a lot tougher situations, it’s for those people that are really struggling.”
Kane, 47, who is from Ayrshire and joined Fox on his Atlantic rowing expedition, is also no stranger to adventure.
“I’ve spent 30 years operating in some of the world’s most extreme, remote and hostile locations, but this is the first time I’ve done an ultra race,” he told PA.
“I was in the Royal Marines for 10 years. I served in various places around the world, and so for me, it’s very important to give back to the military, give back to a charity that is helping veterans that are potentially struggling.”
“I’m normally a fair weather runner, I like the heat, so I thought this would be a massive challenge for me to come out into some extreme climate, being in the cold and giving it my best shot,” Mr Wood, from Hampshire, told PA.
“It’s important for me to personally put my body on the line for others. It’s really important for me to support and help raise awareness for charity.”
To find out more visit Project Fire and Ice’s fundraising page: https://www.ssafa.org.uk/support-us/project-fire-and-ice/
