Hitting low temperatures of -24° Matt had to endure extreme weather and sled between 30-75kms a day to raise funds for The Institute of Cancer Research, London.

Matt was inspired to take on the extreme challenge when his grandfather died 18 months ago. His grandfather always used to say to him: “It doesn’t matter how many breaths you take, it’s what you do during them that matters.”

Matt wanted to honour his grandfather’s memory by taking his advice and going on an extreme adventure that he would remember forever. Matt’s grandfather was successfully treated for skin cancer during his lifetime. Matt wanted to make his effort contribute towards research into the disease that affected his grandfather.

A huge challenge

The challenge began in Tromso in Norway, continuing through an ice valley into Sweden. From there the terrain changed to forest and Matt sled over frozen lakes and rivers until he reached the final destination, the famous ice hotel in Jukkasjarvi.

Matt raised a fantastic £850 for the ICR, and is hoping his adventure will raise even more.

Matt said: “It was a huge challenge, sledging for six or seven hours a day and then needing to set up camp each evening. I was keen to get as remote as possible and experience everything that could be involved, and didn’t I just!

“There was a group of 13 of us, I hadn’t met any of them before but we all bonded very quickly. My team mates were from all walks of life, from an ex-military man, a CEO, and one woman who is currently receiving treatment for leukaemia. We all became great friends, everyone was very supportive and I got so much inspiration from the determination and mental power of the rest of my team.

“I wanted to raise money for a charity where all of my hard work would go directly into funding cancer research, and that’s why the ICR stood out to me. The husky trail was an incredible experience and there was no better way to honour my grandfather than doing something extraordinary to raise money for the ICR.”

How you can get involved

Charlotte Orrell-Jones, Head of Events at the ICR, said: “We’re enormously grateful for the support of Matt and the other fundraisers for #TeamICR. It is amazing to see the journey that led him to take part in the husky trail, and we thank him for all of his hard work”.

If you would like to support Matt in his artic adventure and donate to the ICR, please visit his JustGiving page.

If Matt has inspired you to join #TeamICR and take part in a challenge event to raise money for the ICR, please visit get in touch with [email protected].