Ash Dykes

Last updated

Ash Dykes
Ash Dykes on shoot in Wales.jpg
Dykes in Wales
Born
Ashley Philip Dykes
NationalityBritish (Wales)
Occupation(s)Adventurer, Extreme Athlete, Explorer
Known forTrekking across Mongolia, Madagascar, Yangtze River
Websitewww.ashdykes.com

Ash Dykes is a Welsh extreme athlete, explorer and 5x world record holder. [1] [2] His world records include trekking solo & unsupported across Mongolia, hiking the length of Madagascar, being the first person to walk along the full 4,000-mile (6,400-kilometre) course of the Yangtze, the longest river in Asia and discovering the source of the Coppename river and becoming the first to travel from source to sea, deep in the Amazon Rainforest of Suriname. [3]

Contents

Personal life

Dykes grew up in Old Colwyn, Wales. [4]

Career

He worked as a lifeguard to finance his first trip to China. He walked solo and unsupported across Mongolia in 2014, aged 23. The 1,500 mi (2,400 km) journey over the Altai Mountains and across the Gobi Desert took 78 days. He became known to locals as the "lonely snow leopard". [5]

In 2015 he completed the 1,600 mi (2,600 km) trek across Madagascar via its eight highest peaks, another world first. [6] Along the way, he contracted the deadliest strain of malaria and was close to death. As a result of the experience, he is now a special ambassador for the charity Malaria No More UK. [7]

He recounted his adventures in Mongolia and Madagascar in Mission Possible: A Decade of Living Dangerously, published by Eye Books in 2017. [8]

In August 2018, he embarked on another world-first record attempt, to walk the 4,000 mi (6,400 km) course of the Yangtze river. [9] The successful completion of his year-long mission earned him celebrity status in China. [10]

October 4th 2024, Ash Dykes became the first to travel the length of the Coppename river in Suriname. A 37 day Guinness world record. Ash and his team (Matthew Wallace, Dick Lock, Jacob Hudson) discovered the source of the river by being dropped off in the middle of the Amazon by helicopter and then hiking for 7 days to search for the source. They then became the fastest team to summit the highest mountain in Suriname. They faced many challenges, scorpion sting, impenetrable jungle and often had to fish to survive, catching piranha, wolf fish and sting-ray.

Awards

He won the 2016 Welsh Adventurer of the Year Award. He has been named the seventh-coolest person in Wales [11] and was described as "one of the world’s most fearless outdoor men" by FHM magazine. [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Old Colwyn adventurer Ash Dykes arrives in China for final expedition preparations". North Wales Pioneer.
  2. ↑ "Old Colwyn's Ash Dykes begins world record mission down the Yangtze River". North Wales Pioneer. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  3. ↑ Mohdin, Aamna (12 August 2019). "British explorer is first person to complete 4,000-mile Yangtze trek". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "St Asaph adventurer and extreme athlete Ash Dykes partners up with Lord". Rhyl Journal. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Solo Mongolian trek breaks record". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Adventurer completes Madagascar trek". 16 February 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018– via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "War on malaria: on the brink of a breakthrough?". 18 April 2018. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "Mission: Possible by Ash Dykes - Eye Books". eye-books.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Adventurer's Yangtze River record attempt". 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018– via www.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ↑ Lewis, Anna (15 August 2019). "The Welshman who's plastered all over billboards in China". walesonline. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Mainwaring, Rachel (27 November 2015). "The Cool List: The 50 coolest men in Wales". Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "Ambassador Ash Dykes - Craghoppers Community". Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2018.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.