Mongolia 2010 Expedition: An Interview With Ripley Davenport

In just a few short months, Ripley Davenport will set out on his Mongolia 2010 Expedition, in which he'll attempt to become the first person to trek solo, and unsupported across the entire country. Traveling from East to West, he'll cover more than 1700 miles from the Mongolian Steppe, through the Gobi Desert and onto the Altai Mountain Range, all the while pulling a cart behind him that will contain all of his supplies and gear. If successful, this will set the new standard for trekking, becoming the longest solo and unsupported walk in history.

Ripley will leave for Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia in April, but he was kind enough to answer some questions about his upcoming adventure for us, even as he is working hard to prepare for the rigors of the journey.

Adventure Blog: With less than 90 days to go, how is your training going?

Ripley Davenport: Very well. I am well passed the level of fitness as I was back in my military days and I can feel it. My thanks and gratitude go out to Ray Zahab from i2P for his professional advice and tailored training programs. My physical training is at its highest tempo. The tractor tires are still being used on the odd day but now I am focusing on using the expeditiion trailer with near enough the eqivalent weight I’ll be hauling in Mongolia for prolonged periods of time. It stems to 4 hours a day at present but every week I am increasing by 30 minutes and adding weight.
Aerobics, yoga and stretches every day and some serious iron man excerises such as tire lifting and and 100m burst tractor pire pulling. Having two active kids that need 24 hour attention helps the fitness (more mentally) in some ways!

AB: The deadline is looming closer and closer, what do you still need to get done before you leave for Mongolia?

RD: I am finishing up on several small items connected with the expedition and going about searching for, perhaps, a title sponsor or some well needed financial support. Up until now all the funding has come from my own pocket. Although a relatively low budget expedition, far from any polar or climbing adventure, it has taken a healthy chunk from a small family.
We, as a small family, have made many sacrifices and decided to move to a smaller house and sold our second car to allocate funds for the Mongolia 2010 Expedition. The Endurance Trust, has been extremely supportive with allocating some funding for the expedition.

AB: What is the biggest logistical hurdle that you still need to face? Is there something that you're glad is behind you?

RD: I have done all the expedition planning myself. Website, sponsorship searching, logistics, fabrication of the trailer, speaking and fund raising. It has been an experience in itself and, more importantly, I have gained invalueable knowledge and taken onboard a few lessons. The expedition is not just the actual event but the planning and preparation that leads up to it. It’s been a big hurdle.

The construction of the expedition trailer has been a hurdle but with the help of a sound engineer, Louis Phillipe Loncke and 12 different trailer / cart designs, I have spawned a trailer worthy of such a journey. I am grateful to my engineer Poul and to Louis for his experience and sound knowledge.

I think I will be gald most of all of getting out there and doing it and taking a break from all the planning and preparation. It’s where the metal will meet the meat.

AB: As you finish up your preparation, what to you think will be your biggest challenge while on the trek?

RD: The biggest challenge was getting my head around completing this. Walking across a country so large and over such terrain, over such time offered unlimited challenges. Sandstorms will be an ever constant phenomenom and April / May is renowned for sudden sand storms that blot out the sun so I guess I will have to walk in the shade (yep, a line from the movie 300), and plough on through it all. Of course, servere icy winds and unrelenting cold will hamper my first weeks but the temperatures should climb slowly throughout my journey. I will experience sub zero temperatures and desert heat, more than likely in one day. Water is another cause for concern. I will be taking 150L of water and carrying a water purification system from HTIwater, which works on the Osmosis system. Drinking water from nature. This will enable me to use any water, and I mean any rancid, foul smelling mud that I can find and replenish my supplies as I cross the country. I have acquired several Russian military maps that have numerous watering holes and wells marked.

AB: We know about your physical training for Mongolia, how are you preparing mentally for the challenge?

RD: I believe in it and practice it like a religion. I rate it higher than the physical aspect. It’s your mind that will determine if you will succeed. It is the mind that keeps you moving forward even if you are moving backwards and slightly to the side.

I have already walked across Mongolia, in fact, several times in my head. I constantly visualise the walk and myself immersed in various situations. I act out each senario and think of different ways that I can handle it. My focus is on performance enhancement through various techniques, including relaxation, tension and stress management, visualisation and focusing skills.

Over time I have been taught how to reduce and eliminate tension and stress, which helps in laying the groundwork for my ongoing mental preparation. Visualisation or what I call ‘mental rehearsal’ is a proven and effective way to help the feeling that I am in control of my performance.

In the beginning, the visualisation is geared toward skill development or mechanical improvements in one or more areas such as walking, running or pulling the car tires. Once I “see myself” or can effectively mentally rehearse a skill, it can be done within seconds of performance. I was taught visual rehearsal back in the military. You walk through the task, over and over, until you can perform the duty in your sleep or blindfolded.

The bottom line: truly believing in yourself, your ability, and your goals is a vital element of mentally preparing to succeed. If you can actually see yourself doing it and succeeding in it, then surely you must be able?

AB: After all of the planning and preparation, how eager are you to get started?

RD: I am very eager to get started. It’s been a long wait but still worthwhile. It’s important to be rational about anything of this magnitude and plan well in advance considering many factors. Launching straight into something, so demanding and precarious, without careful consideration for every evetuality only brings dire consequences. Mongolia has been a plan since 2001, so you could say I’ve waited nearly nine years, but it’s only the last 2 years when I’ve sunk all my teeth into making this happen. I am just as excited about starting this as, I think, most people are. It’s been a long time and finally, very soon, a dream will become reality.

AB: What else would you like to share?

RD: At this time I would like to thank a few people, without whom, this road would have been far more bumpy and problematic.

Burmaa Zunduisuren the Managing Director from Visit Mongolia, who has assisted beyond the call of sponsorship duty in dealing with the paperwork involved in securing permission to make this expedition happen.

Gareth Garvey partner from B-innovation and member of the The International Rotary Club and British Chamber of Commerce in Copenhagen who continually stands by my side in sourcing help.

Matt Nelson of the Endurance Trust, for providing some well needed financial support, help and general friendship.


I'd like to thank Ripley for sharing his thoughts and insights on his upcoming expedition. You can rest assured that we'll be following along and tracking his progress. This is going to be an amazing adventure, and real proof of some of the great things that we can do when we put our minds to it. Good lucky Ripley!