Katie-Jane L’Herpiniere

summary

Katie-Jane L’Herpiniere (formerly Cooper) built a successful career as a commercial model. Working for M&S, Alexander McQueen, TIGI, Oliver Brown and Ludlow of London among many others, Katie-Jane also acted as Cameron Diaz’s body-double in the film ‘The Holiday’.  Meeting experienced adventurer Tarka L’Herpiniere, however, changed everything.  They were complete opposites.  Tarka climbed mountains and excelled in endurance activities: Katie-Jane’s focus was making it down the catwalk in heels.  And yet as romance bloomed, Tarka suggested they do a major expedition together and Katie surprised everyone by agreeing to the challenge.

biography

Katie-Jane and Tarka decided to become the first people to walk 3,000 miles along the Great Wall of China – the full route had been revealed by scientists and no one had walked it continuously.  It was to be a harsh six-month trek through inhospitable landscape.  To succeed, Katie-Jane had to undertake a colossal transformation.

Katie-Jane committed herself to endurance training, putting on extra weight (almost three stone) and preparing her self mentally for the grueling expedition. In exchanging salads for double cream and high heels for walking boots, Katie-Jane knew she would have difficult goals to meet in China: walking up to 30 miles a day across difficult terrain while carrying a huge back-pack.  During the estimated 12 million footsteps it took to complete the Great Wall of China, Katie-Jane faced blizzards, temperatures of –35°C, frost bite, starvation, exhaustion and dehydration. During the trek, Katie-Jane lost an inch in height from the weight of her backpack.  Despite the odds, Katie-Jane and Tarka completed this greatest of journeys from the West to the East – through the heat of the Gobi Desert and the sub-zero temperatures of the mountains – and they treasured their encounters with remote rural villages along their route. They completed 4300km (3,000 miles) in 167 days.  A world-first.  And they only argued twice – about directions.

Katie-Jane continues to embrace change and opportunity.  She has set goals and taken on challenges far beyond her comfort zone.  Katie-Jane cycled through Ethiopia in October 2008 to raise awareness of a charity ‘Re-cycle’ a project that sends second-hand bikes to Africa.  She also worked as part of a support team near the North Pole in early 2009 building up her experience of life at minus 40˚C.  However, Katie-Jane’s most difficult challenge was to follow later that year.

In August 2009, Katie-Jane and Tarka set out on another ambitious expedition to make a major crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap without kites or support.  The world’s third largest ice cap, this area is mostly unmapped and infamous for its notorious weather: whiteouts, blizzards, ferocious winds and freezing fog.  Their ‘Rivers of Ice’ expedition became an international news story when their tent failed unexpectedly on day 30 of the expedition.

Katie-Jane and Tarka knew it would be a harsh and difficult journey especially as they hoped to make a full and unsupported trek from the North to the South, a feat never completed before.  They skied, climbed and walked across the Ice Cap in predominantly storm conditions, traversing ice fields with dangerous crevasses, frozen cliffs and glacial river networks.  Having completed two-thirds of the crossing in record time, Katie-Jane and Tarka waited for a weather window to cross a technically difficult section of the journey that could only be tackled in good visibility.  But as heavy snow fell and the winds increased, their tent poles snapped and the fabric ripped, leaving them no option but to build a survival shelter in an ice hole using the remains of their tent.  They were to spend a total of five nights in temporary shelters as they made their way down a sheer glacier to sea-level in storm conditions.  Katie-Jane’s goggles were damaged so she suffered temporary snow-blindness.  A boat couldn’t collect them due to the dangers of glacial ice falling, and so a helicopter was sent to pick them up.  It was while sheltering from the wind in a crevasse awaiting the helicopter that Tarka produced his Grandmother’s engagement ring – he’d secretly carried it in his camera bag for the entire expedition!  News of their five-day survival on the ice and Tarka’s proposal featured on the news around the world.  And although they didn’t complete the world-first that they had aimed for, in traversing the Ice Cap as far as they did, Katie-Jane became the first woman to complete a major crossing of the Ice Cap - an extraordinary achievement.  They are also the first British expedition to do so.

Katie-Jane and Tarka plan to return to the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap to complete the first full crossing without kites or support.  They also continue to plan their ultimate goal – an expedition known as ‘One World: Powered by Us’.  This epic grueling three-year expedition has been described by Sir Ranulph Fiennes as ‘set to be the greatest expedition of the century.’ This will be an historic journey. Using only their own motive power, in the form of manhauling, cycling and ocean rowing, Katie and Tarka will go beyond what was believed possible as they navigate the globe on its polar axis to complete the 30,000km epic voyage from one geographic pole to the other.

Katie’s story reveals that we can leave our comfort zones and achieve what seems impossible.  Her story is about succeeding in harsh conditions and not losing hope and motivation when it gets tough.  Katie is passionate about awaking potential in others.  Audiences relate to her honesty and humour as she talks about her inexperience and the changes she has made in leaving the glamorous world of modeling behind.

Katie-Jane and Tarka’s adventures have been made into two inspirational documentaries: The Great Walk of China (2009) and The African Way (2009).  Their story has featured on BBC and ITV news, major national newspapers and magazines such as Bella and Hello!

Speaker Topics
• Having the courage to change
• Thrive outside your comfort zone
• Staying motivated in tough times
• Setting & achieving goals – no matter how hard they seem
Rave Reviews
‘Tarka and Katie went down a storm – they were fantastic and I am really pleased we chose them as our speakers for the evening.  Feedback was all extremely positive.  They were both such lovely down-to-earth people, wanting to share their experiences – and the story is amazing.  Certainly made the audience think (including me!) about ‘what’s next’ in life.’ 
(Midlands Excellence)

Speaking Style
Natural, vivacious, entertaining and charming, Katie brings alive the highs and the lows of her journey through remote, rural China and across the Patagonian Ice Cap. Katie’s story is delivered with good-natured humour and candid honesty and audiences enjoy hearing about her transformation from glamorous model to endurance athlete and adventurer. 

Katie also presents at client events with Tarka L’Herpiniere and their talk offers a unique opportunity to hear ‘Both Sides of the Story’.

All talks are illustrated with vivid photographs and inspiring film footage.

photos

Testimonials

‘Tarka and Katie went down a storm – they were fantastic and I am really pleased we chose them as our speakers for the evening.  Feedback was all extremely positive.  They were both such lovely down-to-earth people, wanting to share their experiences – and the story is amazing.  Certainly made the audience think (including me!) about ‘what’s next’ in life.’
Midlands Excellence

‘Tarka and Katie gave an inspirational talk about their journey to our international conference. All those who attended rated them exceptionally highly (with top marks) on their feedback forms at the end of the conference. The presentation was so inspiring, thought provoking, motivating, and interesting…. the short dvd clips at the end almost had our most hardened delegates having to push back tears.  Excellent.  Really, really, really, really brilliant.  I was (as you can probably tell) very pleased.’
Allen Carr’s Easyway International Ltd

‘Katie-Jane and Tarka’s presentation was entertaining and uplifting and yet still delivered a very relevant message.  The photographs and video footage were stunning.  The way they interacted with each other to tell their story was great.  Friendly, informative and humorous.’
Orchard Information Systems

‘Excellent.’
Clifford Solutions

‘Thank you both for a wonderfully captivating evening.  The dynamic between you was fantastic and the comparison between your experiences left me feeling like I had been on expedition with you.  We have had nothing but brilliant feedback from all those who attended.’
Aspen Aerogels (USA)

‘This is the first year we have had out of the box speakers at the conference in amongst the traditional business lectures and it worked better than we could have hoped.  The feedback received from delegates ranged from “inspirational and motivational” to “thought provoking and moving” with a clear remit that they would like more of the same again. It was entertaining, uplifting and incredibly informative with all being able to relate to the principle of translating survival techniques into business skills. We can’t thank you both enough.’
British Equestrian Trade Association

‘I would like to thank you for the absolutely fantastic talk that you gave.  Everyone I spoke to after the event found your story captivating and very inspirational.  People have been talking about it ever since.’
Admiral Group

‘Thank you both so much for coming and speaking so well.  You got the tone and the timing just right.  Warm praise has been flowing in.  You both made a huge difference to a very successful evening.’
Rank Foundation

‘I just wanted to express my gratitude to you for coming last week and talking to us. The feedback was extraordinary, and it created a huge buzz. All of the Genesis team would love for you to return after your next expedition and do an evening talk to the community in Genesis.’
The Genesis Conference Center

‘Really pleased with Katie-Jane and Tarka’s lecture. Good performance. Very well received.’
Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival

‘Thank you so much for your dynamic presentation. It was enlightening, enthralling, inspirational – what more can I say? Our students were captivated and motivated by your words and by the stunning photography and video footage.’
Wycliffe College

‘There are inspirational speakers and inspirational speakers, but certainly for our part, your visit was an unrivalled treat. It would be hard to imagine anyone comparable as far as narrative skills, openness of personality and a wonderful sense of optimism. We will follow your adventures and wish you tremendous success.’
Willington