EP05 Graham Charles's guest appearances

EP05 Graham Charles

Antarctic Stories

Heather Thorkelson

Paul Hart

Felicity Aston

Ted Cheeseman

Tami Harris

Michael Andersson

EP07 Bob Gilmore

Mikolaj Golachowski

EP04 Allison Cusick

Johanna Davidsson

Sarah Woodall

EP11 Alexander Feldt

Sarah Lurcock

EP13 Stephen Eastaugh

Dave Weisman

OwlTail

On this episode of AntArctic Stories, we speak with Graham Charles, one of New Zealand’s most versatile outdoor professionals, with over thirty years of professional outdoor experience and qualifications to the highest levels. He is also the founder and President of the Polar Tourism Guides Association. Graham shares with us his experiences of being part of the first team to kayak the length of the Antarctic Peninsula in 2001, unsupported and without anything to communicate with other than a handheld VHF radio. He also gives us a glimpse of what it was like to be on the first team to circumnavigate the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia in 2005 by kayak.  These "world's first" expeditions along with his long career in guiding and contributing to professional qualification development led to Graham spearheading the first standardizing body for polar guides, which we discuss in the second half of this episode.  HIGHLIGHTS 2:30 - Part one: Graham tells us about his record-breaking kayak trip down the length of the Antarctic Peninsula 9:10 - Limited tech for communicating (no satellite phone back in 2001) 10:30 - Graham and team get caught nude sunbathing 12:40 - Part two: South Georgia - Graham shares what it was like to be the first to circumnavigate this remote island 21:00 - What is the PTGA &amp; how did it all start? 25:30 - What spurred Graham to start the PTGA independently 31:45 - Who is behind the PTGA? 32:30 - Graham talks about the difference between company-specific guide training programs and the PTGA's approach to competency measurement 34:40 - The advantage of the PTGA not being mandatory, but rather a program that invites guides to willingly get measured and be proud of the PTGA designation 36:50 - How to become an individual member 38:00 - What about the corporate members?  39:20 - We hear about PTGA performance measurement 40:45 - How many assessors does the PTGA have? 43:10 - How to get assessed &amp; the reason behind a workplace-based assessment model 45:00 - How guides can learn more about PTGA accreditation   LINKS Polar Tourism Guides Association: https://polartourismguides.com/ Graham Charles' website: http://www.grahamcharlesnz.com/     AntArctic Stories is brought to you by Twin Tracks Expeditions - your experts in small ship expedition cruises and unique adventures to the Arctic and Antarctica. We love sharing our insider knowledge to help you find your next polar adventure.   Find us on: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/twintracks Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/twintracksexpeditions Our website - http://twintracksexpeditions.com

On this episode of AntArctic Stories, we speak with Graham Charles, one of New Zealand’s most versatile outdoor professionals, with over thirty years of professional outdoor experience and qualifications to the highest levels. He is also the founder and President of the Polar Tourism Guides Association. Graham shares with us his experiences of being part of the first team to kayak the length of the Antarctic Peninsula in 2001, unsupported and without anything to communicate with other than a handheld VHF radio. He also gives us a glimpse of what it was like to be on the first team to circumnavigate the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia in 2005 by kayak. These "world's first" expeditions along with his long career in guiding and contributing to professional qualification development led to Graham spearheading the first standardizing body for polar guides, which we discuss in the second half of this episode. HIGHLIGHTS 2:30 - Part one: Graham tells us about his record-breaking kayak trip down the length of the Antarctic Peninsula 9:10 - Limited tech for communicating (no satellite phone back in 2001) 10:30 - Graham and team get caught nude sunbathing 12:40 - Part two: South Georgia - Graham shares what it was like to be the first to circumnavigate this remote island 21:00 - What is the PTGA &amp; how did it all start? 25:30 - What spurred Graham to start the PTGA independently 31:45 - Who is behind the PTGA? 32:30 - Graham talks about the difference between company-specific guide training programs and the PTGA's approach to competency measurement 34:40 - The advantage of the PTGA not being mandatory, but rather a program that invites guides to willingly get measured and be proud of the PTGA designation 36:50 - How to become an individual member 38:00 - What about the corporate members?  39:20 - We hear about PTGA performance measurement 40:45 - How many assessors does the PTGA have? 43:10 - How to get assessed &amp; the reason behind a workplace-based assessment model 45:00 - How guides can learn more about PTGA accreditation LINKS Polar Tourism Guides Association: <a href="https://polartourismguides.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://polartourismguides.com/</a> Graham Charles' website: <a href="http://www.grahamcharlesnz.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.grahamcharlesnz.com/</a> AntArctic Stories is brought to you by Twin Tracks Expeditions - your experts in small ship expedition cruises and unique adventures to the Arctic and Antarctica. We love sharing our insider knowledge to help you find your next polar adventure. Find us on: Facebook - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/twintracks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/twintracks</a> Instagram - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/twintracksexpeditions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/twintracksexpeditions</a> Our website - <a href="http://twintracksexpeditions.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://twintracksexpeditions.com</a>

S1 EP05 Graham Charles - Achieving 'world firsts' & helping professionalize the polar guiding industry