Eric Philips

Dream big. Live bigger. Begin!

Astronaut

I was Mission Specialist and Medical Officer on board the historic Fram2 polar orbital mission.

Launching on March 31, 2025 from Cape Canaveral, the Fram2 crew spent almost 4 days in space, completing 55 orbits over the North and South Poles. Although we see curated photos of these regions on Google Earth and other platforms, there is something quintessentially human about seeing things with our own eyes and yes, they look different.

On April 4 we completed the first human splashdown off the west coast of the USA.

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Polar Explorer

Since 1992 I've been exploring the Earth's high latitudes.

Exploration has been at the core of my instinct. From my inaugural 1992 expedition to Canada's Ellesmere Island, to pioneering new routes through the Transantarctic Mountains to the South Pole, skiing from Russia to North Pole and North Pole to Canada, to snowkiting solo to the iconic peak of Ulvetanna, I've followed the urge to go where others haven't. To explore the path less travelled.

It's what drives me every day of my life.

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IPGA Polar Expedition Guide

Since 2004 I've been guiding ski expeditions and training in the Arctic, Antarctica and Australia. Any opportunity to introduce people to our wonderful ice environments is a privilege that I will forever appreciate.

In 2011, together with a team of guides spanning 6 nations, I launched the International Polar Guides Association, steering the organisation as President until 2024. Polar guiding is an awesome profession, one that combines my loves of adventure and education.

Contact me if you want to join a trip, need help with your own or are interested in becoming an IPGA guide.

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Polar Equipment Designer

Like many of the polar enthusiasts who use my products, I place absolute trust in the ability of my designs to do what's required of them.

Whether I'm guiding a short trip or on a long demanding expedition, I don't want the anxiety of worrying about gear failure or poor performance so I base my design work on a simple credo: Design and build things to perform dependably in the harshest conditions on the planet.

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Polar Expedition Consultant

In the harsh reality of a polar environment there's often only one chance at success. Don't squander that opportunity with guesswork, assumptions or bad advice.

I offer 4 levels of consultation, giving you the opportunity to balance your growing knowledge with my professional advice to create your optimum polar journey.


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Photographs

Most of the images on my website were taken by professional photographers. Martin Hartley, Petter Nyquist, Christian Åslund and Nick Cobbing are widely known for their work in the fields of polar adventure, conservation and science and I've enjoyed working with them immensely.

They all possess the rare ability to render an ordinary moment as an extraordinary event, an ephemeral blur as static motion, a fleeting nuance as an indelible memory.

My sincere thanks to these superlative artists.

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You're a professional, you behaved beautifully, taught me many things and I had fun with you.

Fabio DeMas. Italy (North Pole Odyssey 2012)

Wow, what an incredible adventure! I always wanted to play 'polar explorer' and I got to do it on the Novice Icetrek trip around Mt Kosciuszko. Eric is an absolute legend - full of knowledge and experience, and with the communication and teaching skills necessary to impart that knowledge to the group. He's great company too and full of tales of derring do. An awesome trip. Thanks

Laura Waters. Australia (Australian Alps Winter Novice 2019)

Thank you for such a great trip. You helped make this our reality.

Alexis Browning. USA (North Pole Ceremony 2009)

I have enjoyed telling people of my experience and reminiscing about the great trip we had and the super team to have travelled with. I have felt a certain feeling of calm and peace ever since returning.
The best compliment that I can pay you is that if you were to put all your design experience and skills towards designing the ultimate polar guide, I feel that the result would be pretty close to describing you!

Robin Vaudrey. Belgium (Svalbard Polar Expedition 2019))

When I think about North Pole, the 2 things that spontaneously flash in my mind are the spectacular beauty that my eyes and heart had the privilege to see/cherish/experience for 10 days and the friendly team that was always volunteering to help with a persistent smile stuck on their faces. I wish I could describe how much these great memories would mean. Thank you so much for this wonderful experience.

Sara Kameswaran. India (North Pole Extreme 2007)

Thanks again for a great trip. Very much enjoyed it – l learnt a lot from you and Ya, you looked after us incredibly well, and were fun and professional.

Thank you for providing the opportunity to an everyday person like me to get a taste of the alpine environment and its “asks” of human beings traveling through on snowshoes and skis. The week in the Snowy Mountains in such a prodigiously good snow season was fabulous, complete with emergency hut “lock-in” due to gale force winds & white-out, some good expedition tenting, clear blue skies and pristine, fresh snow.

Claire Murray. Australia (Australian Alps Winter Advanced 2022)
Eric Philips, IPGA Polar Expedition Guide
International Polar Guides Association
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