Ethiopia MTB expedition celebrated with new short film

BRISTOL, U.K. - July 9, 2015 - PRLog -- A new short film, ‘Team Members Talk’, marks the countdown to Secret Compass’s expedition to mountain bike Ethiopia this October 11 – 24.

Adventure travel company Secret Compass runs expeditions to the world’s wildest places. Its MTB expedition aims to explore on two wheels the highest peaks in the UNESCO-protected Simien Mountains.

In 2014, a Secret Compass team of riders scaled Ethiopia’s highest mountain, Ras Deshan at 4,550m, making them the first commercial company to have done so.

In ‘Team Members Talk’, the men and women who were part of that pioneering world-first MTB mission describe their experiences.

Team member and travel journalist, Tracey Croke, said; “Secret Compass takes average tourists like me and turns them into ‘explorists’ – people who make history on their annual leave. I’m now one of the first two women to have mountain biked Ethiopia’s highest peak!”

Team member Ross Hemingway said; “The Ethiopia expedition was unscripted, each day was different. The Simien landscapes resembled Dartmoor, then jungle, then alpine plateau – we then woke with frost on our tents. It even beat the Yorkshire Dales, which is impressive!”

Tom Bodkin, MTB team leader and Secret Compass founder, said; “Secret Compass runs expeditionary trips, either into new places or to established destinations approached in a new way. We simply wanted to take mountain bikes somewhere they hadn’t been before.

“Our international MTB teams comprise normal people who love riding and who seek to break wilder new trails, away from the crowds. Our next remote MTB expeditions to Kyrgyzstan and to Ethiopia are now in sight, in September and October respectively.”

Bodkin concluded; “We go to places avoided by others due to their remoteness, post-conflict reputations or inaccessibility. We’re often the only visitors, with locals generally very pleased to see us as their fledgling tourism economies benefit from our arrival. This is definitely the case in Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains.

ETHIOPIA MTB EXPEDITION: FACT BOX

·      Promo film: Team Members Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGm6B1nX0Ww



·      Name: Ethiopia: MTB the Simien Mountains

·      Dates: 11 – 24 Oct

·      Duration: 14 nights

·      Group size: Maximum 12

·      Cost: £2.499

·      MTB film: Watch Wild Tracks Ethiopia by team member, Tracey Croke here:
youtube.com/watch?v=11EMp0YmPD8

Secret Compass has upcoming adventures (trekking, rafting, biking and more) to other destinations including Afghanistan, Panama, Siberia, Kurdistan, Madagascar, Sinai, Namibia, Burma, Iran and Armenia.

USEFUL LINKS AND FILMS

Watch ‘Team Members Talk’: What it’s like on a Secret Compass expedition:
youtube.com/watch?v=IGm6B1nX0Ww

Watch ‘The Talas Traverse’: Secret Compass’s upcoming MTB Kyrgyzstan trip here:
youtube.com/watch?v=wbrheAWv19c

Watch ‘Wild Tracks’: the 2014 world-first MTB expedition to Ethiopia here:
youtube.com/watch?v=11EMp0YmPD8

Find full information on the Secret Compass MTB Ethiopia expedition online here: http://www.secretcompass.com/expeditions/mtb-ethiopia-simien-mountains/

For further press information or to join the team, contact Kerry O’Neil.

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NOTES TO EDITORS
Secret Compass is a pioneering expedition company creating world-first experiences for teams of like-minded adventurers. Through group and bespoke adventures, Secret Compass helps each team member achieve the extraordinary in the world’s wildest places. Founded by ex-British Army Parachute Regiment officers, its expeditions reach the planet’s most remote regions in the spirit of exploration’s earliest pioneers. Its highly trained professionals deliver well-planned and safe experiences, while encouraging daring leaps out of comfort zones. Secret Compass is passionate about returning tourism to post-conflict zones and emerging economies to stimulate local development and challenge preconceptions.

www.secretcompass.com
Press enquiries: 0207 096 8428
facebook.com/secretcompass
twitter.com/Secret_Compass

SPECIALIST FILM AND TV SERVICES
Secret Compass also takes film crews, journalists and photographers to remote and previously inaccessible areas thanks to its unrivalled location management expertise. Clients to date include the BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet and Channel 4, in countries from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan.

www.secretcompasstv.com
twitter.com/SecretcompassTV