Masculinity

5 Fascinating Facts About Sir Renaulph Fiennes

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There are very few men in the limelight of the world today who epitomize masculine virtue. One of them is Sir Renaulph Fiennes.

Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years, including a period on counter-insurgency service while attached to the army of the Sultanate of Oman. He later undertook numerous expeditions and was the first person to visit both the North and South Poles by surface means, and the first to completely cross Antarctica on foot. In May 2009, at the age of 65, he climbed to the summit of Mount Everest. According to the Guiness Book of World Records,  he is the world’s greatest living explorer. Fiennes has written numerous books about his army service and his expeditions, as well as a book defending Robert Falcon Scott (a masculine Naval officer and adventurer) from modern revisionists.

A few highlights of his life include.

1. Getting kicked out of the SAS for defending his country’s honor and being a rascal

Fiennes served eight years in the British Army—in his father’s regiment, the Royal Scots Greys—and was later seconded to the Special Air Service, where he specialized in demolitions of all things.

His service life was enlivened by various scrapes and escapades, including an occasion when Fiennes and another officer procured a very lively, squirming piglet, covered it with tank grease and slipped it into the crowded ballroom of the army’s Staff College (where officers are trained). On another occasion, offended by the construction of an ugly concrete dam built by 20th Century Fox for the production of the film Doctor Dolittle in the village of Castle Combe, Fiennes planned to demolish the dam. He used explosives which he later claimed to have accumulated from leftovers on training exercises.

Using skills from a recently completed training course on evading search dogs by night, he escaped capture, but he and a guilty colleague were both subsequently traced. After a court case, Fiennes had to pay a large fine and he and his co-conspirator were discharged from the SAS. Fiennes was initially posted to another cavalry regiment but was then allowed to return to his regiment.

2. Walking across both poles unsupported by oxygen and chopping his own fingers off in a tool shed to speed up recovery from injuries

The expedition failed when his sleds fell through weak ice and Fiennes was forced to pull them out by hand. He sustained severe frostbite to the tips of all the fingers on his left hand, forcing him to abandon the attempt. On returning home, his surgeon insisted the dead fingertips be retained for several months before amputation, to allow regrowth of the remaining healthy tissue. Impatient at the pain the dying fingertips caused, Fiennes cut them off himself with a fretsaw above where the blood and the soreness was. Some of his other achievements include:

  • Discovered the lost city of Ubar in Oman
  • North Polar Unsupported Expedition (furthest north unsupported record)
  • Pentland South Polar Expedition (first unsupported of the Antarctic continent and the longest unsupported polar expedition in history)
  • Climbed the Eiger by its much-feared North Face

3. His political affiliations are manly  and conservative

Fiennes  is an official patron of the UK Independence Party (one of the most conservative and anti-liberal parties in UK). He is also a member of the group “The Freedom Association” which is, unsurprisingly to any red pill man, libertarian.

4. In 2003 he ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, four months after a heart attack and bypass.

Race 1: Patagonia – South America
Race 2: Falkland Islands – “Antarctica”
Race 3: Sydney – Australia
Race 4: Singapore – Asia
Race 5: London – Europe
Race 6: Cairo – Africa
Race 7: New York – North America

5. He was almost James Bond

Fiennes married his high school sweetheart, who passed away while they were married. He was also considered for the role of James Bond during the casting process, making it to the final six contenders, but was rejected by Albert Broccolli for having “hands too big and a face like a farmer.” Roger Moore was eventually chosen.

He has also written over 27 books detailing his journeys, his struggles (he climbed Mount Everest while having a fear of heights and suffering from vertigo and heart problems). Some of his books are titled;  A Talent for Trouble, Where Soldiers Fear to Tread, Hell on Ice, To the Ends of the Earth (written with his wife Virginia), and his autobiography, Living Dangerously and Mind Over Matter: The Epic Crossing of the Antarctic Continent. His number one bestseller, The Feather Men, is also published in Signet.

I would elucidate more, but the interview below puts it better than any words could. And through it all, he maintains a dignified composure, a calm way of talking and a confidence without arrogance.

Read Next: Ascent Into Eternity: The Unconquerable Will Of George Mallory

54 thoughts on “5 Fascinating Facts About Sir Renaulph Fiennes”

  1. A man’s man. Not like the modern Hot Topic hipsters who dress and talk like Pauly Shore from his MTV days.
    I thank God that I’m a six-foot-tall, blue-eyed, blonde-haired American male Protestant. Little things like that still matter to some of us.

    1. my Aunty Kaylee got an awesome white Mercedes E-Class Sedan by working part-time off of a computer… navigate to this web-site

  2. Not to brag, but people tell me I look like Pierce Brosnan.
    I have been approached in foreign locales and asked if I am “CIA” or “Special Forces dude”. I feign innocence and claim I am a dance instructor, further adding to my air of mystery and intrigue.

    1. This certainly changes the way I see you Uncle Elmer. I always thought your avatar was of you 🙂

      1. Recently I met Dirk Johanson at the local airport. He was looking out for an old man in a “Hooligan” cap, but got Pierce Fucking Brosnan instead.
        He told me to verify for you guys that a short, fat, balding 50 year old guy can get laid.

      1. I will not sit here while you try to hijack this thread into another seething debate over men’s fashion accoutrements.
        James Bond has never been seen sporting denim attire.

    3. Ha ha! Pierce has a home here on the north shore of Kauai, he and his wife are very nice people who contribute to the local community. They are very well liked but I see that next to his wife poor Pierce is NOT the one wearing the pants!

    4. Many times I have been accused of being an undercover cop. This can be quite uncomfortable when I am brokering a major drug deal. Usually squeezing my accusers head in a vice until his eyeballs pop out gets him to recant his accusation.

  3. I would love to be in the SAS but how do you join? The trouble is they don’t give you opportunities to be a man these days or make a fuss about weight and fitness despite the fact you could sort that out once you joined up.

    1. Join the British army and then apply from there. It takes willpower more than anything else. You have to understand orders without them being explained or being told HOW to carry them out. apply to the Royal Engineers, then to the Parachute regiment then apply to the SAS.
      Alternatively there are the Royal Marines, from there the SBS.

      1. Like I said they don’t give you the opportunity. If I was let in i would lose weight and get fit etc I’d even go boxing and running. But what’s the point in doing that without knowing if your in or not. I have done canoeing and can also do archery and airgun/shot gun clay pidgeon shooting.
        Their loss.

    2. Well, the traditional route is by joining up through either the Army or Marines, then getting recommended for the SAS or SBS respectively (though there is crossover for the two) through personal ability like Sir Ranaulph Fiennes did.
      You can now technically go for SAS selection without being a serving member of the armed forces, however you are highly likely to fail or even die (on average one person dies in the training every year) if you aren’t incredibly tough, as with all special forces worth their name.

      1. I realized belatedly that this was a troll name.
        It’s unfortunate that the site also managed to let a Wikipedia article get posted.
        Ah me! What the fuck is this site?

    3. Sort out fitness and weight once you join up? If you aren’t driven enough to get in shape now, what makes you think you will be able to once you get in? Most special forces in America require that you join the regulars, and than apply later once you’ve proven your mettle.

  5. I fear he is the last of this breed of stud the British used to produce regularly.
    Richard Francis Burton is one who fascinated me. Guys with giant brass balls who went out and took on the world.

    3. U mad BRAH? He cool like dat.
      Ah learned about Renaulph Fiennes, wouldn’t have googled him without this.

  8. Honestly, this article should be taken down. It’s a very good article, not because of the author’s writing style, but because he copied most of it from Wikipedia. Some parts are word for word copies, like the first paragraph. Others are bits of info that were clearly taken from the article. I read the entire article then the article on wikipedia. I learned nothing new, because every bit of information was the same. If there’s one thing that should piss somebody off, it’s trying to copy the work of someone else and claiming it to be as your own. Especially without sourcing.

    1. I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong ; ).
      Next time there are fascinating men that the world needs to know, we’ll just post links to articles on Wikipedia and other journals instead of collating them on a website DEDICATED TO MASCULINE IMPROVEMENT.
      Suggestion noted, dismissed.

      1. This would have been a bit more acceptable if you had correctly referenced wiki as your source. Even so, it seems a bit lazy to just copy and past directly from another source.

        1. The offensive thing to me is that time from our kids education is spent on the likes of Harvey Milk.
          Do you want for your sons to be aware of, and possibly emulate Harvey Milk, or a real man like Renaulph Fiennes.

      2. There have been many articles about fascinating men on this website. All of them except for yours had one thing in common; They were original. At least have some decency and change the content where it’s not in the same wording. Anyone can do that.

    2. To the author: It seems to me the easiest and most honorable solution would be to simply edit your article and cite your source (Wikipedia) and be done with it. Anything less would be unnecessary arrogance on the writer’s part.

  9. #2 makes no sense. You don’t use oxygen for polar exploration. You probably meant to say he didn’t use breathing oxygen canisters for his Everest expeditions. He sounds like a fascinating man though.

  11. Most importantly, how fast around the track was he in the reasonably priced car? Now I need to know.

  12. Fascinating stories. Great accomplishments. Awesome life lived. With that, why does the man wear a toupee in some of the pictures taken of him in public?? He would look more the alpha male with a shaved head, like Jason Statham. Just sayin’…

  13. That’s one badass mofo.
    It helps for young fellows to know about men like this. In my day we only got fictional characters who were ALL Betas. Seriously. I can see it in every last damned piece of media now. The programming runs wide, deep, and long.

  14. When you do a Google search for “complete badass” it should say “did you mean: Sir Renaulph Fiennes”
    Wow

  16. OH WHO GIVES A CHIT IF HE COPY/PASTED IT!! It’s a great article about the man, and I for one would have not thought to go to wikipedia or where-ever to read about it! GEEZ, YA DAMM CRY-BABIES!!!

  20. You have forgotten another man who has not only explored the world with Sir Ranulph but carried out research into human endurance in extreme conditions whilst doing it; a man I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and accompanying on a ward round: Dr Mike Stroud.
    It’s not right that he be ignored as if Sir Ranulph was the only one doing those marathons or crossing the Antarctic.

  21. Fiennes has a reputation for being, shall we say, flexible with the truth. I’ve read Mind Over Matter and Mike Stroud’s Shadows on the Wastelands several times. Great, funny, British bitchiness against each other over the the failure to complete the Antarctic crossing. Both great if you like mountain climbing/arctic travel type of books. I own but haven’t yet read his biography Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know.

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