ADVENTURER Norman Butler will soon face biting winds, frozen seas and the threat of polar bears.

That is because next week he will set off from Resolute Bay on the northern coast of Canada in the first stage of a 400-mile trek across compacted snow and sea ice as part of a competition known as the Polar Race, devised by Swindon-born adventurer David Hempleman-Adams.

His destination will be the finish line at the Magnetic North Pole.

Norman, 38 who is a commercial analyst from Westlea, hopes to raise around £5,000 for a number of charities by taking part in the 30-day long race.

Before leaving for Canada, Norman said: "I have never done anything like this before but now I've got all this training behind me, now I just want to get going."

"When we get to Canada we will have several days to make sure our equipment is ready and ensure we're fit to go."

Norman and his team mates, Steven East, 39, from Surrey, and Mike Krimholtz, 36, from London will each be pulling 70kg of equipment on a sledge including food, tents, extra clothing and cooking equipment. Each team also has to carry a shotgun in case they have to fend off polar bears prowling for a meal in the lonely Polar regions.

Competitors' food will be replenished at a series of checkpoints on the route.

Communications will be by satellite phone although its use will be limited to emergency calls and updating the coordinates of the adventurers' positions every few days.

"Soon there will be daylight for 24 hours a day.

"It'll be interesting to see how I react, whether my sleep will be affected or if it means we can keep walking for longer," said Norman.

Even now in the spring, temperatures can drop as low as -40 degrees celsius while the winds often make it feel much colder.

Most of the time, Norman will be walking across a carpet of sea ice having to be constantly aware of cracking ice, crevasses and falling into freezing sea.

Norman said: "I have never been this far north before. The only cold weather training we've had is when we travelled to Norway and the Alps and that was extremely cold, between -30 and -40 all the time."

For much of the walk, Norman will have to wear five layers of clothing including a thin layer to take away any perspiration then four much thicker layers to insulate him from the cold.

The trip is expected to take around 30 days, but Norman hopes to finish within 20 to 25 days, staying focused, aiming to raise as much money as possible.

Norman is no stranger to these sorts of events.

In 2001 he rowed across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Barbados in a small home-made boat covering over 3,100 miles in 82 days.

A series of near disasters nearly forced the the trip to be abandoned.

The boat, called the Spirit of Swindon was nearly crushed by a cargo ship while taking on food and then a bout of food poisoning forced his team-mate to be airlifted off leaving Norman to row the final 100 miles to land.

For The Polar Race, Norman has left little to chance.

In February he hauled tyres around Wroughton airfield to simulate the heavy sled he will have to pull, and even spent a day in a freezer in West Swindon to prepare for the cold.

To see Norman's progress visit his website at www. conquerand survive.co.uk