On a sweltering mid-summer´s day of 2011, Hong Kong student Christopher Schrader celebrated his 18th birthday deep in the Mongolian Gobi Desert.  On completing his expedition, he had become the youngest person to walk the entire width of the Mongolian Gobi Desert.  He walked over 1,700 km in 52 days, whilst raising money to benefit the education of children in Mongolia.  

Chris tells of the trials of his expedition, including the blistering heat and biting cold, the blinding sandstorms, the endless days of mental and physical pain, fighting to walk towards a goal that was always too far to be seen. He also describes living with ancient peoples, some of whom had not encountered a westerner since the fall of the USSR.

That same year, Chris returned to the remote west of Mongolia and spent the winter living the harsh nomadic life of the eagle hunters of the Altai Mountains. Through the harsh Steppe winter, he endured temperatures as cold as 60 degrees Celsius. He hunted with eagles, rode horses across the icy tundra and lived as the Kazakh nomads had for hundreds of years.
 
Christopher Schrader was born in Hong Kong and educated at United World College.  He is a graduate of Harvard University.  Already an endurance athlete, at 16 his first expedition was a 600 km hike across England.  He cofounded the Walking with a Purpose Foundation to raise money for charity and is the founder and Executive Chairman of the 24-Hour Race, a global movement combatting human trafficking.  He also founded the Youth Endurance Network, which facilitates numerous events including Running to Stop the Traffik and YEN expeditions.  Chris is now an entrepreneur, AI expert, and works across education technology and international business development. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Board Member of RGS-HK.

Members of the RGS, their guests and others are most welcome to attend this event, which is HK$200 for RGS Members and HK$250 for guests and others. Including complimentary free-flow drinks. The event is free of charge for student members and children of members.