Gavin Booth is a Fellow of the Society and a Member of the Geographical Club. With friend Adam Wilton, he made a first crossing of the Saudi Arabian Empty Quarter in 2025 on a self-sufficient basis, hauling all water and supplies in self-made carts on foot, almost 800km from As Sulayyil to Haradh, via Ash Shalfa. He has also travelled in deserts in Oman and the Sahara as well as expeditioning in the polar desert environments. In 2008 he led an unsupported foot/ski expedition from Hercules Inlet to the Geographic South Pole, and in 2007 spent a month travelling on the ice in Dronning Louise Land, N.E. Greenland, making numerous first ascents of the surrounding mountains. He has crossed Hardangervidda in winter and has been a keen mountaineer and ultra-marathon runner in the past, and fits these adventures around family and a full-time career. Gavin is an enthusiast in the history of exploration and believes in supporting relevant charity causes on his major projects.
He was a trustee of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust for 12 years and appointed an MBE in 2011.
