You know when you’re at the dentist, and they ask you questions, but you can’t really talk because…like…their hand is in your mouth?
In the case of Cat, we would be juuuuuust fine letting her do all the talking.
Cat is a dentist with extra orthodontic training who works at an emergency dental clinic and serves as a faculty member for World Extreme Medicine in the United Kingdom. More impressively (at least, for the adventurous souls here), in January of 2025, she became the 13th female to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole. In 53 days she traveled 708 miles pulling her own food, fuel, and equipment in a sled weighing 100 kg (62 pounds).
Yes Cat, please tell me all your very, very cool and very badass stories while inspecting my teeth. Dental anxiety be gone!
Cat has always been a lover of the outdoors, and is especially feeling right at home in Cornwall - where she can run or hike the coastal paths or reach mountain summits.
But it was her 40th birthday that flipped a certain switch:
There was a time when work started to feel like a never-ending treadmill, and I just couldn’t seem to step off. I’d lost that balance without even realizing it. Then COVID hit, and I turned 40, which felt like a real wake-up call! Time was flying by, and I had this sudden sense of urgency to make some changes before life passed me by.
That’s when I started actively looking for ways to combine my dental skills with adventure. It reminded me of my long-term goals and what really mattered to me. Now, I’m much more intentional about making space for both my career and the adventures that keep me feeling alive.
Cat finds that fulfillment by volunteering in remote places and providing necessary dental care.
She loves not only the variety of cases she can see - but the opportunities available to her, like teaching the dentistry module on an expedition and wilderness medicine course in Slovenia.
Using my dental skills in environments where access to care is limited is incredibly rewarding, it lets me blend my passion for adventure with my profession in a meaningful way.
Being able to provide access to care in remote places isn’t all she does - she wants to also fully immerse herself in remote environments. Images of Antarctica have been etched in her mind since childhood, and during COVID’s lockdowns, she started taking the necessary steps to experience the white wilderness for herself.
I had no clue where to start, so I signed up for a Polar Skills course in Norway to learn the basics of surviving in the extreme cold. That’s where I met Louis Rudd (first Brit to cross Antarctica) and Wendy Searle (7th woman to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole), who became my mentors, guiding me through this whole process and becoming firm friends. It took three years of training, planning, and fundraising to even get to the start line, but once I’d put it out there, I found I had real drive and determination to make it happen.
What’s next? TBD, but all Cat has to say is that after her South Pole expedition, she knows the importance of having a strong purpose behind whatever it is she’s doing. But she’s also in no rush - and is fine reveling in how all her hard work and energy paid off. In addition - using her platform to help inspire other people to “have the confidence to dream big and go for it”:
I think we’re all a bit guilty of rushing to the next thing after achieving a big goal, ticking it off the list without taking the time to reflect, feel proud, and appreciate how far we’ve come. I believed I could do it because I saw someone else who had. Now I want to pay that forward. It’s a different sort of adventure, but I have been speaking at schools and larger events, in the hope that it might help someone else.
Cat chose dentistry for a reason - she knew it would give her the flexibility and opportunities her soul needed to combine her career with her love for travel and adventure. She has since volunteered in Nepal, Zimbabwe, and Bolivia - gaining more traction with her skills, but also getting a new perspective on the world around her.
To her, “high adventure healthcare” isn’t just about taking dental and medical skills out of the traditional clinic and into remote environments - it’s about problem solving in unpredictable situations, thinking on your feet, and adapting as needed when your usual resources are not available.
It’s also about balance - combining my career with a passion for exploration, whether that’s delivering healthcare in remote communities, supporting scientific research in extreme environments, or just using adventure as a way to reset and stay inspired.
Her advice if you want the same? Connect.
If you want more adventure in your life, don’t sit around waiting for the perfect opportunity, go out and find it. Believe in yourself, be prepared to work hard, and most importantly, connect with people who are already living the life you aspire to. You’d be surprised how many doors open just by starting conversations. So much of what we achieve comes from the people we meet along the way. Do everything you can to put yourself in the right room and see what happens!
To Cat, high adventure healthcare is about pushing boundaries, getting outside your comfort zone, and proving that a career in medicine doesn’t have to mean four walls and a desk.
We love the sound of that!
Yeah…we would let Cat poke and prod around in our mouths any day, all day, if it meant we could listen to her stories and soak in her advice and words.
To follow Cat’s adventures - check out her Instagram! And to read more about her trip to the South Pole - check out her blog.
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What a badass! "If you want more adventure in your life, don’t sit around waiting for the perfect opportunity, go out and find it." Thanks for highlighting her path!