A HUSBAND and wife from the North-East who trekked unsupported to the South Pole are setting out to conquer the world's largest freshwater lake.

Conrad and Hilary Dickinson, from Hexham, Northumberland, will skate, ski and walk across frozen Lake Baikal, in Southern Siberia, next month.

They will cross the 435-mile expanse in temperatures of -20C, along with friends Alistair Guthrie and Anthony Baird. After setting off on March 10, they will spend the next 25 days and nights on thin ice, crossing the lake that is 1,637m deep.

Mr Dickinson said: "Each sledge will weigh 100kg and we will be taking all our food with us, which includes pemmican, an adapted dog food recipe, and chocolate chips.

"Our biggest risk will be encountering hungry wolves that live in the region."

In 2005, Mr and Mrs Dickinson became the first British married couple to reach the South Pole unsupported, a journey 31 miles longer than that made by Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

They then kite-skied back to the Antarctic coast in only 17 days, with the physical stress likened to running a marathon every day.

Mrs Dickinson said: "I suppose I am the weakest kite skier on this trip, but hopefully I can make up for this lack of skill by being the main player in charge of the tent stoves and cooking."

Last year, Mr Dickinson became the first British adventurer to conquer Greenland, Antarctica and the North Pole unsupported. He covered a 482-mile crossing from the Canadian High Arctic to the geographic North Pole, with Canadian champion skier Richard Weber, hauling 330lb sledges.

The men witnessed the effects of global warming at first hand and both fell through thin ice, but were able to recover from the breathtaking experience.

Only ten people had completed the journey, rated as the toughest route to the North Pole.