For the months of high summer, Mongolia trekking offers adventurers and holidaymakers the chance to take in some of the Far East's most remote and unexplored landscapes. But on Ripley Davenport's 2010 Mongolia Trekking Expedition, he aims to cover 1700 unforgiving miles of Mongolia by foot - the breadth of the country - a record-breaking distance for unassisted and solo walking.

How many countries can you think of where you might encounter both a sandstorm and a blizzard? Mongolia is a vast country of open grassy plains, deep green valleys, barren desert and snowy mountain ranges. The best Mongolia trekking itineraries will aim to provide a flavour of one or two of these landscapes, allowing trekkers the opportunity to appreciate some of the country's huge 604,000 square miles - that's the equivalent area of four and a half Germanys.

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For adventurer Ripley Davenport though, a sample of what Mongolia has to offer is not enough. He plans to see all of Mongolia's many characters and terrains as he plots a trekking route across the entire country. He aims to complete his epic journey in about three months. While it is usual for visitors on Mongolia trekking holidays to travel between late June and August, when the temperature averages around 15 degrees centigrade, Davenport started his adventure in April. This means he will have to endure a freezing springtime climate, although nothing as uncomfortable as the 20 degrees below of the Mongolian winter.

Ripley intends that his trekking across Mongolia will be unsupported, meaning he will not have a guide or ponies, or prearranged shelter, and has to carry all he needs with him. For this he has a small cart, like a rickshaw, which he has named Molly Brown. Fully loaded, Molly weighs almost 250 kilograms. If he succeeds in crossing the country Ripley Davenport will hold the record for the longest recorded solo and unassisted walk.