The Road To The Pole

For 29 days in May, life was brutally simple. Drag a sled that started at around 100kg for 8 to 12 hours a day, then get in the tent, strap the feet, boil water, recover, repeat. 553 kilometres across the Greenland ice cap, as a team, unsupported.

This first episode is that story. How a training expedition in Svalbard woke something up, what the crossing actually looked like day to day, the two weeks in the deepest pain cave I’ve ever been in, and what “unsupported” officially means when the definitions get strict. Plus the difference between suffering and chosen hardship, and why that distinction matters for everything that comes next.

Because this crossing was the first step of a four year road: a 20 day solo in northern Norway in February, Iceland in 2028, and in 2030 an attempt to become the first South African to ski solo, unsupported and unassisted to the South Pole.

All the Greenland data, heart rate variability, strain, recovery, the lot: gerryvanderwalt.com/greenland

The full road: gerryvanderwalt.com/road-to-the-south-pole

Next episode: the why. The deep one.

Do good work.

G.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gerryvanderwalt.substack.com

In 2030 I’m attempting to become the first South African to ski solo, unsupported and unassisted to the South Pole. This show documents the whole road there. The training, the mental fitness, the gear, the money, and the people who shape the journey. New episodes weekly, live by sat phone from the ice during expeditions.

Episode 001, The Crossing, out this week.

Full story: gerryvanderwalt.com/road-to-the-south-pole

Do good work.

G.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gerryvanderwalt.substack.com