We'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast was produced, the Galligle people of the orination. We pay our respects to elders past and present.

We'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast was produced, the Galligle people of the orination. We pay our respects to elders past and present.

It's twenty twenty three and we're on the Father Son Expedition of a lifetime. Aboard this small boat are doctor Jeff Wilson and his twenty three year old son Kit. They're on a carbon neutral mission to show the world the effects of climate change. Jeff holds a record for the longest solo, unsupported polar journey in history. He's no stranger to dangerous situations, but he's about to have one of the most stressful nights of his life. Having just made it through the treacherous Drake Passage with no issues, It's now one am and pitch black.

It's twenty twenty three and we're on the Father Son Expedition of a lifetime. Aboard this small boat are doctor Jeff Wilson and his twenty three year old son Kit. They're on a carbon neutral mission to show the world the effects of climate change. Jeff holds a record for the longest solo, unsupported polar journey in history. He's no stranger to dangerous situations, but he's about to have one of the most stressful nights of his life. Having just made it through the treacherous Drake Passage with no issues, It's now one am and pitch black.

The boat careers into an iceberg field. They're hit with a severe blizzard.

The boat careers into an iceberg field. They're hit with a severe blizzard.

They can barely see anything, the snow and sleep completely impairing their field of vision. Jeff squints, you can see rocks and ice coming and disappearing back into view. He and Kit must think and act quickly. If they don't, the expedition and their lives could be over. I'm at Middleton and this is head Game Today. Life lessons from the world class polar explorer, Doctor Jeff Wilson. Dr Jeff Wilson, Welcome to my podcast. If you are quite the adventurer doctor as well? Is that a veterinary doctor?

They can barely see anything, the snow and sleep completely impairing their field of vision. Jeff squints, you can see rocks and ice coming and disappearing back into view. He and Kit must think and act quickly. If they don't, the expedition and their lives could be over. I'm at Middleton and this is head Game Today. Life lessons from the world class polar explorer, Doctor Jeff Wilson. Dr Jeff Wilson, Welcome to my podcast. If you are quite the adventurer doctor as well? Is that a veterinary doctor?

Yeah?

Yeah?

Yeah, I patch up a gun and shot Wayne, But I might take your temperature slightly different way to what.

Yeah, I patch up a gun and shot Wayne, But I might take your temperature slightly different way to what.

No.

No.

Trust me, I'm I'm probably used to that being ex military. So it's great to have you.

Trust me, I'm I'm probably used to that being ex military. So it's great to have you.

On my podcast.

On my podcast.

Jeff, you are an explorer extraordinary. You've done the longest solo, unsupported polar journey in human history, the first Summit Dome Argus solo and unsupported, the fastest unsupported crossing of Greenland south to north, the fastest solo unsupported crossing of Antarctica, the first across the tour is straight by kiteboard, the first and only wind assisted crossing of the Sahara Desert, and your latest one, the first wind powered crossing of the Simpson Desert, Australia, solo supported. So when I read that, I was like, what's going on here? When did this excitement for adventure take place? Take me back to your childhood.

Jeff, you are an explorer extraordinary. You've done the longest solo, unsupported polar journey in human history, the first Summit Dome Argus solo and unsupported, the fastest unsupported crossing of Greenland south to north, the fastest solo unsupported crossing of Antarctica, the first across the tour is straight by kiteboard, the first and only wind assisted crossing of the Sahara Desert, and your latest one, the first wind powered crossing of the Simpson Desert, Australia, solo supported. So when I read that, I was like, what's going on here? When did this excitement for adventure take place? Take me back to your childhood.

Yeah, I think it's it's just that that explorer gene.

Yeah, I think it's it's just that that explorer gene.

You either have it or or you don't. Some people don't care what over.

You either have it or or you don't. Some people don't care what over.

The horizon, and other people are just wired to see how far they can pustion. And I think it was always a lifestyle. I was born in Africa during a pretty wild time in Uganda when idiom In the dictator was doing some wild stuff. So my old man was an adventure before it was kind of labeled that way.

The horizon, and other people are just wired to see how far they can pustion. And I think it was always a lifestyle. I was born in Africa during a pretty wild time in Uganda when idiom In the dictator was doing some wild stuff. So my old man was an adventure before it was kind of labeled that way.

And he packed a light.

And he packed a light.

Aircraft with myself, my sister, and my mum and flew forty two days to emigrate to Australia in this light aircraft.

Aircraft with myself, my sister, and my mum and flew forty two days to emigrate to Australia in this light aircraft.

Oh well, how old were you then?

Oh well, how old were you then?

I would have been five, my sister was seven, So yeah, it was one of those sort of foundational adventures. I didn't have a lot of memory from it, just kind of snippets, and it's one of those things where you don't know you're remembering or whether it's just fed in by photographs. But it kind of set the tone for my whole life. Really, I've always done crazy stuff, which is why my poor wife gets judged I think a lot by her mates.

I would have been five, my sister was seven, So yeah, it was one of those sort of foundational adventures. I didn't have a lot of memory from it, just kind of snippets, and it's one of those things where you don't know you're remembering or whether it's just fed in by photographs. But it kind of set the tone for my whole life. Really, I've always done crazy stuff, which is why my poor wife gets judged I think a lot by her mates.

You know, why do you let him do this stuff?

You know, why do you let him do this stuff?

And she's like, I feel your pain.

And she's like, I feel your pain.

I feel your pain. Oh no, stop judging my wife.

I feel your pain. Oh no, stop judging my wife.

She's doing her best to keep me alive and saying, but I've lost more mates through stasis, depression, suicide than I have through through avalanche, cravats or exposures. So I kind of feel like, while my body will hold out, I'll keep pushing. I'm getting very close to the point where my recovery time in the tent at night is too slow. By the next morning, I'm not feeling robust again. So you're degrading quite quickly in a polar environment. But I've probably got one or two more foundational journeys in me yet.

She's doing her best to keep me alive and saying, but I've lost more mates through stasis, depression, suicide than I have through through avalanche, cravats or exposures. So I kind of feel like, while my body will hold out, I'll keep pushing. I'm getting very close to the point where my recovery time in the tent at night is too slow. By the next morning, I'm not feeling robust again. So you're degrading quite quickly in a polar environment. But I've probably got one or two more foundational journeys in me yet.

When you're five, that's quite a life changing moment when you had to sort of up and go. But I love what you said about it being your first adventure, because as a kid, you know, that could have been the complete opposite experience of you know, it's quite a traumatic sort of we've got to go. Let's why are we're traveling for so long? You know, why are we moving away from our home? But having that adventurous gene inside you and you seeing it as an adventure and ultimately what kickstarted this this love and passion of yours. That's quite the mindset to have. Did you carry that on when you came to Australia or was it changed quite hard to get your head around or did you just see everything as an adventure from a young kid.

When you're five, that's quite a life changing moment when you had to sort of up and go. But I love what you said about it being your first adventure, because as a kid, you know, that could have been the complete opposite experience of you know, it's quite a traumatic sort of we've got to go. Let's why are we're traveling for so long? You know, why are we moving away from our home? But having that adventurous gene inside you and you seeing it as an adventure and ultimately what kickstarted this this love and passion of yours. That's quite the mindset to have. Did you carry that on when you came to Australia or was it changed quite hard to get your head around or did you just see everything as an adventure from a young kid.

Yeah, I think I've always been an optimist. So you know, if you look at the human spectrum, we've got people that are bit you know, midline in the middle. You've got your pessimist on the left, optimists on the right. I've always been an optimist. I think optimists see everything as an adventure, whether it's a dull day or or an extreme adversity or just routine, it's always like bright stone, shine, let's go. And I think that mindset is essential to survive in a polar environment. So, you know, I kind of took that into my teens and then the folks ended up back in Kenya in Africa for a while. I did adventures there, but I'd never done cold weather stuff and it was kind of like a bit of an epiphany. The best way to describe this is probably to kind of explain the timeline. We were in Townsville till I was nine, and then back in Kenya until I was eleven, or twelve, and then in Indonesia from then on, so I started to learn Indonesia and I was up and back from boarding school in Brisbane. And then years later, you know, I met Sarah at VET school and I'm still doing adventures in between disappearing for months at a time jungle, mountain, wilderness, and then coming back and managed to manage a relationship, get married, have a few kids, and then the tsunami of two thousand and four, two thousand and five happens, and at that point I was I would say it was the beige years, you know, just focusing on creating a financial base, not really prioritizing family enough in hindsight, and then by one thing or another, I end up as a translator for medicine to mind on the front line in bunda Arche, with over one hundred thousand dead on the streets. You couldn't move without stepping into human carcasses, and you know, there were dogs eating the dead, and a lot of a lot of images.

Yeah, I think I've always been an optimist. So you know, if you look at the human spectrum, we've got people that are bit you know, midline in the middle. You've got your pessimist on the left, optimists on the right. I've always been an optimist. I think optimists see everything as an adventure, whether it's a dull day or or an extreme adversity or just routine, it's always like bright stone, shine, let's go. And I think that mindset is essential to survive in a polar environment. So, you know, I kind of took that into my teens and then the folks ended up back in Kenya in Africa for a while. I did adventures there, but I'd never done cold weather stuff and it was kind of like a bit of an epiphany. The best way to describe this is probably to kind of explain the timeline. We were in Townsville till I was nine, and then back in Kenya until I was eleven, or twelve, and then in Indonesia from then on, so I started to learn Indonesia and I was up and back from boarding school in Brisbane. And then years later, you know, I met Sarah at VET school and I'm still doing adventures in between disappearing for months at a time jungle, mountain, wilderness, and then coming back and managed to manage a relationship, get married, have a few kids, and then the tsunami of two thousand and four, two thousand and five happens, and at that point I was I would say it was the beige years, you know, just focusing on creating a financial base, not really prioritizing family enough in hindsight, and then by one thing or another, I end up as a translator for medicine to mind on the front line in bunda Arche, with over one hundred thousand dead on the streets. You couldn't move without stepping into human carcasses, and you know, there were dogs eating the dead, and a lot of a lot of images.

I think.

I think.

You know, obviously, as a person who's been through war, you understand that the human brain can handle a lot, but there's a tipping point beyond which we go and there's some permanent damage, and we don't often know. It doesn't give you a lot of warning when that's coming. So for me, I felt like I was handling it well, handling it well. And then over a thousand interviews, you're kind of taking the pain on like a father would have a completely lacerated triceps and he's saying the union in Indonesia and how he did it. The doctors then saying how did he cut it? And I'm just saying it's a steel cut. So she's treating it for tetanus and antibotoics. But your heart's taken on the fact that he told you he was holding his two year old and a sheet of iron came out of the water and severed his arm, and he dropped her and never found her again, and you know she got washed away, and that's kind of layer after layer getting onto your soul. And then I came home after that stint, having lost contact with a guy called Hallidin who I had kind of let get through my tafline armor. He was a young guy who'd been cut thousands of times, washed in land five kilometers from his village and developed tetanus about ten days after the tsunami and I carried him out of this village, put him in a hospital.

You know, obviously, as a person who's been through war, you understand that the human brain can handle a lot, but there's a tipping point beyond which we go and there's some permanent damage, and we don't often know. It doesn't give you a lot of warning when that's coming. So for me, I felt like I was handling it well, handling it well. And then over a thousand interviews, you're kind of taking the pain on like a father would have a completely lacerated triceps and he's saying the union in Indonesia and how he did it. The doctors then saying how did he cut it? And I'm just saying it's a steel cut. So she's treating it for tetanus and antibotoics. But your heart's taken on the fact that he told you he was holding his two year old and a sheet of iron came out of the water and severed his arm, and he dropped her and never found her again, and you know she got washed away, and that's kind of layer after layer getting onto your soul. And then I came home after that stint, having lost contact with a guy called Hallidin who I had kind of let get through my tafline armor. He was a young guy who'd been cut thousands of times, washed in land five kilometers from his village and developed tetanus about ten days after the tsunami and I carried him out of this village, put him in a hospital.

We got him some.

We got him some.

Treatment, and then the next day went back to revisit him and was told that he had died.

Treatment, and then the next day went back to revisit him and was told that he had died.

And I didn't believe it.

And I didn't believe it.

I went through the morgues, I opened thousands of body bags trying to find him. Kind of got a bit manic, and then next day got left it out by the Royal Australian Air Force in Hercules. Back to Darwin and then back to Brisbane and kind of fell apart over the next three months, started drinking two March, playing video games till two three in the morning and managing to.

I went through the morgues, I opened thousands of body bags trying to find him. Kind of got a bit manic, and then next day got left it out by the Royal Australian Air Force in Hercules. Back to Darwin and then back to Brisbane and kind of fell apart over the next three months, started drinking two March, playing video games till two three in the morning and managing to.

Get on with life.

Get on with life.

But my wife knew that I had taken a wrong turn. Wow, and yeah, so falling apart a little bit. She's a very very wise woman and said, hey, you've taken a wrong turn up there. If you continue this, you're going to blow everything up, blow marriage up.

But my wife knew that I had taken a wrong turn. Wow, and yeah, so falling apart a little bit. She's a very very wise woman and said, hey, you've taken a wrong turn up there. If you continue this, you're going to blow everything up, blow marriage up.

You know, the kids, aren't you know?

You know, the kids, aren't you know?

The good dad at the moment, he needed to go back and find Hallidan and then take the other part. And so you know, while I was sort of making my way back up there, I'm thinking the chances of finding this guy are next to nothing. But we've done kind of a round of money collection from mates and friends down here to give to his family. But I never expected to find him. And I made my way towards a village called Lompoo on the coast of Bunder, actually one of the worst hit areas, and there was nothing in the village when in land, and they had that like.

The good dad at the moment, he needed to go back and find Hallidan and then take the other part. And so you know, while I was sort of making my way back up there, I'm thinking the chances of finding this guy are next to nothing. But we've done kind of a round of money collection from mates and friends down here to give to his family. But I never expected to find him. And I made my way towards a village called Lompoo on the coast of Bunder, actually one of the worst hit areas, and there was nothing in the village when in land, and they had that like.

A little.

A little.

Esco built or ox Van built refuge. Went in there and I saw his brother, Abung, and Abung had had fed him through a straw because his fla and you're always clenched for days all right before I found him. And I saw him and said, Abung, Abung is he has some funds for your family.

Esco built or ox Van built refuge. Went in there and I saw his brother, Abung, and Abung had had fed him through a straw because his fla and you're always clenched for days all right before I found him. And I saw him and said, Abung, Abung is he has some funds for your family.

And he looked at me and said, oh, what for?

And he looked at me and said, oh, what for?

And I said, oh, for Halladin, And he said why don't you give it to Halladin yourself? So at that point I'm like, did Haladan make it? And he said yeah, heah it, Come with me. So I followed him through this alleyway and there around the corner was a mandy, which is like an Indonesian bath, throwing over your top, and I could just see his back. I recognized all the scars and when he turned around. He's like, oh, the mad Australian returns. And that connection point was really important in my sort of hole if I look at the art of my life. Meeting him and realizing, holy crap. And he told me the story of the wave coming into his village. His wife was out by the washing line, he was inside. He ran out, had two daughters, and he grabbed the wife and the daughters and held their hand while there's sixty foot wall of blackwater with buildings in it hit them and he got carried five kilometers in land. He never saw the children or his wife again, never found their bodies. Under Muslim law, he took his brother's wife to be his because his brother was fishing on the beach and was killed immediately. And the amazing thing was, I came home having kind of found myself again, but realized that there was no point in me licking my wounds because what I'd been through was a fraction of what he'd been through, and he lost his family.

And I said, oh, for Halladin, And he said why don't you give it to Halladin yourself? So at that point I'm like, did Haladan make it? And he said yeah, heah it, Come with me. So I followed him through this alleyway and there around the corner was a mandy, which is like an Indonesian bath, throwing over your top, and I could just see his back. I recognized all the scars and when he turned around. He's like, oh, the mad Australian returns. And that connection point was really important in my sort of hole if I look at the art of my life. Meeting him and realizing, holy crap. And he told me the story of the wave coming into his village. His wife was out by the washing line, he was inside. He ran out, had two daughters, and he grabbed the wife and the daughters and held their hand while there's sixty foot wall of blackwater with buildings in it hit them and he got carried five kilometers in land. He never saw the children or his wife again, never found their bodies. Under Muslim law, he took his brother's wife to be his because his brother was fishing on the beach and was killed immediately. And the amazing thing was, I came home having kind of found myself again, but realized that there was no point in me licking my wounds because what I'd been through was a fraction of what he'd been through, and he lost his family.

I wasn't going to lose mind.

I wasn't going to lose mind.

So I think for me that was the beginning of really seeing the human being as a bowling ball and understanding we need that balance, you need your personal dreams, which for me would be the exploration side. You need the family side in the middle, you know, looking after your wife, your kids, your friends, and then business will work on the outside. If we're off whack in any of those areas, we end end up with terrible bias. That's unhealthy over a long term. And yeah, sure there's seasons like I think the year before last, I was at sea for five and a half months in the Southern Ocean Antarctica, Patagonia. That year was out of balance and we paid for it. But I've you know, I've managed to get get back. And I think for for someone with your history, there are periods where you're you're doing tours. You know, on a tour of duty that that bowling balls out of whack, but you're correct it when you come back. I think you're aware of that. Yeah, you try to, You do your best as long as the wheels don't come off.

So I think for me that was the beginning of really seeing the human being as a bowling ball and understanding we need that balance, you need your personal dreams, which for me would be the exploration side. You need the family side in the middle, you know, looking after your wife, your kids, your friends, and then business will work on the outside. If we're off whack in any of those areas, we end end up with terrible bias. That's unhealthy over a long term. And yeah, sure there's seasons like I think the year before last, I was at sea for five and a half months in the Southern Ocean Antarctica, Patagonia. That year was out of balance and we paid for it. But I've you know, I've managed to get get back. And I think for for someone with your history, there are periods where you're you're doing tours. You know, on a tour of duty that that bowling balls out of whack, but you're correct it when you come back. I think you're aware of that. Yeah, you try to, You do your best as long as the wheels don't come off.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, and that's why, you know, just having listened to to you there, you know the importance of of your wife. And again the importance of my wife takes a certain type of woman, does that to be with people like us? And I suppose patients is at the forefront of all of that, but just a greater understanding of who we are. Travel is such a good It's so good for light bold moments. Like you said, when you're out there, you have that light bold moment because you know you're away from the family, you're away from your comforts, and you know these life experiences through travel are absolutely vital. How important from yourself you know, is getting out there and traveling. How many life lessons are out there if you if you're willing to get up and get out.

No, and that's why, you know, just having listened to to you there, you know the importance of of your wife. And again the importance of my wife takes a certain type of woman, does that to be with people like us? And I suppose patients is at the forefront of all of that, but just a greater understanding of who we are. Travel is such a good It's so good for light bold moments. Like you said, when you're out there, you have that light bold moment because you know you're away from the family, you're away from your comforts, and you know these life experiences through travel are absolutely vital. How important from yourself you know, is getting out there and traveling. How many life lessons are out there if you if you're willing to get up and get out.

Oh absolutely.

Oh absolutely.

And I think you know, if I look at the drive behind travel, I mean a lot of people who who don't really have a lot of purpose in life, and the travel can become very hollow, or the adventuring can become very hollow. And the number of times I've met weird and wonderful human beings in the wilderness, whether it be Alaska and Tarderka, Greenland, who I just from something, I think that's the wrong way to explore. I really felt after the Haladin moment I came home, we sold everything border sail boat, and I you know, we spent the next two years at sea with the family. The kids were six, eight and twelve at the time, so it was a great time to reconnect, and I worked out in two years, I had twelve years worth of dad time, because the veterary lifestyle and the explorer lifestyle are both very draining on dad and husband times.

And I think you know, if I look at the drive behind travel, I mean a lot of people who who don't really have a lot of purpose in life, and the travel can become very hollow, or the adventuring can become very hollow. And the number of times I've met weird and wonderful human beings in the wilderness, whether it be Alaska and Tarderka, Greenland, who I just from something, I think that's the wrong way to explore. I really felt after the Haladin moment I came home, we sold everything border sail boat, and I you know, we spent the next two years at sea with the family. The kids were six, eight and twelve at the time, so it was a great time to reconnect, and I worked out in two years, I had twelve years worth of dad time, because the veterary lifestyle and the explorer lifestyle are both very draining on dad and husband times.

So realizing that.

So realizing that.

I was catching up on that last time and we've never really gone back to the nine to five, five six days a week grind again since that moment, And we ended up sailing all the way back to Arche and finding Haladin for a third time so my kids could meet him and he could meet me, and it was kind of amazing because by the time he got back there villagers that had just been silent because all the children we're dead. Basically two years later, the first children were being born and hallen AND's brother's wife who he married, was heavily pregnant and needed a cesarian while we were there, which we were able to help him pay for. So it was kind of like the rebirthing coming out of these ashes from two years prior. But we had sailed there under our own steam, and then we sailed all the way home, sold the boat, and it's kind of year on, year off now, so we're into an expedition year this year. Last year was a bit of a year off and I head to the Arctic in about six weeks. So it's you know, in real time, we're using the lessons that I've learned in the field, you know, in terms of mental resilience, human purpose.

I was catching up on that last time and we've never really gone back to the nine to five, five six days a week grind again since that moment, And we ended up sailing all the way back to Arche and finding Haladin for a third time so my kids could meet him and he could meet me, and it was kind of amazing because by the time he got back there villagers that had just been silent because all the children we're dead. Basically two years later, the first children were being born and hallen AND's brother's wife who he married, was heavily pregnant and needed a cesarian while we were there, which we were able to help him pay for. So it was kind of like the rebirthing coming out of these ashes from two years prior. But we had sailed there under our own steam, and then we sailed all the way home, sold the boat, and it's kind of year on, year off now, so we're into an expedition year this year. Last year was a bit of a year off and I head to the Arctic in about six weeks. So it's you know, in real time, we're using the lessons that I've learned in the field, you know, in terms of mental resilience, human purpose.

You forward me them and drive.

You forward me them and drive.

And I'm loving the combination of that coming back into the back game because our suicide rate is as high as as you military bloat in the venory field.

And I'm loving the combination of that coming back into the back game because our suicide rate is as high as as you military bloat in the venory field.

Unfortunately, yeah know all too well again like yourself, you know, lost many friends due to PTSD.

Unfortunately, yeah know all too well again like yourself, you know, lost many friends due to PTSD.

Suicide and mental health issues.

Suicide and mental health issues.

And it's sometimes when you think everything's okay and then all of a sudden, these individuals.

And it's sometimes when you think everything's okay and then all of a sudden, these individuals.

Are no longer with us.

Are no longer with us.

We spoke about the traumatic sides of your adventures the tsunami and how you how you sort of overcame that situation. But let's get into the record for the longest solo unsupported polar journey. What made you first and foremost that headspace, that head what made you think, do.

We spoke about the traumatic sides of your adventures the tsunami and how you how you sort of overcame that situation. But let's get into the record for the longest solo unsupported polar journey. What made you first and foremost that headspace, that head what made you think, do.

You know what I'm going to do?

You know what I'm going to do?

The longest unsupported polar journey? And what did your good wife say to you?

The longest unsupported polar journey? And what did your good wife say to you?

Yeah, well, I think this is she's a very very patient woman, and to understand how patient she is, you kind of needed to wind back to My first pole of the journey was ten years before the longest journey, and at the time I had a friend going through breast cancer. And one thing I clocked on too long time ago is that if you're just doing an adventure for you, when the going gets really difficult, you're probably going to tap out earlier than if you're doing it for a cause greater than yourself. So partly selfishly, but partly for Katie Carlile, who was suffering breast cancer at the time and she's still fighting now.

Yeah, well, I think this is she's a very very patient woman, and to understand how patient she is, you kind of needed to wind back to My first pole of the journey was ten years before the longest journey, and at the time I had a friend going through breast cancer. And one thing I clocked on too long time ago is that if you're just doing an adventure for you, when the going gets really difficult, you're probably going to tap out earlier than if you're doing it for a cause greater than yourself. So partly selfishly, but partly for Katie Carlile, who was suffering breast cancer at the time and she's still fighting now.

She's a little warrior that one.

She's a little warrior that one.

But we ended up making a sled out of Sarah's boob, so my wife's breast we molded, and some pretty disturbing online images of me dragging a set of tents across Antarctica. So I trained all over the planet, Japan, New Zealand, the Arctic with these boobs. So I'm flying an aircraft with these kevlar boobs. So it's basically a normal sled with a kevlar top, which is a twenty eight times magnification of Sarah's boobs.

But we ended up making a sled out of Sarah's boob, so my wife's breast we molded, and some pretty disturbing online images of me dragging a set of tents across Antarctica. So I trained all over the planet, Japan, New Zealand, the Arctic with these boobs. So I'm flying an aircraft with these kevlar boobs. So it's basically a normal sled with a kevlar top, which is a twenty eight times magnification of Sarah's boobs.

At the time, and.

At the time, and.

Anyway, the weirdest thing kind of happened with it in that, you know, so many they were just like a lamplight to people.

Anyway, the weirdest thing kind of happened with it in that, you know, so many they were just like a lamplight to people.

They'd be like, what are you doing?

They'd be like, what are you doing?

And they've come over and you're trying to explain, and I'll never forget right up in the Arctics, so above a place called a calor on a frozen ocean, I'm learning how to manage my breathing. And you know, like below minus forty, I had a bit of a lung bleed. I was coughing up blood and this skoodoo comes over the horizon and it's an Inuit guy out shooting seals and he's come over and seen this bright pink guy in a jumpsuit with a bright pink set of boobs, and he's just gone, what the hell is this white fellow doing? Pulls over and he comes over and for some unknown reason, goes to lit the nipple on the sled and gets his tongue stuck to the keblar.

And they've come over and you're trying to explain, and I'll never forget right up in the Arctics, so above a place called a calor on a frozen ocean, I'm learning how to manage my breathing. And you know, like below minus forty, I had a bit of a lung bleed. I was coughing up blood and this skoodoo comes over the horizon and it's an Inuit guy out shooting seals and he's come over and seen this bright pink guy in a jumpsuit with a bright pink set of boobs, and he's just gone, what the hell is this white fellow doing? Pulls over and he comes over and for some unknown reason, goes to lit the nipple on the sled and gets his tongue stuck to the keblar.

And we have to pull his head off, and it.

And we have to pull his head off, and it.

Just a chunk of skin or tongue stuck on the sled. And I'm just sitting there going this is one of the maddest advances I've ever done.

Just a chunk of skin or tongue stuck on the sled. And I'm just sitting there going this is one of the maddest advances I've ever done.

But fast forward twelve months.

But fast forward twelve months.

I'm in an aircraft, an a Loosian aircraft, a Russian transport. There was the same aircraft they used to drop their troops into the Afghan conflict when Soviet Union and the Afghans were fighting. And it's got all the Russian cyrillic script on the walls. And I'm sitting in there, and I'm in my bright pink jumpsuit, I've got secondhand gear, I've got a boob sled next to me, and there's a Frenchman going for the same record. We were both attempting to be the third human ever to go from coast through the South Pole to coast, and two Norwegians had done it previously Boresou's Land, and I think a guy ruined Getty's anyway. So I'm stepping at the plate. There's ten guys in the aircraft and they create a betting syndicate and they're all betting for the Frenchman because he's he's sponsored by Bitcoin, really.

I'm in an aircraft, an a Loosian aircraft, a Russian transport. There was the same aircraft they used to drop their troops into the Afghan conflict when Soviet Union and the Afghans were fighting. And it's got all the Russian cyrillic script on the walls. And I'm sitting in there, and I'm in my bright pink jumpsuit, I've got secondhand gear, I've got a boob sled next to me, and there's a Frenchman going for the same record. We were both attempting to be the third human ever to go from coast through the South Pole to coast, and two Norwegians had done it previously Boresou's Land, and I think a guy ruined Getty's anyway. So I'm stepping at the plate. There's ten guys in the aircraft and they create a betting syndicate and they're all betting for the Frenchman because he's he's sponsored by Bitcoin, really.

Out on the days.

Out on the days.

He's got a brand new gear, beautiful parentex down to new skis. I look like you know, I'm a dad of three. I was nearly forty at the time and dead like nine of them. Idle then bet for the Frenchman, and one guy bet for me, and there isn't he bet for me? Was that he came to in the airport before we took off and said, listen, I know what you're doing. My best friend Lotti is fighting for her life in Cape Town hospital with breast cancer, and I want you to blow this balloon up, say a prayer for it at the South Pole and let it go. And anyway, I carried Lotty's balloon the whole way across the continent.

He's got a brand new gear, beautiful parentex down to new skis. I look like you know, I'm a dad of three. I was nearly forty at the time and dead like nine of them. Idle then bet for the Frenchman, and one guy bet for me, and there isn't he bet for me? Was that he came to in the airport before we took off and said, listen, I know what you're doing. My best friend Lotti is fighting for her life in Cape Town hospital with breast cancer, and I want you to blow this balloon up, say a prayer for it at the South Pole and let it go. And anyway, I carried Lotty's balloon the whole way across the continent.

And when I.

And when I.

Finished the journey as the third man to ever crossed and seven days ahead of the record, he rang me from Cape Town and said, hey, you know, everybody, everybody bet for the Frenchman. Lotty died when you were at the South Pole, and he said thank you so much for carrying Lotti. And I just remember saying to him, mate, I didn't carry Lotty.

Finished the journey as the third man to ever crossed and seven days ahead of the record, he rang me from Cape Town and said, hey, you know, everybody, everybody bet for the Frenchman. Lotty died when you were at the South Pole, and he said thank you so much for carrying Lotti. And I just remember saying to him, mate, I didn't carry Lotty.

She carried me.

She carried me.

And I think the biggest thing I've learned with these adventures is, just as we have to teach our young ones in life, if they've got a grander purpose, then it's rocket fuel. And he'll always outwalk out, perform the guy or the girl.

And I think the biggest thing I've learned with these adventures is, just as we have to teach our young ones in life, if they've got a grander purpose, then it's rocket fuel. And he'll always outwalk out, perform the guy or the girl.

Next year, that he is just doing it for shits and giggles.

Next year, that he is just doing it for shits and giggles.

You know, when you have got that fire, that drive, that purpose, and it's pulling you towards that adventure, then you're right.

You know, when you have got that fire, that drive, that purpose, and it's pulling you towards that adventure, then you're right.

There's no stopping you, really, is there no?

There's no stopping you, really, is there no?

And on that journey, I survived the worst storm of my career. I rang Sarah during that storm saying I don't think I'm going to make it, and literally within six hours of the tent breaching of me dying of exposure, the storm started to debate. I survived a sled auto taking off with a kite attached and was racing out of my grasp when I managed to get on top of it and the strings cut themselves miraculously. I would have lost all my gear, all my transponders, sat phone.

And on that journey, I survived the worst storm of my career. I rang Sarah during that storm saying I don't think I'm going to make it, and literally within six hours of the tent breaching of me dying of exposure, the storm started to debate. I survived a sled auto taking off with a kite attached and was racing out of my grasp when I managed to get on top of it and the strings cut themselves miraculously. I would have lost all my gear, all my transponders, sat phone.

I just would have died of exposure.

I just would have died of exposure.

I survived completely freezing my belly, had frost bite injuries and was cutting flesh from my belly for weeks. I survived losing two weeks worth of food and found a new way of traveling where I would just push for sixteen to eighteen hours a day, sleep for four, push for another sixteen hour, eight hours, sleep eight and then repeat that cycle to finally get to the coast with one meal left, ate that meal, and collapse basically for a pickup in three days. So you know, it just was superhuman what I went through, because every time I felt like quitting, I could see Lotties face in my mind. I could see the women at Alamanda Hospital on the gold coasters I'd met before I left, all going through the chemo a realizing they didn't have a tap out. So you know, even when the Americans, the Americans are calling me saying, listen, you have to give up. We've seen images of your belly. You're losing too much protein. You need to allow us to send your aircraft vehicle.

I survived completely freezing my belly, had frost bite injuries and was cutting flesh from my belly for weeks. I survived losing two weeks worth of food and found a new way of traveling where I would just push for sixteen to eighteen hours a day, sleep for four, push for another sixteen hour, eight hours, sleep eight and then repeat that cycle to finally get to the coast with one meal left, ate that meal, and collapse basically for a pickup in three days. So you know, it just was superhuman what I went through, because every time I felt like quitting, I could see Lotties face in my mind. I could see the women at Alamanda Hospital on the gold coasters I'd met before I left, all going through the chemo a realizing they didn't have a tap out. So you know, even when the Americans, the Americans are calling me saying, listen, you have to give up. We've seen images of your belly. You're losing too much protein. You need to allow us to send your aircraft vehicle.

And I just listen.

And I just listen.

You can send a vehicle, but I'm not getting in it. I'm hunging across this continent. I'll pick me up.

You can send a vehicle, but I'm not getting in it. I'm hunging across this continent. I'll pick me up.

Wow.

Wow.

And those moments that you say that you almost, you know, you almost don't make it, You almost lose your own life, And in that moment, nothing else really matters apart from if I take a step to the left, I'm going to live. If I take a step to the right, I'm not going to make it. Was that part of your you know, of your sort of reasoning to keep on doing these extreme adventures.

And those moments that you say that you almost, you know, you almost don't make it, You almost lose your own life, And in that moment, nothing else really matters apart from if I take a step to the left, I'm going to live. If I take a step to the right, I'm not going to make it. Was that part of your you know, of your sort of reasoning to keep on doing these extreme adventures.

Yeah, I mean I think the problem I had, I think was just being a bit dumb and pig head it in the early adventures. So you know, your near death experiences are just coming back to back to back to back. And then as I get, as I get more proficient, the near death experiences are better space and I think now I kind of see them as you know, if I'm having a near death experience, I've made a mistake or I've not imagined the dominoes falling around me well enough. So I think one of my great skills has always been if I'm trying to beat a recorder, I'll emulate a previous explorer. I'll read thousands of our diaries and log entries or journal entries from say for the first journey, for one hundred years of polar exploration, what have they done well? What have they done poorly? And then I'll try and improve on that. But then for every way that I could die, I try and imagine a bunch of scenarios so that when it's happening, my reaction times are shorter and generally generally with kites, it's a kite getting out of control, like you'll either break your spine or break your neck because you get a death whip, or you're kiting into a crevass and using the kite to get you out of it, or you've tied it off a cliff and there's not much going on, or the sleds pulled your backwards into a cravass. So you know, you can imagine all the ways. And the thing is, no matter how much planning you put into it, there seems to be always one ND called them that creeps up on you, the near death experience that just jumps up and you know, for example, we had a grizzly bear try and kill us in Alaska. My son and I were on an advanta that was designed to keep him away from school. He is one of the most dangerous environments on Earth. And anyway, my wife's like, okay, yeah, great, you got him away from scoolies that you nearly got him eaten by bloody grizzily. You know, that grizzly came out of nowhere. We couldn't we could never have imagined, you know, the violence of that animal.

Yeah, I mean I think the problem I had, I think was just being a bit dumb and pig head it in the early adventures. So you know, your near death experiences are just coming back to back to back to back. And then as I get, as I get more proficient, the near death experiences are better space and I think now I kind of see them as you know, if I'm having a near death experience, I've made a mistake or I've not imagined the dominoes falling around me well enough. So I think one of my great skills has always been if I'm trying to beat a recorder, I'll emulate a previous explorer. I'll read thousands of our diaries and log entries or journal entries from say for the first journey, for one hundred years of polar exploration, what have they done well? What have they done poorly? And then I'll try and improve on that. But then for every way that I could die, I try and imagine a bunch of scenarios so that when it's happening, my reaction times are shorter and generally generally with kites, it's a kite getting out of control, like you'll either break your spine or break your neck because you get a death whip, or you're kiting into a crevass and using the kite to get you out of it, or you've tied it off a cliff and there's not much going on, or the sleds pulled your backwards into a cravass. So you know, you can imagine all the ways. And the thing is, no matter how much planning you put into it, there seems to be always one ND called them that creeps up on you, the near death experience that just jumps up and you know, for example, we had a grizzly bear try and kill us in Alaska. My son and I were on an advanta that was designed to keep him away from school. He is one of the most dangerous environments on Earth. And anyway, my wife's like, okay, yeah, great, you got him away from scoolies that you nearly got him eaten by bloody grizzily. You know, that grizzly came out of nowhere. We couldn't we could never have imagined, you know, the violence of that animal.

And so took me through that moment to where are you and how old you sell at the time, So he was seventeen, so it's twenty seventeen.

And so took me through that moment to where are you and how old you sell at the time, So he was seventeen, so it's twenty seventeen.

And I said to him, listen, if you design an adventure that we can afford to put on and if it gets you away from schoolies, I've got three weeks, let's do it. So he wanted to cross the Brooks Range in Alaska, so we crossed it, got air lifted in and then had these inflatable kayaks that we used as sleds or into the rivers when the rivers were okay. But we got there in the middle of the one of the biggest mounts at the end of the winter that they'd ever had, so the rivers were just out of control. So we had to drag these lads for about ninety kilometers and there were grizzly prints everywhere as we dropped into the lowlands. And then about ten days into the journey, we came around the corner on the river and there was a grizzly on the bank and he looked pretty relaxed. He was sitting there like a big brown rabbit eating berries. But then when he saw us, I'm holding position and We've been told with grizzlies to never increase the distance to them because they'll invite the charge, So hold you distance. So we're holding against the current and he's probably one hundred meters off the bank. Then he stands up and I'm like, holy shit, that thing is big, like he's nine foot, probably four hundred kilos of band and then he just charges. There's no kind of reason or I can't see that we were in his territory. We were in the river, he was on the bank. Any in my head thinking Okay, he's not going to swim, it's going to be too much for him. We'll just hold a position. In the time that he took to get to the water's edge, I hadn't been able to get the velcro on my chest patch open.

And I said to him, listen, if you design an adventure that we can afford to put on and if it gets you away from schoolies, I've got three weeks, let's do it. So he wanted to cross the Brooks Range in Alaska, so we crossed it, got air lifted in and then had these inflatable kayaks that we used as sleds or into the rivers when the rivers were okay. But we got there in the middle of the one of the biggest mounts at the end of the winter that they'd ever had, so the rivers were just out of control. So we had to drag these lads for about ninety kilometers and there were grizzly prints everywhere as we dropped into the lowlands. And then about ten days into the journey, we came around the corner on the river and there was a grizzly on the bank and he looked pretty relaxed. He was sitting there like a big brown rabbit eating berries. But then when he saw us, I'm holding position and We've been told with grizzlies to never increase the distance to them because they'll invite the charge, So hold you distance. So we're holding against the current and he's probably one hundred meters off the bank. Then he stands up and I'm like, holy shit, that thing is big, like he's nine foot, probably four hundred kilos of band and then he just charges. There's no kind of reason or I can't see that we were in his territory. We were in the river, he was on the bank. Any in my head thinking Okay, he's not going to swim, it's going to be too much for him. We'll just hold a position. In the time that he took to get to the water's edge, I hadn't been able to get the velcro on my chest patch open.

I had a flare gun.

I had a flare gun.

I was just going to shoot him in the chest with a flare but he hit us so fast I didn't even stop at the water's edge. He just kept running and pretty much aquaplane for about three body lengths on the top of the water, and then was on me literally a kayaks length away.

I was just going to shoot him in the chest with a flare but he hit us so fast I didn't even stop at the water's edge. He just kept running and pretty much aquaplane for about three body lengths on the top of the water, and then was on me literally a kayaks length away.

And then this miracle happened that anybody with.

And then this miracle happened that anybody with.

A lot of experienced up there is like a mock charge as a bear just presenting itself, because calories are so valuable to them, they once they've committed to a full charge, they're going to kill.

A lot of experienced up there is like a mock charge as a bear just presenting itself, because calories are so valuable to them, they once they've committed to a full charge, they're going to kill.

So he had covered a lot of ground.

So he had covered a lot of ground.

He was fully committed, and there was no reason why I didn't, you know, just ended up in his mouth or punching him in the neck trying to survive. But he stopped as though a bit like a labrador running into the patio glass window.

He was fully committed, and there was no reason why I didn't, you know, just ended up in his mouth or punching him in the neck trying to survive. But he stopped as though a bit like a labrador running into the patio glass window.

It was like he hit this window and.

It was like he hit this window and.

Then all this hot breath with like a tunery smell with berries mixed, and it hit me in the face and I could just smell bear, and my heart rate was about two sixty and.

Then all this hot breath with like a tunery smell with berries mixed, and it hit me in the face and I could just smell bear, and my heart rate was about two sixty and.

I'm like, what the hell just happened?

I'm like, what the hell just happened?

So I just lifted my paddle, expecting him to keep coming, and the current took me and he kind of led all his area out and then walked back to the bank and followed us around the corner and then just sat and washed. And I still to this day don't really know what happened, but I know back on the Gold Coast, this beautiful woman who's always been what I call the prayer warrior for me, woke up and just had this function that I was going to die, and got on the knees and there was some sort of supernatural thing that that bear hit. And I think part of me is like the number of times that's happened, it's too much of a miracle, you know, to be a figment of my imagination. But I'm also aware I don't want to lay out the fleece or hast it.

So I just lifted my paddle, expecting him to keep coming, and the current took me and he kind of led all his area out and then walked back to the bank and followed us around the corner and then just sat and washed. And I still to this day don't really know what happened, but I know back on the Gold Coast, this beautiful woman who's always been what I call the prayer warrior for me, woke up and just had this function that I was going to die, and got on the knees and there was some sort of supernatural thing that that bear hit. And I think part of me is like the number of times that's happened, it's too much of a miracle, you know, to be a figment of my imagination. But I'm also aware I don't want to lay out the fleece or hast it.

Too many times.

Too many times.

So I kind of feel like I've you know, if you're playing Call of Duty or a video game in your bar is just at the very red end, you know, one more hit, I feel like I've.

So I kind of feel like I've you know, if you're playing Call of Duty or a video game in your bar is just at the very red end, you know, one more hit, I feel like I've.

Yeah, I feel like I'm right at that point. So my adventures now have to be so well planned and thought out.

Yeah, I feel like I'm right at that point. So my adventures now have to be so well planned and thought out.

And you know, we've had Project zero is the project that we're involved in at the moment, which is just exploring how do we explore carbon neutral So Project zero dot earth is the website and on that. We've done four journeys. We've sailed from Australia to Antarctica. We've crossed the ad A going in ice cap, we've crossed the Antarctic Peninsula and just just come home in the end last year from from crossing Iceland and climbing one of the glaciers.

And you know, we've had Project zero is the project that we're involved in at the moment, which is just exploring how do we explore carbon neutral So Project zero dot earth is the website and on that. We've done four journeys. We've sailed from Australia to Antarctica. We've crossed the ad A going in ice cap, we've crossed the Antarctic Peninsula and just just come home in the end last year from from crossing Iceland and climbing one of the glaciers.

There on horsebacks.

There on horsebacks.

But we've got two more journeys in that, and I'm really aware that I have, you know, had enough bullets wing me very close to be super cautious now. And you know, in my head, I have this image what I call a faith eye image of Sarah and I in rocking chairs at eighty and Sarah's got to two rocking chairs tattooed on a fourarm just to remind me, you know, before and during and after every adventure to see that image. And it's almost like when things are going horribly wrong, you know that image is getting crackly and and static is in it, and then you're fighting really hard to get the dominoes back up.

But we've got two more journeys in that, and I'm really aware that I have, you know, had enough bullets wing me very close to be super cautious now. And you know, in my head, I have this image what I call a faith eye image of Sarah and I in rocking chairs at eighty and Sarah's got to two rocking chairs tattooed on a fourarm just to remind me, you know, before and during and after every adventure to see that image. And it's almost like when things are going horribly wrong, you know that image is getting crackly and and static is in it, and then you're fighting really hard to get the dominoes back up.

Right and make sure you get home.

Right and make sure you get home.

So whilst it is definitely an adrenaline rush with the near death experiences, I'm trying to.

So whilst it is definitely an adrenaline rush with the near death experiences, I'm trying to.

Limit them and I don't want to do tim anymore.

Limit them and I don't want to do tim anymore.

There is a spiritual side definitely to traveling, and I think you gain that when you travel, you're almost letting the world, you know, play out in front of you, and you're just you're just like, listen if it happens, it happens.

There is a spiritual side definitely to traveling, and I think you gain that when you travel, you're almost letting the world, you know, play out in front of you, and you're just you're just like, listen if it happens, it happens.

If it doesn't, it doesn't.

If it doesn't, it doesn't.

Yeah, I think people will struggle to understand why when you've had multiple NDEs, why why.

Yeah, I think people will struggle to understand why when you've had multiple NDEs, why why.

You would go back in there.

You would go back in there.

And I think it's just you know, I think in day to day life, people don't realize that they've probably had a very close near death experience, you know, if they've left an intersection milliseconds before a truck goes through a red light, or you might understand when you've been preserved from something. So there's definitely more at stake. And I think with an adventurous lifestyle, you're kind of increasing the odds of a violent death or a difficult death by misadventure or exposure. But theory being, if you've prepared well, dreaming big, you should be able to manage that.

And I think it's just you know, I think in day to day life, people don't realize that they've probably had a very close near death experience, you know, if they've left an intersection milliseconds before a truck goes through a red light, or you might understand when you've been preserved from something. So there's definitely more at stake. And I think with an adventurous lifestyle, you're kind of increasing the odds of a violent death or a difficult death by misadventure or exposure. But theory being, if you've prepared well, dreaming big, you should be able to manage that.

And I think for me that's the challenge.

And I think for me that's the challenge.

Man. The better prepared I am, the less near death experiences I'm having on the journey, the more I'm seeing chetchery ahead of time. But you know, it doesn't matter how well you prepare. On this last journey, the project's zero one. We were a thousand kilometers off the Antarctic coast. The nearest help was probably I think it worked out. Twelve days sail away. There was a tanker to the north of us, and then the ocean just crapped itself. We had twenty meter seas and seventy two not wins and the boat was surfing on its side, sliding down waves at sixteen nights like it's just not designed to do that, and we were in danger at capsizing or pitch poling. And I don't think like there's a solitude in Antarctica when you're solo, but at least the ground or the ice that you're on it's stable. This was a solitude. It was myself, my son a mat Or Krusty, another mate Jordie on the boat and the four of us kind of got together in the cabin and I just said, listen, the boat is at the extent of what shall handle. She may break up or we may pitch pole in the next few hours. If everyone just does the job that they've been assigned to the best of their ability, we'll have a chance to make it through this.

Man. The better prepared I am, the less near death experiences I'm having on the journey, the more I'm seeing chetchery ahead of time. But you know, it doesn't matter how well you prepare. On this last journey, the project's zero one. We were a thousand kilometers off the Antarctic coast. The nearest help was probably I think it worked out. Twelve days sail away. There was a tanker to the north of us, and then the ocean just crapped itself. We had twenty meter seas and seventy two not wins and the boat was surfing on its side, sliding down waves at sixteen nights like it's just not designed to do that, and we were in danger at capsizing or pitch poling. And I don't think like there's a solitude in Antarctica when you're solo, but at least the ground or the ice that you're on it's stable. This was a solitude. It was myself, my son a mat Or Krusty, another mate Jordie on the boat and the four of us kind of got together in the cabin and I just said, listen, the boat is at the extent of what shall handle. She may break up or we may pitch pole in the next few hours. If everyone just does the job that they've been assigned to the best of their ability, we'll have a chance to make it through this.

And those four.

And those four.

Three k sorry one Kiwi, three Aussies, I couldn't be more proud of. We just kind of held each other and you know, there was no fear, no crying, no hysteria.

Three k sorry one Kiwi, three Aussies, I couldn't be more proud of. We just kind of held each other and you know, there was no fear, no crying, no hysteria.

There was just this real calm.

There was just this real calm.

Okay, everyone do their job, and if we do die in this storm, then you know, at least everyone's done everything to the best of their ability. And over the next three days we just forught to keep that boat alive. And you know, we planned to the m degree to avoid that exact situation. And what saved us was putting a drogue out, which is three hundred meters of line with little parachutes along it, and I was able to slow the boat down to about two point two knots and then stop it catapulting forward, and the whole motion slowed down, the load on the reek diminished, and we managed to survive the storm.

Okay, everyone do their job, and if we do die in this storm, then you know, at least everyone's done everything to the best of their ability. And over the next three days we just forught to keep that boat alive. And you know, we planned to the m degree to avoid that exact situation. And what saved us was putting a drogue out, which is three hundred meters of line with little parachutes along it, and I was able to slow the boat down to about two point two knots and then stop it catapulting forward, and the whole motion slowed down, the load on the reek diminished, and we managed to survive the storm.

But it was just another of mine.

But it was just another of mine.

Listen, if you're going to put yourself in harm's way, it doesn't matter how well you plan, you're going to have.

Listen, if you're going to put yourself in harm's way, it doesn't matter how well you plan, you're going to have.

Some near death experiences.

Some near death experiences.

And I think, like you, a normal person wouldn't do it you do. A normal person wouldn't do what I do. But society does need the outliers like us to encourage them to move. You know, if they only come off the sofa and go back to the sofa, then my job is done.

And I think, like you, a normal person wouldn't do it you do. A normal person wouldn't do what I do. But society does need the outliers like us to encourage them to move. You know, if they only come off the sofa and go back to the sofa, then my job is done.

Your job is done.

Your job is done.

If we're talking about human resilience, determination, grit. You know, the military environment is a very rapid way of showcasing the best and the worst of the human spirit and grit. But you know, the polar environment is a very gradual thing. It just seeps in and it's a brutal environment because every day is so uncomfortable, and it just goes on and on and on. And when you're using kites in it, you've got the problem of wind shell So the air.

If we're talking about human resilience, determination, grit. You know, the military environment is a very rapid way of showcasing the best and the worst of the human spirit and grit. But you know, the polar environment is a very gradual thing. It just seeps in and it's a brutal environment because every day is so uncomfortable, and it just goes on and on and on. And when you're using kites in it, you've got the problem of wind shell So the air.

Camp might be minus twenty five. But when you're kiting tiding.

Camp might be minus twenty five. But when you're kiting tiding.

Up, when you're dealing with temperatures that human flesh can't handle.

Up, when you're dealing with temperatures that human flesh can't handle.

Why do you use a kayak for me?

Why do you use a kayak for me?

I've always been fascinated with winds, So whether it's kite surfing, sailing, bugging, I mean, right now, I've covered more of the planet using kit traction. So a kite connected the skis board buggy covered more ice desertation than any human alive.

I've always been fascinated with winds, So whether it's kite surfing, sailing, bugging, I mean, right now, I've covered more of the planet using kit traction. So a kite connected the skis board buggy covered more ice desertation than any human alive.

Dixie dan Zakura was one of my heroes.

Dixie dan Zakura was one of my heroes.

Belgian explorer who probably had high mileage, but he died two years ago in Greenland. Made a mistake and stepped into a crevass so he was one of the greats, and then with him passing there's probably a couple of guys who are close. But the joy for me with kit traction is you're covering ground that you.

Belgian explorer who probably had high mileage, but he died two years ago in Greenland. Made a mistake and stepped into a crevass so he was one of the greats, and then with him passing there's probably a couple of guys who are close. But the joy for me with kit traction is you're covering ground that you.

Couldn't get to.

Couldn't get to.

It's too far for an aircraft to get to, it's too cold for you to get there on foot and get back. You can't carry enough food weights. So with a kite I can drag two hundred kilos and I can my range increases to about six thousand kilometers when you're just on foot. Your polar range is for a really tough human beings.

It's too far for an aircraft to get to, it's too cold for you to get there on foot and get back. You can't carry enough food weights. So with a kite I can drag two hundred kilos and I can my range increases to about six thousand kilometers when you're just on foot. Your polar range is for a really tough human beings.

About eleven hundred kilometers.

About eleven hundred kilometers.

So previous to this journey, the Australian record for a solo was eleven hundred kilometers and then I reset that in twenty thirteen and then again in twenty twenty. So of course you did, Jeff, of course you did.

So previous to this journey, the Australian record for a solo was eleven hundred kilometers and then I reset that in twenty thirteen and then again in twenty twenty. So of course you did, Jeff, of course you did.

Listen, you are the polar man.

Listen, you are the polar man.

That's about a shadow of a doubt and having done decades, multiple decades in the polar experience, how much has it changed.

That's about a shadow of a doubt and having done decades, multiple decades in the polar experience, how much has it changed.

It is changing, and that's what's a little bit scary because at both ends of the planet everything's amplified, so we're losing big chunks of that floating drift ice. You know, there's arguments to say part of Antarctica is building up while other parts are degrading.

It is changing, and that's what's a little bit scary because at both ends of the planet everything's amplified, so we're losing big chunks of that floating drift ice. You know, there's arguments to say part of Antarctica is building up while other parts are degrading.

But when you're on Antarctica.

But when you're on Antarctica.

At the end of the season, I remember waiting for an extraction ten days of our weather at Novalaskay is stationed, a Russian base on the Cape Town side of Antarctica, And you know, twenty thirteen it was just solid pack, icy land and aircraft right through into the end of February.

At the end of the season, I remember waiting for an extraction ten days of our weather at Novalaskay is stationed, a Russian base on the Cape Town side of Antarctica, And you know, twenty thirteen it was just solid pack, icy land and aircraft right through into the end of February.

Now, you know, if you're not.

Now, you know, if you're not.

Out of the early fab you're not getting out because the whole runway's melting all the way down the hill.

Out of the early fab you're not getting out because the whole runway's melting all the way down the hill.

It's terrifying.

It's terrifying.

The Arctic is even more amplified, and there's so many effects there that we don't understand. The Arctics almost like the battery of the planet, the thermok line, and there's so much energy trapped in that ice system.

The Arctic is even more amplified, and there's so many effects there that we don't understand. The Arctics almost like the battery of the planet, the thermok line, and there's so much energy trapped in that ice system.

It's kind of terrifying. They think.

It's kind of terrifying. They think.

You know, once the Northwest Passage is open and that ice is degrading much much quicker, the effect on obviously the wildlife and human life is going to be pretty drastic. But you know there's people who still bury their head in the sand, and I understand why they do that, but they need to come with me and see it firsthand.

You know, once the Northwest Passage is open and that ice is degrading much much quicker, the effect on obviously the wildlife and human life is going to be pretty drastic. But you know there's people who still bury their head in the sand, and I understand why they do that, but they need to come with me and see it firsthand.

And that's kind of what Project zero is about. It.

And that's kind of what Project zero is about. It.

It's not really about creating solutions as such. It's really just saying, as an adventure community, if we can carbon offset are impact, then we as lovers of the planet, lovers of these polar environments.

It's not really about creating solutions as such. It's really just saying, as an adventure community, if we can carbon offset are impact, then we as lovers of the planet, lovers of these polar environments.

We have to show people how to do it.

We have to show people how to do it.

So if somebody's climbing Evereston, they've got an option of doing it with a company that's carbon offsetting and at least having zero impact, that's the one they should go with. They might cost you extra five to six seven eight grand, but you know, we're showing with Project zero that we can do all these extreme journeys, including our ins and outs to plastics from our skis, boots, are clothing, we can do it offset. So there's a very very at least neutral effect on the areas we're exploring. I think if you're bearing your head and saying it's not happening, you need to get up to either end of the Earth and just see it happening.

So if somebody's climbing Evereston, they've got an option of doing it with a company that's carbon offsetting and at least having zero impact, that's the one they should go with. They might cost you extra five to six seven eight grand, but you know, we're showing with Project zero that we can do all these extreme journeys, including our ins and outs to plastics from our skis, boots, are clothing, we can do it offset. So there's a very very at least neutral effect on the areas we're exploring. I think if you're bearing your head and saying it's not happening, you need to get up to either end of the Earth and just see it happening.

What is the effect that this will will have on us? Eventually?

What is the effect that this will will have on us? Eventually?

If we don't get our heads or pull our heads from the sand as such.

If we don't get our heads or pull our heads from the sand as such.

I mean, it's it's huge, Like in Antarctica, there's just subtle little things like the little Gentoo penguins a very tough little character and he can live in a wider range of temperatures, so he's just dominating down there.

I mean, it's it's huge, Like in Antarctica, there's just subtle little things like the little Gentoo penguins a very tough little character and he can live in a wider range of temperatures, so he's just dominating down there.

He's like the Bronx gangster. He's just moved in.

He's like the Bronx gangster. He's just moved in.

And can handle the col and the Emperor penguins need to hold those eggs on the ice sheets for the whole gestation period. Those ice sheets are breaking down and the eggs are falling into the water. So there multiple colonies have had zero eggs hatched in the last couple of.