Adventurers claim record in icy blast
dwayne.grant@news.com.au population 656. “It’s a triumph of the human spirit … and (a reflection) on how a grizzly father and his Gen Y son-in-law can share a tent for nigh on 20 days and yet come out with even more respect for each other.”
Having completed the fastest solo and unsupported crossing of Antarctica (3428km) in 2013-14, Wilson is desperate to return to the continent to make the longest trek across a polar region (5200km). However, authorities are yet to give him permission to enter an isolated part of the continent.
“This is just one (mission) in a long line of adventures Geoff has to do to get noticed by the people who will let him do it,” said Sarah Wilson, his wife of 25 years and mother of his three children.
“He’s got approval from every (Antarctic base) except them and we’ve just got to keep pushing.”
Wilson and Goodburn spent yesterday in transit as they made their way to the Greenland capital of Nuuk and connecting flights to the southern hemisphere.
The civilised surrounds were a far cry from the bleak and bitterly cold landscape they had called home for the previous three weeks. On more than one occasion the men almost lost their kites to the icy wasteland, while the threat of polar bears saw them sleeping with a rifle.
Sarah also revealed the physical and mental endurance the pair had mustered to more than halve the record for the fastest crossing.
“The simple answer (to how they did it) is Geoff’s a phenomenal kite flyer and incredible survivalist. He’s very humble … but he has incredible endurance so where a lot of people say ‘That’s enough for today’, he just keeps going.
“As for Simon – all power to him. To turn up and do what’s he done (on his first major expedition), what a young man he is.
“The distances they were covering were huge. It was relentless. Towards the end they also realised there was a weather lull coming and that meant they just had to push themselves harder. It was just rolling the clock from the minute they started. There were no definitive days. They haven’t had more than a two-hour nap for nearly the entire time.”
The Greenland expedition doubled as a fundraiser for breast cancer charity the McGrath Foundation.