Hidden crevasses, hungry polar bears and the relationship between a father and his son-in-law are the hurdles standing between Queensland adventurer Geoff Wilson and another polar feat this month.
Mr Wilson and son-in-law Simon Goodburn will fly out on Sunday on their way to Greenland where they're planning to become the first Australians to cover the isolated ice-covered island from south to north.
The Gold Coast veterinarian is no stranger to ice-bound adventure, having completed a world-record 53-day solo crossing of Antarctica in 2014 with his pink "boob sled" to raise funds for a breast cancer charity.
That record still stands but Mr Wilson says he needs the international renown of a Greenland crossing to secure him approval from authorities for an attempt at the longest solo Antarctic crossing - taking in an area of the continent that is usually off-limits due to its isolation.
"My absolute goal for the last three or four years has been crossing Antarctica by the longest way possible," the 47-year-old said.
"The Australian sector is so remote we don't have vehicle or aircraft capable of doing a pick-up there, so it's been a no-go zone from a support and permission point of view.
"This is more about testing gear that we would use in our next expedition but also breaking some Norwegian records up there and building credibility, going 'we've had another journey with no support, no rescue, you have to let me into east Antarctica to break this record'."
While ice conditions are set to make spotting crevasses on the crossing difficult and the vagaries of weather and nature also have to be overcome, Mr Wilson - normally a solo adventurer - also has to get used to sharing the journey with his son-in-law.
"In many respects it's tougher than just having a random whose applied and shown himself physically strong enough," he said.
"He deals with stress in a similar way to me ... he's physically stronger than me being 20 years my junior so I'll certainly get him to do some heavy lifting earlier on."
The 2700km journey can be tracked in real-time by visiting by visiting http://5thelementexpeditions.com/nansenscross/.
Mr Wilson and son-in-law Simon Goodburn will fly out on Sunday on their way to Greenland where they're planning to become the first Australians to cover the isolated ice-covered island from south to north.
The Gold Coast veterinarian is no stranger to ice-bound adventure, having completed a world-record 53-day solo crossing of Antarctica in 2014 with his pink "boob sled" to raise funds for a breast cancer charity.
That record still stands but Mr Wilson says he needs the international renown of a Greenland crossing to secure him approval from authorities for an attempt at the longest solo Antarctic crossing - taking in an area of the continent that is usually off-limits due to its isolation.
"My absolute goal for the last three or four years has been crossing Antarctica by the longest way possible," the 47-year-old said.
"The Australian sector is so remote we don't have vehicle or aircraft capable of doing a pick-up there, so it's been a no-go zone from a support and permission point of view.
"This is more about testing gear that we would use in our next expedition but also breaking some Norwegian records up there and building credibility, going 'we've had another journey with no support, no rescue, you have to let me into east Antarctica to break this record'."
While ice conditions are set to make spotting crevasses on the crossing difficult and the vagaries of weather and nature also have to be overcome, Mr Wilson - normally a solo adventurer - also has to get used to sharing the journey with his son-in-law.
"In many respects it's tougher than just having a random whose applied and shown himself physically strong enough," he said.
"The other side of that is I've known him since he was 13 and he's perfectly suited for this type of environment.
"He deals with stress in a similar way to me ... he's physically stronger than me being 20 years my junior so I'll certainly get him to do some heavy lifting earlier on."
The 2700km journey can be tracked in real-time by visiting by visiting http://5thelementexpeditions.com/nansenscross/.
Source: AAP
