Greenland. 553km. 29 Days. Done.
In May 2026, I completed an unsupported crossing of the Greenland Ice Sheet. From Point 660 on the west coast to Isortoq on the east. 553km. 29 days on the ice. A 100kg sled. 9.6kg of body weight lost. Sub-zero temperatures, whiteout conditions, and long stretches of deep, heavy snow. One of fewer than 5 South Africans to have ever completed this. This page is the full story: the data, the updates from the field, and what the ice actually taught me.
This was an unsupported team crossing. Steven, Mardi, Gal, David, Kanch, Mika, Mike, Anna, Knut-Eric and I each signed up individually and completed our own journey. Nobody pulled anyone across. That's what unsupported means.
The road continues. See where it goes.
This crossing was real. The deadline was real. The commitment was real.
In a world of polished content and curated lives, I did something different. I lived the lessons I teach. In real time. Uncomfortable, terrified, and committed anyway. At fifty.
Every story, every failure, every doubt I moved through is teaching material now. Real. Lived. Not theory. It's the chapter that feeds everything else.
"Coming home felt like walking out of a silent room into a party nobody warned you about. The world just carried on. Something in me hadn't caught up yet."
Read the full reflection: The Door
29 Days. Captured.
Photographs from the crossing. Photographed on iPhone.
The Map of My Crossing
Every camp. Every push day. Every kilometre. Tracked via Garmin inReach Mini 3 Plus.
29 Days of Data.
Every day on the ice tracked using a Whoop 5.0, Garmin Fenix 8, and inReach Mini 3 Plus. Distance, elevation, recovery score, HRV, resting heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature, calorie burn, sleep architecture, and cumulative sleep debt. The full picture of what the crossing cost. Including the day the foot gave out, what the post-expedition scans found, and what the body actually did under 29 days of sustained load.
Brands That Supported the Crossing.
From the Ice and After.
The writing that came out of the crossing. Before, during, and after. Raw reflections from the ice and the processing that followed.
The Story on Screen.
Four videos. The full story of the crossing, from the why to the finish.
Some of you believed in this before there was anything to show. Before the crossing was real. When it was still just an idea on the wrong side of a lot of fear.
Friends. Family. Clients. People I have never met who chose to back it anyway. You donated, you shared, you sent a message, or you just believed when believing was the only thing there was to do.
I carried you out there. On the hard days, and there were a lot of them, knowing people were behind this is part of what kept me moving.
You were never funding an expedition. You were part of it.
Thank you. For the belief. For the support. For being part of the first chapter.
"Gerry, I saw you speak years ago at a Samy's Camera event in LA when I was just getting started on my photography journey. I have followed you ever since. As much as I value your perspective on wildlife photography, travel, exploration, I have learned much more from your perspective on life. Every single thing you've written from a coaching perspective resonates with me. You have a gift. Godspeed."
Craig Elson"You are an inspiration, you helped get me out of some seriously shitty days. You helped me have confidence in myself to chase windmills. You got this! I back you 100%"
Morag Saunders"Happy BDay Gerry. As you said to me as I turned 60: You Got This. Thank you for your content, support and past coaching. It has helped me immensely."
Grace Preston"You have helped change the way I see the world. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love following you and continuing learning from you. I am cheering for you to make this journey successful and here's to you Rafiki."
Kim Vanderwal"Backing a buddy to do hard things, to ask of yourself questions most never dare to face, to go to the edge of resilience and grit not just to find answers, but to discover the very questions themselves."
Stuart Hancock"You've done more for the both of us than you will ever know. You've got this!"
Kat Morland"I'm 83 and I want to hear your story before I get too old to enjoy it."
Barbara White"I have been listening to you since 2018, through COVID, watched your journey. Love the newsletter."
Eileen Sotomora"Gerry, watching your dedication to this white whale has been inspiring. You've been focused, committed, and relentless in the best way. We can't wait to see this goal come to life."
Mary Schrader
Greenland was not the start of this, and it is not the end. It is the first big milestone on the road to the South Pole, the goal I am working toward, solo and unsupported, in 2030. The full timeline, every expedition before this crossing and every one still ahead, lives on one page.
See the Road to the South Pole →
Before the ice, there's the mental preparation. In this conversation with Jacques from The Endure Edge podcast, we talk about the mental preparation and mindset behind the Greenland expedition. The fear. The RAPG framework. What it actually takes to commit to something that terrifies you and then show up for it every day. Worth a watch if you're keen to understand the mindset behind the crossing.
Greenland is the first of the big ones. Not the last. The road now points to the South Pole. Solo and unsupported, the full distance from the coast. Each expedition builds on the last, and each one feeds new material into the coaching, the speaking, and the work.
The ice is one kind of white whale. I am looking at others too. Different places, different challenges, the same commitment to doing hard things in real time and bringing the lessons back.
It started on Greenland's ice. That chapter is done. The next one is already moving.
The Ice Was Just the Start
Greenland is done. The next chapter is already in motion. The writing, the data, and the honest version are told as it happens. Subscribe and follow the whole road to the South Pole.