Tomorrow marks exactly one year until my Greenland crossing begins. May 5th, the date that’s been circled on my mental calendar for a very long time, is no longer some distant marker on the horizon. It now carries real weight and immediacy.
I can sense the internal shift – like a weather system changing direction. The preparations completed thus far, including two preliminary expeditions – full expedition video coming soon! – and countless training hours, have established a foundation. However, I’m acutely aware that past accomplishments won’t pull future sleds across the ice.
From this point forward, everything resets.
The body has no memory of previous training cycles beyond the adaptations they’ve created. The ice field retains no record of prior crossings. It will remain as unforgiving and indifferent to both ambitions and apprehensions as ever.
The preparation now intensifies. Equipment lists become more detailed, training regimens more specialized, mental preparation more focused. While I’m not starting from zero, I recognize with clarity that yesterday’s readiness provides no guarantee for tomorrow’s challenges.
Purpose and Impact
The correspondence I’ve received from you all throughout this journey has affected me profoundly. Messages from individuals who resumed physical training after years of inactivity after following my progress. Notes from those who repaired fractured relationships after reading about confronting the vastness of the ice. Quiet acknowledgments that witnessing someone pursue something at the edge of possibility made personal challenges appear more manageable.
These aren’t merely compliments – they’re reminders of my white whale expedition’s dual purpose.
This undertaking represents both my most selfish and selfless endeavor. Selfish because I require it personally – the purpose, focus, and dialogue with limitations it provides. It serves as my method for managing internal challenges that would otherwise predominate. The darkness, anxiety and depression that diminish when I direct my energy toward something that demands complete commitment.
The selfless aspect emerges in witnessing how this journey creates ripples extending beyond personal achievement. How attempting something at the boundary of one’s capacity can inspire others to reconsider their own perceived limitations.
The objective isn’t for everyone to cross Greenland. Rather, it’s to help people recognize what they’re capable of crossing in their own lives.
Looking Forward
The twelve months ahead will demand complete dedication. Intensified training. Meticulous preparation. Unwavering focus. And yes, continued support.
The generosity that funded the initial phase of this project was beyond humbling. As I approach the expedition’s culmination, I will need to request additional assistance – financial contributions, encouragement, and the collective belief that connects me to this community.
What I hope to offer in return extends beyond narratives from the ice, though these will be plentiful. It’s the authentic experience of pursuing something beyond certainty. The unfiltered reality of standing at the edge of your known world and stepping forward despite the unknowns.
These expeditions have taught me that the most significant discoveries occur not on the ice itself, but in the transformation required to cross it – the space between who you are and who you must become.
One year from now, I’ll take those first steps onto the ice. The countdown has officially begun. The preparation intensifies. The focus narrows.
And I’m bringing you with me through every phase – each advancement, setback, and breakthrough. Not simply to observe, but to discover your own crossing in the process.
There is also a new, scary, exciting project I have start working on which I’m hoping to share in the coming months! And it all links together! #MoreSoon
My white whale awaits.
As does whatever lies beyond your own horizon.
Say safe.
And don’t forget to be awesome.
