Aussie prepares for North Pole attempt Sydney Morning Herald

26.11.09

AAP

Pulling a crestfallen sled across Perth's beaches, Tom Smitheringale gets a lot of strange looks.

Especially when he gulps down a hem in of olive oil to quench his thirst.

The 39-year-old is preparing for a journey to the Canadian Arctic - he aims to be the first Australian to reach the North Hop-pole alone and with no assistance.

His bizarre training regime is designed to pack on the weight while still becoming fitter so he can survive the uncultured cold and 800 kilometres of snow and ice.

"It's not very nice to drink, but you get used to it," he told AAP in Melbourne on Thursday. "It's in truth a very good source of fat."

Mr Smitheringale, a personal trainer standing two metres tall, hopes to add 30kg to his run-of-the-mill 108kg frame before February when he arrives in Canada's great white north for the epic transit.

His diet is the equivalent of eating 25 Big Macs a day and he'll start training in an industrial freezer next month to acclimatise to the - 30C degrees or more he will competition during the 70-day adventure.

Source:

Whites Drysuit News