Kevin Vallely’s 1,000-kilometre walking journey to the South Pole last December was fuelled by a desire to break a world record and a lot of fatty foods. Yes, calories galore.
The Vancouver native succeeded in breaking the record by doing it in 33 days, beating the previous best by six days. And he did it on a diet of sticks of butter, deep-fried bacon and pemmican (a mixture of fat and protein).
“We’re eating two to three times what the average person eats and I still lost 20 pounds,” Vallely said, adding he consumed roughly 7,000 calories per day.
The excursion, which Vallely will talk about at this weekend’s Great Outdoors Show, took him and two companions through storms, crevasses and bone-chilling winds while dragging 218 kilograms of food, fuel and clothing to send one message — nothing is impossible.
Accompanied by world-renowned traveller Richard Weber and marathon runner Ray Zahab, Vallely said he knew he had a chance of making history. “Weber is one of the most experienced guys in the world and Ray Zahab just ran across the Sahara,” Vallely added.
The Great Outdoors Show takes place at the Fraser Valley Trade and Exhibition Centre this weekend. Vallely’s presentations are on Friday and Saturday.
