KUALA LUMPUR: The first Malaysian to attempt skiing 1,000km to the South Pole, Shahrom Abdullah, will leave for Amsterdam this Nov 12 before making his way to Messner in Antarctica to start his expedition.
The 36-year-old national triathlete said that after intense training, he is now mentally and physically ready to take on the challenge.
Shahrom's training had brought him to the foot of Mount Everest in Nepal, Norway as well as Alaska in the United States in order to test his endurance and skills for the attempt.
"My expedition from Messner will start on Nov 17, which is less than three weeks from now. The biggest challenge for me during my expedition will be the weather as it can reach -40 degrees Celcius there.
"It will take me between 45 to 60 days to reach my destination. I will have to ski between six to eight hours a day, traveling about 25km daily."
The expedition, called "South Pole All The Way Expedition 2015” was organised by the Malaysian Seven Continents Exploration Club (KE7B).
The club's advisor Datuk Akmar Hisham Mohd Yusof said no Malaysian had achieved such a before.
"Those who have been in the South Pole usually go there just to set foot in the South Pole as part of their vacation. No Malaysian has explored as far as Shahrom.
"One of our concerns is that the strong winds at the South Pole can come without warning and it can travel up to 320km/h," he said here today during a press conference with Miresco Integrated Sdn Bhd, which will be sponsoring Shahrom for the expedition.
The company is the maker of the I-Mizu health drink.
The company's group managing director Dr Mohd Ihsan Che Noh said Shahrom would carry an I-Mizu portable water hydrogeniser that can change snow to hydrogenated alkaline water.