Todd Carmichael: King of the Antarctic–The Adventurist Interview Part II

January 26, 2009

Todd Carmichael celebrating at The South Pole

Editors Note: On December 21, 2008 at 6:04 pm, Todd Carmichael became the first American to go solo, unaided, and unsupported to The South Pole. His adventure would also break the World Speed Record set by Hannah McKeand in 2006. Before Todd’s historic expedition began, I had the opportunity to interview him about his upcoming adventure. (You can read that interview here.) Todd’s time of 39 days, 7 hours, and 49 minutes is quite remarkable pending the circumstances that Todd was fighting through. Upon his successful completion and a month of recovery time, it is my pleasure to have the opportunity to interview Todd about his historic expedition, finally reaching the Pole in record time, his future, and what exactly was going on in those final two days that communication with Todd was lost. Much of this interview will surprise many of you for it’s candidness, but anyone who knows him, knows that Todd can only be one way–real. I hope you enjoy.

Todd, the last time we spoke you were preparing to embark on an expedition to the South Pole. You seemed confident and focused on the adventure at hand. It looks like that confidence and focus payed huge dividends. You are now the first American to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole. You also broke Hannah McKeand’s world speed record for a solo and unsupported expedition. First off, congratulations, and secondly, have you had time to put this all in perspective?

I think I have, but it’s hard to say. This one was so very important to me and the “title” means so much that I’m having a rough time realizing that it is done and that I managed to capture it. What I do know is that friends and family still have a way to go. You see, there was a lot that went on that I wasn’t sharing during the expedition, from coughing up blood the last 10 days to an avalanche of drama that happened the last two days after my communications and navigation systems went down. Now that they know the whole story they have blocked it out I think.

Looking back on this expedition, you ran into some problems right off the bat. The bindings on both skis decided to let go. This unfortunate event may be looked upon as being a key to your future speed record. To my knowledge, nobody has ever WALKED to the South Pole on foot. Do you think that this allowed you to move faster, or do you think your timing suffered by not having the skis?

Aside from some blue ice early on, trekking 690 miles in ski boots is a lot like racing in the Tour de France with your Mom’s three speed - complete with faux wicker basket and thumb bell. Then there is the challenge of not letting it all get you down - even though you’re slugging out an additional 4-5 hours per day on the slim hope you won’t be crushed at the 88th onward, home of the deep powder surface. Overall – I strongly recommend skis if you are serious about making it in one piece, or at all.

Once you got on track, decided to ditch the skis, and make some progress, some interesting things started to happen. You ran into the Shackleton Centenary Expedition, whom allowed you to hold Sir Ernest Shackleton’s original compass. Hannah McKeand and her father contacted you and wished you well on your record run. Looking back at the history and the things that were lining up, when did you sense that history was in the making and that you had a definite shot at obtaining the unthinkable?

It’s hard to say WHEN that moment came, because I was still unbelieving when I finally arrived at the pole. Having said that I do remember when I set my sights on it, at day twelve some 45 miles behind pace and on foot. I did the math and it occurred to me that if I stretched my work day by some 4-5 more hours, I could conceivably do it, if if if and a lot more ifs. Strangely I decided right then to look at it in terms of HAVING IT, that it was indeed mine and that I simply had to fight to keep it. That is how I began to think that 12th day, with Hanna far in the distance. This made me bite down hard into the task and go into this hyper focus mode, so much so I hardly recognized the guy I had become.

Towards the end of your expedition, going into those final two days, contact was lost. Some of us worried that something was wrong. We now know that you decided not to worry about logistics and focused on a major final push. Can you take us back to those final two days, elaborate a little on what was going on, and clue us in to those final moments?

Well, the truth is my phones went down, my GPS went down, my stoves went down, fuel spilled all over my remaining food and my lungs went into a rolling asthma attack due to freezing lung tissue. Things were looking very grim. It was like bad disaster film. First the stoves would not light, so I spent an entire night working on them and quietly freaking out. I got one going at 7:00am at about 30% then noticed the phones and the rest. As for the lungs, it was something that started with 10 days remaining, like asthma but with blood. It seems lungs do not like 16-hour workdays. In short everything went to hell very quickly the night before that final 48 hours, and from a place that was not so easy to begin with. Let me say, those final days were the biggest test and challenge I have ever had to face in my life. All said, there was only one thing left to do, drop the tent and slow march in the thick snow 47 straight hours, with a 30 minute nap to break things up. All the while I was worrying about a) my wife not knowing my location b) my dead reckoning skills and missing the pole c) my lungs freezing completely d) what might happen to my mind and body on no food and sleep etc. In short, I drove myself into the ground those last days and like a zombie I kept putting one foot in front of the other, each step crashing through the crust and into the deep snow - and hallucinating profusely. I can’t exaggerate how busted I was by then, having walked nearly 700 miles in ski boots.

In my first interview with you, you stated that upon reaching the Pole that you would play some ‘wicked air guitar’, then plant two flags. One is the flag of Ethiopia, a country that has come to mean so much to you and your wife. The second flag was the stars and stripes that graced your grandfather’s casket. Were you able to do all of this? That United States flag was probably a very emotional experience.

I was surprised how emotional I became. The Doc at the Pole told me later that he gave me 24 more hours to live had I needed to continue (due to my lungs). Deep down I knew this - I knew I had given it my all, something my Grandfather would have been very proud of (and pissed off) and despite everything it had all worked out. I was in a terrible state, could hardly breath, a real mess, and so when I kissed his flag, said a few words to him and unfurled it, I wept like a child. Doesn’t sound very heroic, but that’s what happened.

You, standing at the bottom of the world, have just become the first American to go solo and unsupported, and a part of your grandfather went with you on this magnificent journey. Elaborate on the emotion that you felt upon finally being able to complete this journey and what it means to have part of your grandfather along for the ride. Physically, he is not there, but something deep down inside likes to think that a big smile came across his face. How much of this was for him, and how much of this was for you?

For sure, I know the old guy loved the whole thing. As you mentioned, I ran into a great deal of obstacles on this one, and well, his life was full of them. He was surely proud of my tenacity and spunk and could surly relate. Having said that, honestly when I first set the goal a few years ago, it was all for me - but soon that changed, it would be also for Grandpa, for Lauren my wife, for my family and eventually for all those people following me and sending messages. By the time I reached the pole, we had over 20,000 unique visitors following along, many of them emotionally invested in my plight/challenge. By the final step, it was for all of us.

In one of your early audio reports from Antarctica, you mentioned that you already had a touch of frostbite to your face. After you ditched the skis, we began to worry about your feet. Physically, what was the toll that you took on this expedition? How were you able to protect your feet from the harsh environment and the cold temps?

My feet were a real worry and challenge. To make matters worse, I had to cut out the soles of my insulated overboots in order to gain traction. The entire way I was on the verge of really doing some serious damage to them. (As I write, my toes are as black as night) To compensate, I put my boots in my sleeping bag at night, wore triple plastic bags between my sock layers, and pushed very hard to keep my core body temp up. To top things off, something I did not know until I got x-rays when home, the constant crushing through the crust fractured four bones in my feet. I feel pretty lucky that I’ve done only a little permanent damage to them but lets just say I wont be wearing flip flops for a while. As for the rest of my body, it managed well, aside from losing 45 pounds of weight from an already lean frame.

Upon completing this expedition, you have now had the chance to follow along with a few teams that have made it to the South Pole. You recently made a reference that guided expeditions should be looked at differently from solo endeavors. When it comes to records and such, many of us would agree. Can you explain your reasoning and give us some insight into why these things should be looked at differently, and what changes could be made to allow this distinction?

I’m glad you mention this because it gives me an opportunity to speak openly. Rightly so, and as you well know, the trekking world categorizes expeditions into several distinct categories: Solo, Team, Aided, Unaided, and Supported and Unsupported, yet unfortunately, we fail to make an additional very important distinction - Guided vs. Unguided. The reality is, in terms of expeditions, there is a real difference between the two, yet the trekking community and those that document expeditions have done very little to rightly make the distinction.

In short, the effort required, say, from individuals who hire a professional guide to get them across the ice versus a few diehards slugging it out on their own is vast. This is particularly important when considering world records and firsts. Should the guided team be considered on par with an unguided effort when the reality of the endeavors are so very different?

As you might expect, it was only a matter of time that this would become a problem. In 2008 our failure to make this distinction has created a troubling situation – which in my view has become the pink elephant in our collective room. Consider this, a professionally guided team of endurance Canadians clocked an amazing time across the ice. Without guidelines, they then laid claim to the World Record above all other teams; teams who completed the trek without the assistance of a guide, the most obvious among them the strong unguided 2008 Finnish team of Poppis Suomela and Pasi Ikonen.

As someone who has lived the difference - who has been guided, has been a member of an unguided team and who has also gone solo - I believe without hesitation that the Finns deserve the team world record. I even go as far as saying that without the delineations made between guided and unguided that having a guide should then be viewed as Assisted, and hence, the Finns are the true world record holders.

All of this stems from the real fear that trekking may go the way of climbing, where the distinction between heroic unguided efforts are commonly trumped by guided efforts of the affluent. Is this our future? I prey not. With all of this, I implore the Canadians to do the right thing, and rescind their claim and award it to the Unguided Team of Finns. To me, this would make them the true heroes.

After the South Pole, you have now set your sights upon a new adventure for 2009. This one will involve a slightly different kind of endurance and a much different climate. You mind sharing some information about your next big adventure? Will your training be any different for this latest expedition? I was just wondering if your hometown was going to be seeing more of the strange guy pulling the tire? Haha.

There are so many things that still remain on my wish list, from the NP to the Northwest Passage, yet I ache to be back in the desert right now. With this I hope to be in the Namib Desert in September, attempting to trek 500nms- Solo, Unsupported, and Unaided. I greatly respect Louis-Philippe Loncke’s solo record and I’d like to try and better it if I can.

Shackleton, Amundsen, Scott, McKeand, Carmichael. You are now in some very fine company with some of the greatest explorers and adventurers in the world. Looking back on your influences, the support that you had for this expedition, and the history that was made, do you feel that you were able to accomplish everything that you set out to do in Antarctica? What would you have changed and what words of wisdom would you give to someone that now wants to challenge your record?

Although the obstacles I faced on the Ice created for an even “better” challenge, I still wonder what I can do with the assistance of skis. Lets just say I wouldn’t be shocked to find myself on the continent again - once I’ve taken a run at a few other things. As for wisdom, I can share with you what Hannah told me “Have fun” she said. To me this means the successful soloist is the one that truly loves the ice, and loves being out there. This may seem simplistic, but it is rather profound if you let it sink in. As for specific advice, I recommend that one must be able to do big distances in total whiteout, keep positive even when things look grim and above all, just KEEP GOING. Oh, there is also this – choose the right bindings!!

That’s right, now you’re the Top Dog, and now people are going to be gunning for your record. Hannah Mckeand’s dad made a comment in your website guestbook. He called you “The King of The Antarctic”. I think that is a fitting moniker for what you were able to accomplish. Wear it proud and wear it well! You inspired countless people to live out their dreams and overcoming the odds. It was truly inspiring, truly incredible, and most importantly, you done it on your own. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Todd. I look forward to following your next adventure and talking with you more in the future. It is always a pleasure and thank-you once again.

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