Maryland man has a lofty adventure goal: Achieve the Explorer’s Grand Slam – WTOP News

Courtesy Seb Audy

Courtesy Seb Audy

Courtesy Seb Audy

For years, Seb Audy has visualized achieving the ‘Explorer’s Grand Slam.’ Also known as “Adventurers Grand Slam,” the quest includes scaling the world’s highest seven mountain peaks and reaching the North and South poles.

To say it’s difficult is an understatement, Audy said. But the Chevy Chase, Maryland, resident has a strategy.

“There’s a simple equation. You need to have a vision,” he said. “Then you need to have a strategy and a plan. And then execute with discipline and consistency.”

Fewer than 70 people worldwide have achieved the Grand Slam. Audy has already climbed the mountains, from Everest to Vinson. Last year, he braved bone-chilling temperatures to reach the South Pole on skis.

The last leg in his adventure goal, a ski expedition to the North Pole, has been canceled three years in a row. He plans to try again in April.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Audy, who lives and trains in Maryland. “It’s a little bit like if you’re an Olympic athlete and two weeks before the Olympics, you’re being told, ‘oh, not this year.’ I just brush it off and keep going.”

His grueling training schedule is nonstop, which he designed to mimic the harsh, frigid conditions of the North Pole. He created a body harness that allowed him to pull a makeshift sled weighed down weights, simulating his food, equipment and ski gear.

“I came up with the idea of using that same gear but replacing the sled with big pickup tires for hours and hours,” he said. “You have to be very, very creative.”

During his training regimen, the extreme athlete trains while monitoring his body temperature. Explorers who perspire in the frigid conditions can quickly lose the ability to keep warm.

“In the polar regions we say, ‘if you sweat, you die,” he told WTOP. “You really have to be mindful of your body temperature.”

In addition to attaining the Explorer’s Grand Slam, the Quebec native said his goal has a mission to bring attention to climate change. The former World Bank alum uses his expeditions to raise capital for climate victims.

“I wanted to leverage my expeditions to raise awareness,” said Audy. “This is to benefit people that are in poverty and impacted the most by climate change and are contributing the least to the problem, to be honest.”