He has spent over a year of his life in sub-zero temperatures and has walked nearly 4,000 miles across desolate frozen landscapes since 2001.
But now British explorer Ben Saunders today embarked on his greatest challenge yet as he attempts to complete the first solo and unsupported crossing of Antarctica.
The 40-year-old from Reading, Berkshire, will be carrying just 300lbs of his own supplies over the next two months in temperatures that could fall as low as -60C.
Ben Saunders, 40, wants to complete the first solo and unsupported crossing of Antarctica
Mr Saunders has walked nearly 4,000 miles across desolate frozen landscapes since 2001
Mr Saunders is an accomplished explorer, holding the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton and being the third person to ski solo to the North Pole.
His latest adventure will be in memory of his friend Henry Worsley who nearly did the journey in 2016, but fell ill 30 miles before the end and later died.
Mr Worsley planned the west-to-east traverse Mr Saunders will make from Berkner Island to the Ross Ice Shelf via the South Pole and the Shackleton Glacier.
He told New York Magazine: ‘You go from peak chaos: so many emails to answer, so many calls, and everything to organise and pack and prepare, and the training.
‘Everything kind of reaches a peak, and then you get on the airplane, fly to Antarctica, get dropped off several days later, and you’re literally disconnected.
Mr Saunders got engaged in July to Pip Harrison, who works for his firm Beardmore Ventures
Mr Saunders is partnering with Canada Goose, which issued the above publicity photograph
Mr Saunders joked this was a ‘low budget’ way of getting a similar experience to an astronaut
‘You’ve just got to be ready. And life sometimes becomes very simple. It’s just about walking, and looking after myself, staying warm, eating, drinking.’
Mr Saunders, who has a fiancée back home, said he would be wearing the same clothes throughout the duration of his trip including a Canada Goose shell jacket, parka, vest and trousers.
He added that the inspiration behind his adventurous lifestyle was John Ridgway, one half of a duo who in 1966 became the first to row across the Atlantic.
But he joked that it was a ‘low budget’ way of getting a similar experience to an astronaut, saying the environment ‘might as well be a different planet’.
Mr Saunders added: ‘Without any clothes on, you’d be dead in a couple of minutes. There’s something quite special about being able to survive in those conditions.
‘The clothes you’re wearing and the equipment that you’re dragging behind you becomes almost like a life-support system. To me, that’s part of what makes it so compelling.’
Mr Saunders is pictured packing the 403,000 calories he will eat in Antarctica into daily bags
Mr Saunders is pictured before boarding a plane on the way to his adventure in Antarctica
Between October 2013 and February 2014, Mr Saunders and former Wasps rugby player Tarka L’Herpiniere completed the 1,795-mile ‘Scott Expedition’.
This was the first completion of the expedition that defeated Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, a 105-day round-trip from Ross Island to the South Pole and back.
His latest expedition is in memory of Mr Worsley, a former Army officer from London who died last year after succumbing to infection 71 days into a 950-mile charity trek.
The father-of-two was airlifted from Antarctica to a Chile hospital after being unable to move from his tent for two days, and was diagnosed with bacterial peritonitis.
Mr Saunders is pictured training for his expedition, which will take place over two months
Mr Saunders is seen with his fiancée Miss Harrison at a Land Rover event in London last year
Mr Saunders’s adventure will be in memory of his friend Henry Worsley (pictured) who nearly did the journey in 2016, but fell ill 30 miles before the end and later died
The trek was raising money for the Endeavour Fund, a charity managed by the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
William and Harry told how they were ‘very sad’ to hear of his death, while adventurers Bear Grylls and Ben Fogle also shared their devastation at the news.
Mr Saunders, who is doing his challenge in partnership with Canada Goose, is a brand ambassador for Land Rover and an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust.
Born in Plymouth, Devon, he is also a patron of British Exploring, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a motivational speaker and published author.
Mr Saunders said he would be dead in a few minutes without any clothes on in Antarctica
Mr Saunders will need more than shorts in Antarctica, where temperatures will fall to -60C
Mr Saunders is seen in 2001 before setting off on an unsuccessful expedition to the North Pole
In July Mr Saunders announced he had become engaged to Pip Harrison, a St Andrews University graduate who now works for his firm Beardmore Ventures.
His attempts came as Andy Murray’s brother-in-law gears up for his own Antarctic adventure as he tries to become the youngest person to reach the South Pole solo.
Lieutenant Scott Sears, of the First Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles, hopes to complete the 702-mile trek to the bottom of the world in around 40 to 50 days.
He is attempting to become the youngest person to walk to the South Pole unassisted and unsupported – and if successful will beat the record by two years.
Track Mr Saunders on his route by clicking here, or follow him on Instagram here
How Ben Saunders changed his pants three times in 108 days while completing the first ever return journey to the South Pole on foot
This is far from the first extreme adventure undertaken by Ben Saunders.
In March he told how he only changed his underwear three times in 108 days when he was making his history-making mission to the South Pole on foot.
During a 1,795 mile traverse across the -50C tundra, the Briton said he and his teammate could only take the bare essentials, so pants were put to one side.
Ben Saunders only changed his underwear three times in 108 days when he was making his history-making mission to the South Pole on foot
Speaking at the Royal Geographical Society in London, Mr Saunders recalled some of the more harrowing moments during his polar voyage in 2013.
Chaffing, hypothermia, extreme hunger and fatigue were just a handful of the things he battled along the way.
He spent a decade preparing for the expedition – taking the same return loop that defeated Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team a century ago.
Over the years, others have also perished on the vast expanse of ice. And Mr Saunders confirmed that it was one of the toughest things he’s ever faced.
During the 1,795 mile traverse across the -50C tundra, the Briton said they could only take the bare essentials, so pants were put to one side
Brutal high winds, extreme cold and dwindling food supplies quickly took their toll.
Mr Saunders embarked on his South Pole ‘Scott Expedition’ in 2013 with fellow explorer and former Wasps rugby player Tarka L’Herpiniere.
He said the two of them agreed on a ‘no moaning policy’ in a bid to keep upbeat as they went.
Mr Saunders says that being in the South Pole is like nowhere else on the planet and for three months he and Mr Tarka did not see a single thing.
Recalling the desolate landscape they encountered, he said: ‘You’re in a tent in the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing, no animals, nothing. Just white.
Mr Saunders spent ten years preparing for his South Pole expedition – taking the same return loop that defeated Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team
‘We stayed on the same compass bearing for 31 days and didn’t see anything. I didn’t have a mirror to check what state I was in. It was bleak.’
The Devon native said one of the toughest times hit towards the end of their journey when they almost ran out of food.
Throughout their adventure they hauled 440lb sledges behind them, and en route they deposited food depots, which they would re-visit on their return.
Mr Saunders said they looked like ‘two fat men dragging bath tubs’ and they had to train for months to be strong enough to pull the heavy loads.