Jérôme Brisebourg: the South Pole for a Grand Slam
08 July 2019Polar regions, Ski manhauling
Jérôme Brisebourg is currently attempting to reach the South Pole via the Amundsen route in his latest challenge to complete the Explorers Grand Slam. The Explorers Grand Slam involves climbing the highest peak on each continent (Seven Summits), reaching the North Pole and the South Pole in one expedition. Historically, fewer than a hundred people in the world have achieved this feat, and perhaps one or two in France.
Expedition to the South Pole via the Axel Heiberg glacier, Roald Amundsen's route
Jérôme Brisebourg has successfully completed all his previous expeditions. He has yet to reach the South Pole. That's why he took off yesterday, Wednesday 4 December, for the Antarctic continent, where he is now attempting to reach the Pole from the Ross Barrier by ski pulka, a journey of around 600 kilometres and a good thirty days.
The route chosen was rarely guided and presents a major difficulty with the crossing of the Axel Heiberg glacier. It was also the route taken by Roald Amundsen to reach the southernmost point of the planet on 14 December 1911... A way of paying tribute to the pioneers who completed this challenge.
Éric Bonnem, founder of Expeditions Unlimited, says: "We are proud to be accompanying Jérôme Brisebourg in this latest challenge for the Explorers Grand Slam. Because very few have achieved this feat, but above all because Jérôme is an atypical and engaging adventurer, open to others, from whom he will draw a rare inner strength and seek inspiration to achieve exceptional things. Managing to reconcile an almost 'normal' life as an entrepreneur, husband and father with the success of such a project is in itself unprecedented.
Jérôme Brisebourg is 47 years old. He is married with 2 daughters aged 11 and 13.
He co-directs a management and leadership training company, Virtu'Oz Seven, whose aim is to share best practice from the world of high performance. He sometimes brings sportsmen and women, adventurers, journalists and even top chefs into his organisations, transferring their inspiration, values and methods to help them succeed in the business world.
He has some fifteen significant expeditions to his name, both in the high mountain environment (at altitudes of over 6,000, 7,000 and 8,000 metres) and in the polar environment (crossing Greenland from west to east, North Pole). His Explorers Grand Slam project began 15 years ago with the ascent of Kilimanjaro. It then built on its successes. It has gradually grown in power and difficulty, choosing the best expedition leaders and the best teams.
The Explorers Grand Slam is the challenge of reaching the North and South Poles by ski pulka and climbing the Seven Summits. The first person to do so was Briton David Hempleman-Adams in 1998. Since then, according to the dedicated website explorersgrandslam.com, fewer than 70 people have done it worldwide. According to our information, the only Frenchman to have done it is François Bernard, a mountain guide and member of the École Militaire de Haute Montagne. As for the Seven Summits, devised by Dick Bass and Franck Wells in 1985, the aim is to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents, i.e., according to Messner's list, Everest in Nepal/China, Aconcagua in Chile, Mount Denali in Alaska, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Elbrus in Russia, Mount Vinson in Antarctica and the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesian Papua.
A sister activity of Tamera (adventure, trekking, meeting traditional peoples), Expeditions Unlimited is the expeditions branch of Secret Planet, a Lyon-based tour operator specialising in adventure and nature travel, founded by Eric Bonnem in 2011. Expeditions Unlimited offers polar expeditions (snowkite and ski pulka crossings, North and South Poles) and high mountain expeditions (Everest, Manaslu and other 8000 and 7000 metre peaks). The French-speaking leader in these challenging expeditions, it is aimed at participants in great physical shape and relies on some of the most respected explorers and guides. It offers preparatory courses for its expeditions through its Adventure School, and implements rigorous, tried-and-tested field logistics, accompanied by top-level service for demanding customers. Secret Planet offers all the Seven Summits, the Explorers Grand Slam and many other expeditions.
Few have reached the South Pole on skis. This short expedition allows us to reach this mythical point. Led by a very experienced polar guide, we will need energy and determination to get there,…
Guided by Michael Charavin, one of the world's top expedition kiters and polar guides, we set off on a crazy and incredible journey: the crossing of the Greenland ice cap from South to North by kite…
Expeditions Unlimited blog
Entrance to the Axel Heiberg glacier © Jérôme Brisebourg / Live Expeditions Unlimited | December 2019
Jérôme Brisebourg © Jérôme Brisebourg / Live Expeditions Unlimited | December 2019
Glacier Axel Heiberg © Jérôme Brisebourg / Live Expeditions Unlimited | December 2019
Exit from the Axel Heiberg glacier © Jérôme Brisebourg / Live Expeditions Unlimited | December 2019
