Katie Sarah’s final challenge to complete Adventurers’ Seven-Seven Grand Slam

She’s conquered the seven highest mountains on seven continents, the seven highest volcanoes and the South Pole. Now Adelaide’s Katie Sarah is preparing for her final challenge — the frigid climes of the North Pole.

Adelaide adventurer Katie Sarah preparing for her North Pole adventure. Picture: Russell Millard

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It’s not easy preparing for the hazards of a trek to the North Pole when you live in Adelaide.

Shifting sea ice, crevasses, bitter cold and polar bears aren’t things you come across on a daily basis.

But that hasn’t stopped 50-year-old Adelaide mountaineer and adventurer Katie Sarah spending hours in the gym and towing tractor tyres up hills in an effort to be as fit as possible for her next leg of her latest expedition, one that has taken her literally to the ends of the Earth.

She successfully skied to the South Pole early this year, and on Friday sets out for the remote Norwegian island of Svalbard to prepare for her attempt at reaching the North Pole.

Katie Sarah trekking to the South Pole. Picture: Supplied

Katie Sarah trekking to the South Pole. Picture: Supplied

If she makes it, she’ll be the first woman, and only the fourth person, to complete the Adventurers’ Seven-Seven Grand Slam (climbing the seven tallest mountains and seven tallest volcanoes on each continent on Earth, plus trekking to the North and South poles).

“The terrain will be quite different to the South Pole,” Katie said. “The South Pole is a continental ice cap, where the ice in the north is basically sea ice so it’s constantly moving.”

Katie Sarah trekking to the South Pole. Picture: Supplied

This means that rather than the flat expanses Katie encountered in the southern climes, she’s more likely to come across smashed up, uneven ground.

The moving ice can even affect the time taken to ski 112km, the final degree of longitude, to reach the pole.  “If the current is with you then you might actually gain a kilometre or two,” Katie said.

“On the other hand, if it’s working against you, you might wake up and find you’ve actually gone backwards.”

She said her expedition of nine people hoped to reach the North Pole on April 4.