West Australian adventurer Tom Smitheringale is "on top of the world" after surviving three weeks in the Arctic skiing towards the North Pole.
On Sunday, the 39-year-old was 640km from his target and "faring well", according to his Perth-based support team.
He's attempting to become the first Australian - and only the third person in the world - to ski unaided to the geographic North Pole (as opposed to the magnetic North Pole).
The gruelling 800km ice trek, starting on Ward Hunt Island in northern Canada, is expected to take almost three months.
Along the way, the former British soldier and personal trainer will brave blizzards, broken ice and polar bears, as he tows a 160kg sled across some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth.
His adventure, dubbed the One-Man Epic, is being documented online (www.onemanepic.com) with the help of Perth-based blogger Jim Pizzey.
Mr Pizzey, who keeps in daily contact with his friend by satellite phone, says Smitheringale is feeling good about his 135km progress so far.
"He's had a fair bit of negative (ice) drift, so he's waking up in the morning about 2-3 nautical miles behind where he's actually camped, so it's a bit like walking on a treadmill at the moment," Mr Pizzey said.
"But it's all expected, so it's not a great shock - though it's still hard work."
So far, there have been no big dramas for Smitheringale, who has yet to encounter any polar bears or go for a "swim" in the Arctic Ocean to cross breaks in the ice.
Though he has experienced some harsh terrain, the skies have been mostly clear with minimal wind and ice drift, and temperatures in the high minus-20s to low minus-30s.
"The conditions have been reasonably kind," Smitheringale told his support crew this week.
Mr Pizzey said the adventurer remained in "high spirits" and was expecting to pick up speed as he got closer to his final destination.
"He's got a touch of frostbite in his fingers, but again, these things are expected - it's not a walk to the shops," Mr Pizzey said.
"Other than a touch of frostbite, he's completely fine. He's healthy and in the right frame of mind.
"Obviously the further he gets on, the easier the going will be because the ice will be harder and easier to make progress on."
Mr Pizzey said Smitheringale was "missing home and family" and "thought a lot about food".
Two metres tall and normally weighing 110kg, the former UN peacekeeper put on an extra 25kg of fat to keep him warm and provide stores of energy during his ordeal, as he burns more than 6000 calories a day.
His 160kg sled contains enough food for 70 days, warm clothing and a range of equipment.
Smitheringale is raising money for charity, with donations through his website going to the Burnet Institute to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing nations.
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