Dimensions
153 x 230 x 23mm
Peter Bland's life has always been about overcoming challenges. He was born with a hole in his heart, but set his sights on a life of adventure and extreme endurance.
In 1996, Peter navigated a team to the South Magnetic Pole. When their boat suffered catastrophic mechanical failure in the pack ice of the Antarctic Ocean, threatening not only their expedition but their very lives, Peter freed the trapped propeller, diving in the freezing water protected by nothing except a wet suit.
The expedition was a success, but the strain that Peter had placed his body under nearly killed him, and months later he endured a risky operation to repair a thoracic aneurism that threatened to burst.
From his hospital bed, Peter set himself a goal to be the first Australian to reach both magnetic poles, and within a year Peter successfully man-hauled a sled 650 kilometres to the North Magnetic Pole. Yet his urge to walk the thin edge between adventure and disaster still hadn't been satiated.
In January 2001 Peter and his partner were attempting a world-first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic Peninsula when catastrophe struck. He was taken by an avalanche and plunged 40 metres down a crevasse. His partner kept him alive for three days deep within the crevasse until help arrived.
'A Step Too Far' is Peter's story. It is both an adventure and a work of inspiration as Peter describes in gripping detail how he overcame every challenge from Arctic and Antarctic expeditions to the long, painful recovery from his ordeal in the crevasse.
