THUNDER BAY -- Dale Shippam has conquered the globe’s North and South Poles.
The 60-year-old local firefighter received a heart transplant in 1999 after a doctor diagnosed him with heart failure. Since then he has helped to raise awareness for organ donations and proving that a transplant recipient can do anything if they put their mind to it.
On Wednesday Shippam returned home from an expedition to the South Pole.
His campaign for transplant awareness has taken him around the globe, including scaling the highest mountain in Antarctica in 2006, traveling to Nepal’s Mera Peak and skiing the North Pole in 2010.
This year he decided to join an expedition to Antarctica.
“I’m the first heart transplant patient to get to the South Pole,” Shippam said. “We want people to talk about organ donation. We need to get more people talking about it.”
Shippam noticed a sharp difference between the two poles. He said the South Pole was drier compared to its northern counterpart. Another added benefit is the sun is shining enough to make the tents much warmer than the frigid climate.
Shippam said he appreciated having a warm tent to crawl into.
Besides the cold temperature, Shippam had to also deal with the change in altitude. The group usually skied no more than 15 kilometres in a day.
He said he was sick for a time but eventually his body overcame the challenge.
“At 12,000 feet if you just go from sea level you get a little bit of altitude sickness and it is a little tough,” he said. “We had one really cold day where it was at least -30 degrees Celsius. With the wind who knows how cold it was? It’s a tough day.”
When he returned to Canada, he heard the news of the plane crash in Antarctica that killed three Canadians.
He flew with the same company but Shippam said it was a tragic accident.
“The pilots up there are so good,” he said. “The company and the pilots are experts. It’s a real tragedy. I’m quite comfortable with the pilots we had. Everything was very safe.”
He added that he planned to carry on his globetrotting adventures but didn’t have any place picked out yet.
Shippam’s wife, Peggy said they were in constant contact using a satellite phone. The fear of him going off on an adventure is always paired with the fear she had when they were waiting for him to receive the new heart.
She said the wait was scarier.
“He’s with doctors and it is an organized track,” she said. “I felt quite confident in their ability to get him back home again.”
