A journey to the South Pole tests endurance while exploring Appalachian identity, reflecting resilience and the human spirit amidst challenges, loss, and community strength in a world shaped by nature and personal history. In 2023, Jacob "Val" Myers aimed to become the youngest person to ski solo and unsupported to the Geographic South Pole, a 700-mile journey shaped by years of intense preparation and rooted in the enduring characteristics of his Appalachian upbringing. Spending his young twenties shaping his identity through adventure pursuits, Myers crossed the Arizona Desert on foot, tested his mettle as an ultrarunner, and found himself training with a group of expeditioners on the glaciers of Norway where he would eventually return and refine his survival skills as a guide. After more than three years of dedicated focus, Myers stepped, alone, onto the Antarctic landmass only to be evacuated two weeks later due to a nerve-injury following eight days of skiing through pure whiteout. Through personal anecdotes, tests of courage, and a driving curiosity centered in his people and landscape, Myers explores the complexities of his Appalachian identity and how it was that a young man from the middle of nowhere found himself completely alone on the very bottom of the planet. Blue Ridge White Desert is just as much a deep reflection of the self as it is a thrilling adventure memoir laden with some of the most amazing environments one can fathom.
