Founder and Director of Southpeak, Tom Smitheringale is an aspiring adventurer and explorer best known for his solo unsupported expedition to the North Pole in 2010, a feat that has only been achieved by 2 people in the history of polar exploration and one that is described by famous mountaineer Reinhold Meissner as being “10 times more difficult than climbing Mt Everest”. An epic battle by one man against blizzards, bears and broken ice, covering 800km in under 60 days on the ice. Only days out from successfully completing his expedition he tragically fell through the ice and had to be rescued by the Canadian military. A near-death experience that would take years to process. But what some might see as failure, Tom embraced as a powerful lesson in resilience, humility, and determination. Upon returning from the North Pole he would experience a paradigm shift spending the next 2 years living in Egypt through the Arab Spring, becoming the first person to kayak solo the 1300km length of the Egyptian Nile from the Sudanese border to Cairo and trekking 1400km through the eastern Sahara on camels and on foot - an adventure that led to his capture and imprisonment in Libya. With a background in the British Army, Tom has worked extensively in hostile environments and has more recently spent the past 6 years working in West Africa as a Security Manager in the mining sector. 

Since returning to Australia he has found much enjoyment in seeking challenge and a sense of community closer to his home in the coastal paradise of Esperance where he lives with his family, balancing Southpeak with his full-time job of being a parent and running their home based bakery, Bread Local. Tom has a penchant for hiking massive ridgeline traverses and in his down time he can often be found close to home in the in Stirling Range’s. Over the past 2 decades he has completed more than 50 crossings of the Stirling Range Ridge Walk in all conditions – including snow! Enriched by the tight community he inspires and focused on embracing the opportunities and challenges that come his way, Tom’s goals are set on both exploring new horizons and pushing his limits and the limits of those around him.