A 66-year old man B.C. man has been short-listed for National Geographic's 2012 Adventurer of the Year.

Fernie resident Jon Turk and partner Erik Boomer are among 10 finalists for the annual award, which looks to honour adventurers for achievements in exploration, conservation and adventure sports.

In a 104-day trek, the duo paddled, kayaked, skied and hiked 2,400 kilometres around Ellesmere Island in Nunavut — a feat that up until this summer had never been done.

Turk said being nominated for National Geographic's Adventurer of the Year is an honour.

"You do the journeys because you do the journeys and all the media, all the promotion and book sales, are meaningless next to the adventure itself," he said. "But your ego, your financial situation and stature is increased by an honour as great as this."

At a time when most people are quietly enjoying their golden years, Turk was in a kayak in – 20 C, pushing himself to near exhaustion in a quest to tackle new adventures.

"The bar has been raised in the adventure world, people are doing things in every sport they didn't consider 20 years ago, and I thought, 'This is my last chance,'" he said.

That drive is what pushed him to circumnavigate Ellesmere Island — one of the harshest places on earth.

"You don't really have a chance to say, 'What am I doing here?' You're just moving to stay alive," he said. "When you get to camp later at night you say, What the hell am I doing here?'"

A winner will be chosen in early 2012.

Turk said the nomination is a huge feat but he doesn't plan to dwell on it — he's too busy planning a bike trip through Tibet.

With files from the CBC's Bob Keating