[1][2][3] On December 28, 2007, Max also became the first from the Middle East to reach the South Pole on foot from the Antarctic coast,[2] after an unsupported and unassisted journey that lasted 47 days.

He pursued his education overseas in Greece, France, Canada and the United Kingdom, graduating with a Bachelor of Science Honors degree from the London School of Economics (LSE).

[citation needed] Chaya then spent a year as a trainee at Republic National Bank of New York's head office on Fifth Avenue before foregoing post-graduate studies and returning home to take over the family's foreign exchange business.

Despite work and family life, he has kept his fitness level at the very top but has gradually put down his rackets, skates, and various balls to take up more open-air sports such as trail running, biking, backcountry skiing, and climbing.

The three adventurers, Chaya, the Faroese Livar Nysted and the British Stuart Kershaw crossed 5,801 kilometres (3,132 nmi) from Geraldton in the Western Australia and rowed alternatively, during 57 days, 19 hours, 25 minutes and 52 seconds exactly.

They chose the Empty Quarter and rode their fat bikes unassisted from Abu Dhabi UAE on the Arabian Gulf all the way south to Salalah Oman on the Indian Ocean some 1,500 km and 21 days later.

It is a multi-episode documentary that portrays the two-month expedition and the struggles, highs, lows, triumphs and despairs of 11 climbers aspiring to stand on the summit of the world's highest peak.

Chaya, distraught by the man's condition, as evident by the recorded transcripts of his frantic radio calls to basecamp, eventually forced himself to come to terms with the fact that nothing more could have been done for Sharp at that critical stage.

He reached the South Pole – S90 – unassisted and unsupported on December 28, 2007, after setting off from the Hercules Inlet 48 days earlier with his teammates from Canada, Great Britain, Norway and Switzerland.

[15] In spite of controversy concerning mountaineer David Sharp, Chaya is increasingly solicited to endorse and speak on behalf of charities and NGOs across the region and beyond: Lebanon's foremost sportsman and climber, Maxime Chaya was the first person from his country to hoist its flag atop Everest, and he did so en route to ascending the highest mountain on every continent – the Seven Summits – while also skiing to the North and South Poles.

Written in conjunction with New York Times bestselling author Richard Buskin, and illustrated with more than 700 stunning, high-quality, comprehensively captioned photos, 'Steep Dreams: My Journey to the Top of the World' tells the story of Max's adventure-based achievements; of his brushes with death in a wide variety of settings, along with the physical pain, mental anguish, soul-searching, emotional highs and ultimate satisfaction of not only surviving, but also learning to contend with the forces and marvels of nature.