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Aged 16, Jade Hameister is the youngest person ever to complete the ‘polar hat-trick’.
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AFTER 37 DAYS and 600km of dragging a 100kg sled through ice, snow and wind, on 10 January, Jade Hameister skied up to the South Pole – and into the history books.
She now holds the record for being the youngest person to complete the polar hat-trick of skiing to the North Pole, the South Pole and across Greenland.
As the Australian Geographic Society’s Young Adventurer of the Year in 2016, Jade’s record-breaking expeditions have been sponsored by the Society ever since.
“I am very proud to be associated with the Australian Geographic Society,” she says. “All Australians are very privileged to have such an amazing organisation shining a light on two key areas of what it means to be an Aussie – care for our precious environment and true adventure and exploration. So many young people grow up in urban city environments and never get to experience nature firsthand. By sharing these stories, AG is providing one way for Australians to connect with our environment and hopefully, as a result, care more for it.”
The first couple of weeks back home were tough for Jade, getting back into the swing of normal life and returning to school, but she was glad to be reunited with her mum and brother. (Her dad Paul accompanied her to Antarctica.)
The next couple of years will be mainly focused on completing years 11 and 12, with some smaller adventures here and there. “It will be hard sitting in a classroom when I’ve spent so much time recently out in such beautiful natural environments doing really physical adventures, but it’s only two years of my life,” Jade says.