American adventurer completes solo trek across Antarctica
WASHINGTON: An American adventurer has become the first person to complete a solo trek across Antarctica without assistance of any kind.
Colin O’brady, 33, took 54 days to complete the nearly 1,600-kilometre crossing of the frozen continent from north to south. “I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided,” O’brady wrote in an Instagram post after covering the final leg.
“While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced,” he wrote.
“I was locked in a deep flow state the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey. I’m delirious writing this as I haven’t slept yet.” His voyage was tracked by GPS, and live updates of the trip were provided daily on his website colinobrady.com.
O’brady and an Englishman, Army Captain Louis Rudd, 49, set off individually on November 3 from Union Glacier in a bid to be the first to complete a solo, unassisted crossing of Antarctica.
In 1996-97, a Norwegian polar explorer, Borge Ousland, made the first solo crossing of Antarctica but he was wind-aided by kites on his voyage. O’brady and Rudd set off on cross-country skis dragging sleds called pulks which weighed nearly 400 pounds (180 kilograms).
O’brady reached the South Pole on December 12, the 40th day of his journey.
He arrived at the finish point on the Ross Ice Shelf on the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday after covering a total of 921 miles. Rudd is about a day or two behind.
O’brady said he made the decision over breakfast to finish his journey in one continuous push. “As I was boiling water for my morning oatmeal, a seemingly impossible question popped into my head,” O’brady wrote on Instagram. “By the time I was lacing up my boots the impossible plan had become a solidified goal,” he said.