ADVENTURESFASTEST SOLO JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH POLE
(FEMALE, UNSUPPORTED AND UNASSISTED)
Johanna Davidsson (SWE) skied her way to the Geographic
South Pole from the Hercules Inlet at the edge of the Antarctic
continent in 38 days 23 hr 5 min from 15 Nov to 24 Dec
- She did so without using kites and without resupplies,
covering a straight-line distance of 1,130 km (702 mi).
Davidsson kited back to Hercules Inlet in 12 days. By the end
of her journey, she had covered some 2,270 km (1,410 mi).
FASTEST TREK
TO THE SOUTH POLE
(VEHICLE-ASSISTED)
On 24 Dec 2013, Parker
Liautaud (FRA/USA) and
Doug Stoup (USA) reached
the South Pole after skiing
563.3 km (349 mi) with
sleds from the Ross Ice
Shelf. The journey took
18 days 4 hr 43 min. They
walked about 30 km (18 mi)
a day, despite Liautaud
suffering from altitude
sickness. The trek also
provided the opportunity
to carry out research into
climate change.FIRST SIBLINGS TO CLIMB THE SEVEN SUMMITS
AND SKI THE POLAR LAST DEGREES
Twin sisters Tashi and Nungshi Malik (IND, b. 21 Jun 1991)
completed the Seven Summits (the highest peak on each
continent) according to the Carstensz list and skied the
last degree of the South and North poles between 2 Feb
2012 and 21 Apr 2015. The term “last degree” refers to the
distance between the 89th- and 90th-degree latitudes
at the poles – approximately 111 km (69 mi).FASTEST TIME TO CLIMB THE SEVEN SUMMITS
AND SKI THE POLAR LAST DEGREES (MALE)
Colin O’Brady (USA) climbed all of the Seven Summits, including
Carstensz Pyramid, and skied the polar last degrees (see above) in
138 days 5 hr 5 min. He embarked on his monumental adventure on
10 Jan 2016 in the South Pole, and completed it when he reached
the summit of Denali in Alaska, USA, on 27 May 2016.MOST EXPEDITIONS TO THE SOUTH POLE BY AN INDIVIDUAL
Hannah McKeand (UK) made six expeditions to the South Pole between 4 Nov 2004 and
9 Jan 2013. The journey involves covering some 600–700 mi (965–1,126 km) – depending on
the route – and 40–50 days across one of the harshest environments on the planet.
The most polar expeditions completed by an individual is eight, by Richard Weber (CAN).
He reached the Geographic North Pole from the coast six times between 2 May 1986 and 14 Apr
2010, and the Geographic South Pole twice from the coast on 7 Jan 2009 and 29 Dec 2011.FIRST WOMAN TO REACH THE NORTH POLE
Ann Bancroft (USA) reached the North Pole on 2 May 1986,
with five other team members. They used dog sleds and had
left Drep Camp on Ellesmere Island, Canada, on 8 Mar.
Bancroft is shown above (front) with Liv Arnesen (NOR),
the first woman to complete a journey to the South Pole
solo, unsupported and unassisted. Arnesen trekked solo
from the Hercules Inlet on 4 Nov 1994, arriving at the pole
50 days later, on 24 Dec.