The British Mollie Hughes sets a world record: As the youngest person, she manages a solo ski expedition from the Antarctic coast to the geographic South Pole.
After 58 days and a total of 650 hours on skis, the British Mollie Hughes reached the South Pole on her solo expedition on January 10, 2020 at 8:50 a.m. Chilean time. Alone, she struggled for days through complete white outs, defying snowstorms and temperatures of minus 45 degrees.
She is the youngest woman who has ever managed to ski from the Antarctic coast to the southernmost point on earth. The 29-year-old English woman set her second world record: in 2017 she was the youngest person to climb Mount Everest from the north and south sides.
Hughes started her world record expedition on November 13, 2019 at the Hercules Inlet in western Antarctica and reached the geographic south pole of the earth after 1300 kilometers.
Originally, she had hoped to be there on New Year's Day 2020, but adverse weather conditions thwarted the schedule. Complete white out, wind speeds of 55 knots and temperatures of minus 45 degrees Celsius made it impossible to move forward for eight days in a row.
With exceptional mental and physical strength, Hughes nevertheless continued her expedition. 10 to 12 hours a day, she pulled her 105-pound sled through the snow and ice desert. For this she needed around 4500 kcal per day (twice as much as normal) and still lost 15 kg of body weight.
Hughes recovers at the South Pole research station before flying back to Edinburgh via Punta Arenas, Chile, where she is expected on January 22.
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Credits: Pictures Gore-Tex