A solo expedition to South Pole, overcoming the tough terrains of Antarctica in 40 days. History has been created by Captain Harpreet Chandi, the first woman of colour to achieve such a marvellous feat.
As per the latest reports, Captain Chandi completed the trek of 700 miles carrying a 90 kg weight sledge along with her gear, food and fuel.
Snippets of the daredevil journey
Captain Chandi started on her journey in November 2021 from Chile. She flew to Chile and embarked on the trek all by herself. The food and fuel she carried with her was supposed to last for almost 45 days. With the temperatures dropping to -50 degrees celsius, and wind being chilly, one can imagine how tough the trek was.
Throughout the journey, she was not in contact with the outside world. Only she was able to check with her support team. The team posted about her journey updates in her blog and her Instagram page. She is popularly known by the nickname "Polar Preet" in her blog.
In each of her posts and blog, she dedicated to all the people who supported her in her journey. Among them was her late grandfather and close friends.
On the 17th day of her trek, she had to face poor visibility. She stated in her blog,"I couldn’t see anything in front of me. It requires a lot more concentration staring at my compass all day, so pretty tired today. I think travelling in a whiteout is more mentally draining too. But on the bright side, I’m one day closer to the south pole!"
On the 39th day of her trek, she wrote on her blog, “It has been a long few days but I’m doing well and I’m super close now as well. So, the weather can change so quickly here, it was so cold yesterday, I think about minus 45 degrees with wind chill and then in the afternoon there was hardly any wind at all which was amazing.”
And finally on the 40th day of her trek, she mentioned triumphantly as the final entry in her blog, “Day 40 – Finished. Preet has just made history becoming the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition in Antarctica".
Rigorous training preparation for the expedition
Captain Chandi had underwent a rigorous training for two and a half years before starting off her expedition. Trekking across Iceland’s Langjökull Glacier, crevasse training in the French Alps and spending gruesome 27 days on the ice cap of Greenland were some of the trainings undertaken by her.
Besides, she used to drag a heavy tyre for months as a preparation to pull a sledge along the ice track. Earlier, she has been part of ultra-marathon events like a 27-day expedition on Greenland’s ice cap and Marathon des Sables across the Sahara desert.
The Inspiration behind the trek
When enquired about her inspiration behind venturing into this daredevil expedition, Captain Chandi stressed on her eagerness to know about the continent. She knew it was tough, yet she wanted to set an example that "nothing is impossible".
She expects that her journey will inspire the future generations for overcoming the boundaries and work on to win the tough challenges ahead. As explained in her blog, "Hopefully doing something that pushes me so far out of my comfort zone will inspire others to do believe in themselves and push their boundaries. There are only a few female adventurers that have completed a solo, unsupported trek on this continent. It is time to add some more names, diversity and to make history".
She also stated that, "By promoting and completing this challenge, it allows me to act as a role model to young people, women and those from ethnic backgrounds".
It's her wish to create an adventure grant which will be utilised to aid in funding unique expeditions for women. Her daring feat and motivational words are truly a potential stimulus for the youth in pursuing such challenging acts in future.
Ready to travel for free? Earn credits and redeem them on Tripoto’s weekend getaways, hotel stays and vacation packages!
Be a part of the largest online community of travellers on Tripoto’s Facebook page!
