Bryony Balen becomes the youngest Briton to ski to the South Pole
Last updated 1/31/2012 8:56:18 AM
Bryony Balen becomes the youngest Briton to ski to the South Pole
A twenty-year-old student has become the youngest Briton to ski to the South Pole.
Bryony Balen, from Melbourne in Derbyshire, skied 705 miles, over 1100km, from the coast to the pole, pulling a sled and with a bag weighing 60kg on her back containing food, equipment and a tent.
The journey took her across the planet's coldest continent, where she faced temperatures reaching as low as -45°C (-49°F) and the daily struggle of high winds, white-outs, and an uphill trek.
In the last two days of the expedition Newcastle University student Bryony and her team trekked 67km, a huge push to get there a bit earlier than planned.
Bryony tweeted: "Made it to the South Pole! Now a record breaker! I'm very tired and very happy... it took 56 days, a day less than expected."
The original idea for the trek stemmed from a pact she made with a climbing partner several years ago, but her resolve was strengthened after meeting the current youngest Briton to reach the South Pole, Andrew Cooney.
When he came to talk to her scout group about tackling the challenge at the age of 23, she asked him what barriers women faced when tackling a similar expedition. "He basically said it's too hard for women so don't try, and that was like a red rag to a bull," said Bryony. "I just started thinking ‘it's there, why not go for it?' I made a pact a few years ago with a climbing partner that he would go to the North Pole and I would head to the South and then I would guide him to the South Pole afterwards. It's that mad kind of idea you have while hiking at 4am to keep you going but in this case, the thought didn't go away."