Man Makes History With Unaided Solo Trek Across Antarctica

An American explorer named Colin O’Brady has just made history with the first unsupported and solo crossing of the continent of Antarctica, according to National Geographic. The outlet reports O’Brady skied a stunning 932 miles while pulling a 300-pound sled for 54 days to do it; the GPS tracker on his website shows he reached the finish line just before 1 p.m. EST on December 26.

National Geographic notes the many dangers of skiing across the windiest, coldest, and most remote continent on the planet.

“Deadly crevasses lurk in the ice and marrow-freezing temperatures can quickly drain the life from even the fittest humans,” Aaron Teasdale writes. O’Brady made a final and non-stop 80-mile push after months of enduring, which Teasdale calls “unthinkable.” And how did he do it?

“I don’t know, something overcame me,” O’Brady told the New York Times in a telephone interview. “I just felt locked in for the last 32 hours, like a deep flow state. I didn’t listen to any music — just locked in, like I’m going until I’m done. It was profound, it was beautiful, and it was an amazing way to finish up the project.”

We literally can’t imagine. Take a look at O’Brady’s celebration post below.

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Day 54: FINISH LINE!!! I did it! The Impossible First ✅. 32 hours and 30 minutes after leaving my last camp early Christmas morning, I covered the remaining ~80 miles in one continuous “Antarctica Ultramarathon” push to the finish line. The wooden post in the background of this picture marks the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctica’s land mass ends and the sea ice begins. As I pulled my sled over this invisible line, I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided. 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. 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. There is so much to process and integrate and there will be many more posts to acknowledge the incredible group of people who supported this project. But for now, I want to simply recognize my #1 who I, of course, called immediately upon finishing. I burst into tears making this call. I was never alone out there. @jennabesaw you walked every step with me and guided me with your courage and strength. WE DID IT!! We turned our dream into reality and proved that The Impossible First is indeed possible. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela. #TheImpossibleFirst #BePossible

A post shared by Colin O’Brady (@colinobrady) on Dec 26, 2018 at 12:55pm PST