British polar explorer reveals how her hardest expedition was also the best one

Daunting challenges can lead to the most profound learning experiences, and that’s a truth multiple-title record holder Preet Chandi knows well.

Born in 1989 in Derby, UK, this trailblazing British explorer earned the nickname 'Polar Preet' after she confronted the frozen lands of the South Pole entirely alone.

Motivated by an insatiable hunger for adventures that brought her to the most remote corners of the world and earned her four Guinness World Record titles, becoming the first-ever Asian female to complete a solo ski expedition to the South Pole, Preet’s love for a good challenge is always matched by her efforts to empower others.

Preet's will to teach future generations that they can be anything they set their minds to has earned the inspiring young woman a place among the Guinness World Records ICONS: record holders who embody a positive change, and have shaped the world with their outstanding achievements.

Breaking Polar Records

A lifelong adventure enthusiast, Preet served as a physiotherapist in the British Army for 16 years: she was deployed to Nepal, Kenya, and South Sudan before setting her sights on Antarctica.

In 2019, she began preparing for her first polar expedition. 

Two years of intense training in Norway and Greenland led to her historic solo ski journey across the frozen continent - and to her first world record, becoming the first Asian female to complete such a feat. 

To this day, across three Polar expeditions, Preet has collected several records:

• She became the first-ever Asian female to complete a solo ski expedition to the South Pole
• Between 13 November 2022 and 23 January 2023, during her second expedition, she completed the longest solo unsupported one-way polar ski journey by a female. She travelled from the Hercules Inlet to the Reedy Glacier over 70 days and 16 hours
• That was also the overall longest solo unsupported one-way polar ski journey
• Her third expedition was the fastest solo, unsupported ski journey to the South Pole (female) - from the Hercules Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf in 31 days 13 hours 19 minutes. She covered about 1,130 km (702 mi) between 26 November and 28 December 2023

Reflecting on her latest feat across Antarctica, Preet said: “This last trip was probably one of the smoothest ones. The trip I did before was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

Although Preet managed to break two records during that second trip, the record-holder didn’t reach her initial goal due to bad weather conditions: she was seeking to cross the Antarctic continent from coast to coast but had to end the journey before that, stopping about 160 kilometres (100 miles) inland.

"Mentally, it was tough knowing I didn't have enough time to make the crossing, but the expedition was about pushing my boundaries and inspiring others to do the same, so how could I not continue?" She said after the attempt.

"I'm disappointed I ran out of time to make the crossing of Antarctica, but I did everything I could. I didn't take a day off and pushed as hard as possible every day."

The British explorer confesses that she will forever remember that trip, as it tested her limits in unimaginable ways, leaving her “feeling broken.”

Looking back, Preet defines that second trip as “immense” and “extremely raw”. 

She slept less and less to try and keep up with her schedule, exhausting herself while battling physical discomforts.

From the very first weeks, she suffered from neck pain from dragging a heavy pulk (a specific kind of manually-pulled sled used to transport equipment).

Then, around the 70th day of crossing, she noticed a "polar thigh" injury — a wound on her calf that first appeared as a bruise and later developed into a scab.

The ulcerated wound commonly appears on the thigh (even if Preet's injury developed it on her calf) and is a result of exposure to extreme weather and friction, despite the three layers of thermal clothes that separated Preet from the frigid Polar winds. Preet daily dressed and disinfected the wound, and affectionately named it “Elsa”.

Adding to the struggle, Preet had to save her painkillers.

Incredibly, she saved the last tablet in her left pocket for the final 14 days. 

Looking back, Preet confessed that she has vivid memories of that gruesome trip.

"If I think about the last trip, in my mind it feels like it was forever ago whereas that second one is so vivid," she says, comparing her third record-breaking expedition to the second one. 

"There are points of that trip that are deeply rooted within me because it was very emotional: it was the worst because I didn’t enjoy a single day, but it was also my best because that’s the trip I can draw from. About that trip, I think I'll take the good and the bad with me for many years to come."

These challenges taught her harsh but invaluable lessons, and shaped her latest record-breaking journey.

Training for the third expedition

Following rehabilitation and surgery at Derby University Hospital due to the polar thigh injury she suffered on her second trip, Preet set herself the goal of going back to the South Pole.

This time, however, things would be different.

"I think I probably trained a little bit smarter,” she confesses.

When she realized she wanted to tackle another expedition, she didn’t have much time to prepare: she finessed her skiing techniques during a week-long session in Norway, talking with her team about all the tips and little changes that would help her on the ice.

“Changing a few little things by 1% can make a difference,” Preet explains, looking back at that training session. “If I can be just even a tiny bit more efficient, how much energy does that save me?” 

But the biggest change that Preet brought with her on the ice was a different mentality — an invisible shift that made the biggest difference.

While on her third trip, she slept, rested and listened to herself.

She didn’t push herself on the good days, prioritizing long-term efficiency over pushing her body to the limit every day: "It was still hard, but I wasn't doing the crazy hours I was doing on the second trip," she explains.

"I didn’t go to the same dark places."

The record holder recalls that not pushing herself too hard was especially difficult on her good days, when she felt like she could go further and do more than her schedule required.

However, she didn't burn herself out, which paid off both mentally and physically. 

An inspiring ICON

As a woman proving her worth in the male-led universe of polar expeditions, Preet strives to encourage young girls and uplift the voices of her fellow female explorers.

From her first record-breaking expedition, the Derby resident has always sought to inspire others to chase their dreams: today she uses her platforms to spread a positive message, encouraging everyone, especially little girls, to believe in themselves and their strength. 

“This is bigger than me,” she said, “I want to inspire people to believe in themselves.”

“I’ve had people say, 'You don’t look like a polar explorer'. I wanted to show that we can look like anything.”

But her second trip also empowered her to embrace failure as a learning experience: “It's okay to fail,” she says. “We don't have to have negative connotations to that word.”

The record holder stresses that she has learned more from her failures than anything else, and those lessons helped her succeed. 

“I just want people to know that they're not alone,” she carries on.

“It is okay to feel whatever they're feeling, and it's okay to go through those emotions. It's okay to learn.” 

Alone on the Ice: a "solo" expedition explained

Preet’s expeditions are solo and unsupported, meaning that the record holder is facing the challenge alone.

Talking us through the reality of what it means to face a solo expedition, the ICON explains that she periodically checks in with her loved ones at home at scheduled times, and also emphasizes the importance of teamwork in preparing for her expeditions.

However, while carrying everything she needs on a heavy sled, she faces the extreme Antarctic conditions entirely alone.

The equipment she has to carry through the ice includes food, fuel, and her tent: “It’s basically your home,” Preet explains. 

“You're carrying your home with you.” 

However, while facing the ruthlessness of the South Pole, Preet has found ways to carry a little piece of home with her at all times. 

Before each expedition, she also asks friends and family to record voice notes, which she downloads and listens to during particularly challenging moments. 

These precious notes – like the one shared by her 12-year-old niece –  give the record holder a sense of home even in the vast emptiness of Antarctica.

Looking Ahead

Balancing her travels with a role as a British Army captain was no small feat. 

“Trust me, it’s not been easy,” she admitted. 

There are plenty of technical aspects that come with a polar expedition — from the logistics to the sponsorships to face the exorbitant costs, as well as the time required by the training and the trip itself — and Preet juggled it all with her full-time job, taking unpaid leave to prepare for the adventures.

“The last few years have been tough, my full-time role is in the Army and I often felt as though I had two jobs whilst training for the expeditions,” she writes in her blog.

Through a blog post dated October 2024 (fittingly named "The end of an era") Preet announced her decision to resign from her role in the Army after 16 years of service, citing the difficulty of managing both worlds.

When looking at the future, the Guinness World Records ICON sees a horizon full of new ceilings to shatter and boundaries to break.

"I want my 12-year-old niece to grow up without boundaries, knowing the possibilities of what you can achieve in life are endless," she writes on her website.

Her drive to push boundaries and challenge what is considered 'the norm' makes Preet a record-breaker in every sense of the word: not only with her outstanding actions but, also, through the power of her messages.

What is sure is that, as she recently returned to the South Pole, the British explorer is ready to embrace new adventures with her signature positivity: welcoming the big challenges that will take her across the world, and the smaller ones that can be just as exciting. 

“It may not be necessarily record-breaking, but I think adventure is good for the soul,” she says.