First female to ski solo across Antarctica

Felicity Aston (UK) became the first woman to ski solo across Antarctica when she arrived at the Hercules Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf on Monday 23 January 2012 after a 1,744-km (1,084-mile) journey lasting 59 days. She made the trip from the Ross Ice Shelf – with re-supplies – while pulling two sledges and without kites or any other aids to propulsion.

Her journey began at the Ross Ice Shelf and took her up the Leverett glacier, across the Transantarctic mountains and on to the vast central plateau of Antarctica. She travelled on Nordic cross-country skis dragging 85 kg of supplies in temperatures as low as -40°C (-40°F). She reached the South Pole on 20 December 2011. Aston used the South Pole Overland Traverse (SPoT) route, which is flagged and graded with each new season. It runs from McMurdo Station across the Ross Ice Shelf, up the Leverett Glacier and across the plateau to the South Pole. As the route is marked, any journeys that utilize it are classified as "supported" according to the Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme (PECS).