Youngest female to ski solo across Antarctica

Felicity Aston (UK, b. 7 October 1977) was aged 34 years 108 days when she arrived at the Hercules Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf on 23 January 2012, completing her ski crossing of Antarctica. Her 1,744-km (1,084-mile) journey from the Ross Ice Shelf had lasted 59 days. Aston made the trip – with resupplies – while pulling two sledges and without kites or any other aids to propulsion, although part of the route included the South Pole Overland Traverse (SPoT) ice road.

Aston is the also the first person to ski solo across the Antarctic continent. 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 (187 lb) 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).

The youngest male to ski solo across Antarctica is Colin O’Brady (USA, b. 16 March 1985), who was aged 33 years 285 days when he arrived at the Leverett Glacier on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf on 26 December 2018. O’Brady had started out from the Union Glacier on 3 November 2018, pulling a sled weighing around 180 kg (400 lb), packed with supplies and equipment, and reached the South Pole on 12 December 2018, before continuing to the Ross Ice Shelf. His 1,499-km (932-mile) journey lasted 53 days, and like Aston made use of the SPoT ice road, and so is not deemed unsupported.