Έπειτα από 54 ημέρες και με πολικό ψύχος, ο Κόλιν Ο’ Μπρέιντι τα κατάφερε. Είναι ο πρώτος άνθρωπος που διέσχισε την Ανταρκτική με σκι, χωρίς βοήθεια.

Ο 33χρονος Αμερικανός νίκησε το πολικό ψύχος και διήνυσε 1482 χιλιόμετρα μέσα σε 54 ημέρες πετυχαίνοντας κάτι που κάποτε εθεωρείτο ανέφικτο, χωρίς εξωτερική βοήθεια. Ο Κολιν Ο’ Μπρέιντι είχε μόνο τον εξοπλισμό τού σκι και έσερνε και ένα έλκηθρο με εφόδια, βάρους 170 κιλών.

 

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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

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Colin O’Brady (@colinobrady) στις

«Το πέτυχα!» έγραψε στο Instagram. «Τραβούσα το έλκηθρό μου πάνω από μια αόρατη γραμμή και έφτασα στον προορισμό μου: ο πρώτος άνθρωπος στην ιστορία που διασχίζει την ήπειρο της Ανταρκτικής από ακτή σε ακτή, και μάλιστα μόνος, χωρίς υποστήριξη και χωρίς βοήθεια» ήταν το μήνυμα του Ο’ Μπρέιντι που κατέγραψε ολόκληρο το ταξίδι στο Instagram.

 

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Day 47: THIS TOO SHALL PASS. After having my best day of the expedition yesterday, I nearly had my worst day today. I went to battle hard with my personal demons today. My anxiety started building last night after listening to a huge wind storm grow outside. The rattling of my tent kept me up and I began to get more and more nervous knowing I had to go out in it. I did my usual morning routine and then stepped into the madness. As expected, it was brutal. Blowing snow, sub zero temps and zero visibility. I packed off and headed out into the whiteout. I just entered a part of the route known as “Sastrugui National Park” aptly named for having the biggest sastrugui on the route. Pretty much the worse place to find yourself not being able to see where you are going. Due to the massive sastrugi, it’s also the one stretch where no plane can land so you are in dire straights if an emergency occurs. That really started playing on my mind after I fell hard 5 times in the first hour. What if I broke a bone or a ski? Maybe I should stop? I bargained with myself and finally decided I had to set my tent back up, less than two hours into the day. I told myself in my tent if I wanted to keep going that I could put on my long skins for better grip on the uneven surface and then continue. But I knew the effort it would take to put up the tent in a storm, it’s unlikely I was going any further. I fought to get the tent up, got inside with my skis, skins and stove, and put on my long skins. It was now decision time. Go back out? The voice in my head told me to stop, wait out the storm, rest. But the other voice told me I needed to keep moving forward or I’ll run out of food. My mind was ripping me apart. I closed my eyes and decided to meditate for a couple minutes repeating my favorite mantra: “This too shall pass.” One way or another I’d find my way out of this. Calmed and with renewed resolve I got back outside, fought to get my tent down and packed and continued onward. The storm outside never got any better, in fact it got progressively worse. However I managed to calm the storm in my mind and knock out 21.5 miles today. A great day all things considered.

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Colin O’Brady (@colinobrady) στις

Ο 33χρονος Αμερικανός, που είχε δώσει στη αποστολή του τον τίτλο «Η αδύνατη πρώτη φορά», περιέγραφε λεπτομερώς την περιπέτειά του από τη στιγμή που ξεκίνησε, στις 3 Νοεμβρίου. Έπρεπε να σέρνει το έλκηθρο με 170 κιλά εξοπλισμού -ακόμη και σε ανηφόρες και λόφους που είχαν δημιουργηθεί από τους ισχυρούς ανέμους.

 

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Day 38: THE NEXT GENERATION. I am humbled and proud that 30,000 school kids on six continents are now engaged with The Impossible First project as part of a collaboration with my non-profit Beyond 7/2 and @daciapjones who is one of the most amazing educators in America. Teachers have developed curriculum around my expedition and students are integrating data from my journey to learn about the science of weather, climate, math, history, geography, fitness, health etc. One of my greatest joys is sharing my expeditions with the next generation in hopes of inspiring them to set goals, live active and healthy lives and pursue their biggest dreams. Hopefully this project shows the importance of protecting our planet and that nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it. Really looking forward to doing in school visits again when I’m back home! Today, I had another parahelion (circle rainbow) glistening overhead. It was stunning. I’ve only ever seen this phenemnon in Antarctica and I’m curious why it happens. Perhaps one of the students can look it up and let me know? Less than 20 miles to the South Pole now!! #TheImpossibleFirst #BePossible

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Colin O’Brady (@colinobrady) στις

Το 2016 ο Βρετανός Χένρι Γουόρσλι που επιχείρησε κάτι ανάλογο δεν κατάφερε να επιζήσει. Ο 55χρονος Βρετανός αναγκάστηκε να εγκαταλείψει την προσπάθεια μόλις 48 χιλιόμετρα πριν από τον τερματισμό και να καλέσει για βοήθεια. Λίγο αργότερα απεβίωσε στο νοσοκομείο όπου νοσηλευόταν.