Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, January 4
British-born Sikh Army officer Preet Chandi has become the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition to the South Pole.
Chandi, who has spent the past few months skiing solo and unsupported across Antarctica, announced on January 3 that she’d completed the 700 mile trek in 40 days, reports CNN.
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“Feeling so many emotions right now,” said Chandi, via her blog.
Before departing on her trip in November 2021, 32-year-old Chandi told CNN she hoped her adventure would inspire others to push their boundaries and defy cultural norms.
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It’s a sentiment Chandi reiterated in her finish line blog post.
“The expedition was always about so much more than me,” reads her January 3 update.
“I want to encourage people to push their boundaries and to believe in themselves, and I want you to be able to do it without being labeled a rebel.”
She began her trip on November 7, 2021, flying to Chile and then embarking from Antarctica’s Hercules Inlet.
Along the way, she hauled a sled weighing 90 kilograms (nearly 200 pounds) holding kit, fuel and food to last for roughly 45 days.
Chandi, who adopted the nickname “Polar Preet” for her blog and fundraising efforts, spent two and a half years preparing for the grueling expedition.
She underwent crevasse training in the French Alps, trekked across Iceland’s Langjouml;kull Glacier and endured 27 days on the ice cap in Greenland — not to mention the months she spent dragging a heavy tire behind her back home in England, to simulate pulling a sled.
Over the course of her trip, Chandi’s only contact with the outside world was via a daily check-in with her support team, who posted updates on her blog and Instagram.
Her first post was dedicated to her late grandfather.
British Sikh Army officer makes history with solo climb to South Pole, dedicates her first post to late grandfather
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