Antarctica station. Young Norwegian woman makes history as she skis solo to South Pole.
Credit: Shutterstock, 2j architecture
A 21-year-old Norwegian woman has smashed a record that has stood for decades, becoming the youngest person to reach the South Pole on skis- solo and unassisted. Ms Karen Kylleso has achieved the unthinkable, covering a gruelling 702 miles in just under 54 days, all on her own.
The brave adventurer took the world by storm by achieving the landmark 114 years after legendary Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen first set foot on the South Pole in 1911.
Kylleso, born on May 9, 2003, shared images of her triumph on Instagram, showing her standing triumphantly at the South Pole. She has officially dethroned Frenchman Pierre Hedan, who held the record for being the youngest person to reach the South Pole solo and unassisted – until now. Hedan, who achieved the feat at 26, had held that title for a mere year before Kylleso came along and stole the spotlight.
The pint-sized Norwegian powerhouse, standing at just 5 feet tall and weighing 106 pounds, pulled a sledge weighing a staggering 100 kilos – which is twice her body weight – across the unforgiving Antarctic terrain.
But the journey wasn’t easy. In a pre-expedition interview with Shackleton Adventure Company, Kylleso admitted that putting on weight had been one of the toughest parts of the journey. “Since I’m smaller than the average male doing this, I need extra weight and strength to pull the same load,” she explained. And it worked – she gained 10% in body weight before embarking on the mission of a lifetime.
Kylleso arrived late in the night in temperatures of a bone-chilling -25°C (-13°F), but she was undeterred. The young adventurer already has a taste for polar feats, having become the youngest person to cross Greenland on skis at just 15 years old. The South Pole was always her next big challenge. “She had barely even arrived in Greenland before she asked me: ‘Do you think I can also go to the South Pole?’” recalled her mentor, Norwegian adventurer Lars Ebbesen.
Kylleso’s remarkable feat has earned her high praise from the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Store, who hailed her as a true inspiration, following in the footsteps of Norway’s polar heroes.
From Greenland to the South Pole, she’s certainly shown that no icy mountain is too steep for this young adventurer. Now, who’s up for the next big challenge?
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