Historic Unsupported Solo Ski Trip to South Pole Completed by Para-Athlete

The former GB Para-Athlete overcomes the after-effects of his stroke and completes the journey without the use of his left foot.

Jonny Huntington stands next to the Ceremonial South Pole marker upon completion of the 566 mile trek / Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions

On January 6 at 5 p.m. (GMT) former GB Para-Athlete and stroke survivor, Jonny Huntington achieved the greatest feat of his life thus far: skiing solo and unsupported to the South Pole. The 38-year-old from Devon, England started his journey trekking through the Antarctic Tundra on November 21, 2024 and finally took his last ice laden steps to the South Pole on Monday.

For most athletes, the expedition takes about 40-50 days. Huntington made it from the coast of the landmass to the South Pole in an impressive 46 days, 14 hours and 15 minutes. Not only did he do it at an above average pace, he completed the whole trek without the use of his left foot.

Before his stroke ten years ago, Huntington was an Army officer. At 28, the stroke left Huntington paralyzed on his left side from the neck down. Years of rehabilitation gave him another chance to walk, but even then, movement is significantly restricted on the left side. It was during his recovery that Huntington became a member of the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team (AFPST), and since then his love for skiing has only grown.

By reaching the bottom of the world, the 38-year-old from Britain became the first ever person with a disability to do so without support, making history.

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The challenge of skiing to the South Pole was first overcome in 1911 by a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen. Since then, only around 300 people have successfully reached the geographical South Pole, and an even slimmer 52 people have made a skiing expedition unsupported.

Making it to the South Pole 'unsupported' means that participants omit any outside assistance such as air-resupply of food, fuel or replacement equipment. This self reliance requires a large amount of training and stamina as the trek is quite lengthy at 566 miles. This means that the skier from Britain would need to travel all 566 miles with the entirety of his food and supplies packed on a sled behind him.

The intense training took Mr. Huntington five years, and every minute of conditioning counts when it comes to this kind of pilgramage. The skier would need to prepare to trudge across the tundra in 24-hour sunlight in freezing temperatures, through a variety of terrains including skiing across flatlands, trudging through soft snow, and climbing over huge ice formations called sastrugi. In addition to this, Huntington would have to cover between 11 and 14 miles per day all the while dragging 242 pounds of equipment on a sled behind him.

According to an article on MSN, upon arrival at the South Pole, Huntington told the PA news agency through a satellite phone: "It's been a whirlwind since getting here, it's pretty emotional. My right leg is pretty sore, which I think is probably reasonable, because it's done most of the work."

He continued to explain how he kept his chin up when the going got tough. "I'm just a normal bloke from South Devon," he said. "There is no magic formula and there's nothing specal about me to enable me to have done what I've done. When things were really tough, I just refused to stop putting one foot in front of the other."

The triumph of reaching the South Pole was also made extra meaninful as it was partly meant to raise money for four charities: Invictus Games Foundation, Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team, Team Forces and The Adaptive Grand Slam Foundation.

"My hope is that by completing the expedition, I have shown that disability does not mean inability."

- Jonny Huntington