LONDON:A British Army officer, who already holds two world records for trekking in Antarctica, has now skied solo to the South Pole faster than any other woman.
Preet Chandi, also known as “Polar Preet”, claims to have broken a third world record by skiing 1,130km (702 miles) of ice in 31 days, 13 hours and 19 minutes. She is waiting for the Guinness World Records team to verify her feat.
“I’m very happy – but exhausted,” said Capt Chandi, from Derby.
She started her journey from Hercules Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf on 26 November and reached the South Pole on 28 December at 02:24 GMT.
She skied for 12 to 13 hours a day, dragging a 75kg sled with all her supplies.She said this expedition was different from her previous ones. “I pushed myself to my limits on my last expedition. This was a speed attempt.
“I knew I could handle the ice well after my last expedition. That gave me the confidence to face this challenge.
“Capt Chandi, from Sinfin in Derby, had trekked from the Hercules Inlet to the Reedy Glacier in Antarctica, between 13 November 2022 and 23 January 2023.She broke the world record for the longest polar ski expedition by a woman and the overall record.
She had also made history by trekking to the South Pole in 2021.
She said her latest expedition was not easy. “It was not a sprint, but I had to balance my effort and time every day.
“If I skied too long or too fast, I would burn out. If I skied too slow or too short, I would miss the record,” she said.
“Antarctica is a wonderful place and I feel honoured to be here. It is not a place you can conquer, it is a place you respect and hope it lets you pass.
“I’m grateful it let me pass.”I focused on what I could control. I couldn’t control the conditions – the scorching sun, the whiteouts, the -30C temperatures – but I could control how I reacted to them. I took it one step at a time.”Capt Chandi is taking a break from her military career. She works as a physiotherapist at a facility in Buckinghamshire, where she helps injured soldiers and officers recover.
