The 33-year-old British explorer Felicity Aston has at last set off on her epic and historic voyage, as she hopes to become the first woman to cross the frozen continent alone. With no more than a pair of skis, rather a lot of outdoor clothing and her supplies, Aston is attempting a journey of over 1,000 miles, which is expected to take around 70 days. After waiting in her base camp for the weather to improve, the conditions have finally relented, allowing the voyage to begin. Aston announced via her Twitter feed that the epic journey had begun, “having breakfast looking at the mountains. The quiet will take some getting used to. With the first step of my journey, I start the long road home.”
Historic Trek
If she completes the trek, Aston will become the first person to have crossed the continent using muscle power alone, in doing so setting the record for the longest solo polar expedition carried out by a female explorer. In 1997, Norwegian explorer Boerge Ousland took 64 days to cross Antarctica, but harnessed the power of the wind when it blew in his favour using a large parachute style sail.
Heading for the Transantarctic Mountains
Aston’s first challenge on her long journey will be to tackle the Transantarctic Mountains. This will lead her onto the continent’s central plateau. Aston is an experienced adventurer, having previously explored the Canadian Arctic, and crossing the Greenland ice sheet, but this is by far her largest and toughest challenge yet.
