Kristin Harila has bowed out of her solo, unsupported, 1,130km Hercules Inlet to South Pole ski expedition, citing back pain from an injury incurred early in her attempt.
“Choosing to end the expedition after 20 days was a very difficult decision. Part of me wants to continue this adventure. The other part of me is trying to listen to the advice of doctors and think long-term,” the skier and mountaineer posted on her website.
Harila posted text updates infrequently during her expedition, but she mentioned back pain several times in the early going. Soon, she was taking painkillers daily. Her last update didn’t mention her injury, and she’d been skiing increasingly hefty daily distances, leading to hope that her injury had cleared.
In the week before she pulled the plug, she was averaging 48km per day. According to her website, Harila recently ran out of painkillers, a contributing factor to her decision to end the journey.
A speed record attempt?
Harila’s background is in cross-country skiing, though she is best known for climbing the world’s 14 highest peaks in a whirlwind 92 days in 2023, guided by Tenjen Sherpa. Tenjen died in an avalanche a few weeks after completing the effort with Harila.
Harila never stated she was trying to break Preet Chandi’s 2023 Hercules Inlet to South Pole women’s speed record of 31 days, 13 hours, 19 minutes. But it seemed obvious to seasoned polar expedition observers that she had her eyes on the prize. Harila skied about 700km over her 20 days on the ice, averaging 35km daily. That’s just under Chandi’s daily average of 36km.
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Had Harila maintained +45km days in the final run to the Pole — as was her plan — she’d likely have snagged the record.
“The silver lining is that I can cheer for all the other Norwegians, especially the incredibly strong women trekking solo to the South Pole this season,” Harila wrote. “I’m crossing my fingers for Hege Victoria and for Karen [Kylleso], who is only 22 years old and doing an amazing job.”
Victoria has publicly announced her intention to break Chandi’s record and is currently skiing towards the Pole on the Hercules Inlet route. However, she keeps her daily distances and overall progress tightly under wraps.
Kylleso is on a solo, unsupported expedition along the same route. She is skiing strongly but is not attempting a speed record.
“I’m also very impressed by Arene-Kristian,” Harila continued, referring to the Norwegian skier currently on track to beat Frenchman Vincent Colliard’s men’s speed record from last season. To do so, Teigland will need to reach the pole in under 22 days, 6 hours, and 8 minutes.
