Colin O’Brady flies back to Union Glacier camp today, ending his Antarctic crossing attempt after 100 days and with roughly 40% of his total distance remaining.
O’Brady started from the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf last November, aiming to ski across Antarctica via the South Pole. He planned to finish at the tip of Berkner Island on the edge of the Ronne Ice Shelf, a total distance of over 2,800km.
Demanding conditions
Early on, soft snow and whiteouts, combined with a sled loaded with at least 100 days of supplies, forced him to double carry on the Ross Ice Shelf. A double carry involved shuttling half of his gear forward, then returning to pick up the rest. This meant he had to cover 15km for every 5km of progress.
O’Brady soldiered on through extremely demanding conditions, reporting on November 28 (day 16 of his expedition) that he could finally start single carrying.
“Humbly, I think very few people could pull this weight in these conditions, yet I’m out here every day making progress,” O’Brady wrote on social media.
By the time he began his ascent of the Reedy Glacier, he was already well behind schedule. Snow conditions had improved, but the glacier was dangerously crevassed: “Everything is high consequence here. I crossed over 1,000 crevasses in the last 48 hours. I nearly couldn’t get my tent up last night in the super high winds.”
The halfway mark
On February 11, he arrived at the South Pole after 91 days. It is unclear when O’Brady realized he could not complete the crossing, but soon after leaving the South Pole, he turned away from his planned route toward Union Glacier/Thiel’s Corner (where pickup would be easier). Though he did not mention the route change on his social media, this signaled the end of his crossing attempt.
On February 19, he made it official. O’Brady explained that he was finishing the last of his food and had called for a plane from Union Glacier to pick him up.
This was a very difficult project — far more demanding than O’Brady’s previous expedition, a truncated “crossing” of the Antarctic landmass in 2019 — and he made a valiant attempt despite the early setbacks.
O’Brady has made no mention of falling short of his goal, instead focusing on the length of his expedition. “I realized that between my three solo Antarctica expeditions, I’ve now spent nearly half a year of my life alone out here. It also hit me that I may never be back here,” he wrote on Instagram, suggesting that at least for now, he may not want to attempt the route again.
