British adventurer Preet Chandi has broken Caroline Coté’s solo ski record from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. Chandi reports she covered the 1,130km route in 31 days, 13 hours, and 19 minutes. That bests Coté’s time by 1 day, 14 hours, and 34 minutes. She maintained an average of 36km per day.
On sabbatical from the British Army, Chandi left Hercules Inlet on Nov. 26, arriving at the Pole in the early hours of Dec. 29.
Chandi did not announce the record bid and was not known to be in Antarctica. This may be due to criticism of her past Antarctic record claims, which arose during an unsuccessful attempt to make a partial crossing of Antarctica last season.
Speaking from the South Pole, Chandi reflected, “I completely pushed myself to my limits on my last expedition. A speed attempt is completely different. After my last expedition, I knew I could cope well on the ice, which gave me the confidence to tackle this head-on.”
Chandi during her speed record expedition. Photo: Preet Chandi
To keep the record pace going, Chandi skied between 12-13 hours per day. She likely made haste while conditions were good earlier in the season. Vincent Colliard, who is attempting the overall and male speed record on the same route, has faced whiteout conditions in recent days. The current speed record is 24 days, 1 hour, 13 minutes, set by Norwegian Christian Eide back in 2011.
Chandi now intends to log the record time with Guinness, the long-standing but highly problematic officiator of adventure records globally.
