O πρώτος άνθρωπος που διέσχισε μόνος του την Ανταρκτική

Ύστερα από 54 μέρες, κατά τις οποίες διήνυσε 1482 χιλιόμετρα μέσα σε πολικές θερμοκρασίες, ο Κόλιν Ο΄Μπρέιντι έγινε ο πρώτος άνθρωπος που πέτυχε να διασχίσει μόνος του την Ανταρκτική, χωρίς βοήθεια. 

Ο 33χρονος Αμερικανός είχε μόνο τον εξοπλισμό τού σκι και έσερνε και ένα έλκηθρο με εφόδια, βάρους 170 κιλών.

«Το πέτυχα!» έγραψε στο Instagram. «Τραβούσα το έλκηθρο μου πάνω από μια αόρατη γραμμή και έφτασα στον προορισμό μου: ο πρώτος άνθρωπος στην ιστορία που διασχίζει την ήπειρο της Ανταρκτικής από ακτή σε ακτή, και μάλιστα μόνος, χωρίς υποστήριξη και χωρίς βοήθεια» ήταν το μήνυμα του Ο' Μπρέιντι που κατέγραψε ολόκληρο το ταξίδι στο Instagram.

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Day 54: FINISH LINE!!! I did it! The Impossible First ✅. 32 hours and 30 minutes after leaving my last camp early Christmas morning, I covered the remaining ~80 miles in one continuous “Antarctica Ultramarathon” push to the finish line. The wooden post in the background of this picture marks the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctica’s land mass ends and the sea ice begins. As I pulled my sled over this invisible line, I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided. While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced. I was locked in a deep flow state the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey. I’m delirious writing this as I haven’t slept yet. There is so much to process and integrate and there will be many more posts to acknowledge the incredible group of people who supported this project. But for now, I want to simply recognize my #1 who I, of course, called immediately upon finishing. I burst into tears making this call. I was never alone out there. @jennabesaw you walked every step with me and guided me with your courage and strength. WE DID IT!! We turned our dream into reality and proved that The Impossible First is indeed possible. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” - Nelson Mandela. #TheImpossibleFirst #BePossible

A post shared by Colin O'Brady (@colinobrady) on Dec 26, 2018 at 12:55pm PST

Ο 33χρονος Αμερικανός, που είχε δώσει στη αποστολή του τον τίτλο «Η αδύνατη πρώτη φορά», περιέγραφε λεπτομερώς την περιπέτειά του από τη στιγμή που ξεκίνησε, στις 3 Νοεμβρίου. Έπρεπε να σέρνει το έλκηθρο με 170 κιλά εξοπλισμού -ακόμη και σε ανηφόρες και λόφους που είχαν δημιουργηθεί από τους ισχυρούς ανέμους.

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Day 53: THE BIG PUSH: ANTARCTICA ULTRAMARATHON. I woke up this morning about 80 miles away from the finish line. As I was boiling water for my morning oatmeal, a seemingly impossible question popped into my head. I wonder, would be possible to do one straight continuous push all the way to the end? By the time I was lacing up my boots the impossible plan had become a solidified goal. I’m going to go for it. I can feel it in my body that I am in the zone and want to harness that. It’s a rare and precious feeling to find the flow. I’m going to push on and try to finish all 80 miles to the end in one go. Currently, I am 18 hours and 48 miles into the push. I’m taking a pit stop now to melt more water before I continue on. I’m listening to my body and taking care of the details to keep myself safe. I called home and talked to my mom, sister and wife - I promised them I will stop when I need to. Only 35 more miles to make The Impossible First POSSIBLE. A very merry Christmas to all. Stay tuned... #TheImpossibleFirst #BePossible

A post shared by Colin O'Brady (@colinobrady) on Dec 25, 2018 at 9:47pm PST

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Day 50: STRUNG OUT BUT STILL MOVING. I can’t believe I been out here all alone for 50 days. Even having lived it, I can’t quite wrap my mind around it. This wind storm still has not subsided so I spent another day getting beat down. Fingers crossed I catch a break on the weather soon. I’ve been writing a lot about the mental game as it’s clearly the most crucial part of this challenge (or any challenge for that matter). However today I want to honor my body and health. I wholeheartedly believe that nothing in life is more important that being healthy. Without that it’s hard to do or do fully. I’m so fortunate to have parents that instilled that in me from a young age, teaching me the importance of healthy eating and exercise. My dad is an organic farmer so I guess you could say it’s in my blood. Despite feeling exhausted and worn out, I’m grateful for having lived a healthy lifestyle, for without that I’m certain my body would have given up by now. And on the health front, I’m glad to be partnered with @Grandrounds who go above and beyond to guide people to the highest quality healthcare. It’s incredible to know they provide access to medical expertise literally anywhere on the planet! #GrandRounds #TheImpossibleFirst #BePossible

A post shared by Colin O'Brady (@colinobrady) on Dec 22, 2018 at 8:46pm PST

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Day 47: THIS TOO SHALL PASS. After having my best day of the expedition yesterday, I nearly had my worst day today. I went to battle hard with my personal demons today. My anxiety started building last night after listening to a huge wind storm grow outside. The rattling of my tent kept me up and I began to get more and more nervous knowing I had to go out in it. I did my usual morning routine and then stepped into the madness. As expected, it was brutal. Blowing snow, sub zero temps and zero visibility. I packed off and headed out into the whiteout. I just entered a part of the route known as “Sastrugui National Park” aptly named for having the biggest sastrugui on the route. Pretty much the worse place to find yourself not being able to see where you are going. Due to the massive sastrugi, it’s also the one stretch where no plane can land so you are in dire straights if an emergency occurs. That really started playing on my mind after I fell hard 5 times in the first hour. What if I broke a bone or a ski? Maybe I should stop? I bargained with myself and finally decided I had to set my tent back up, less than two hours into the day. I told myself in my tent if I wanted to keep going that I could put on my long skins for better grip on the uneven surface and then continue. But I knew the effort it would take to put up the tent in a storm, it’s unlikely I was going any further. I fought to get the tent up, got inside with my skis, skins and stove, and put on my long skins. It was now decision time. Go back out? The voice in my head told me to stop, wait out the storm, rest. But the other voice told me I needed to keep moving forward or I’ll run out of food. My mind was ripping me apart. I closed my eyes and decided to meditate for a couple minutes repeating my favorite mantra: “This too shall pass.” One way or another I’d find my way out of this. Calmed and with renewed resolve I got back outside, fought to get my tent down and packed and continued onward. The storm outside never got any better, in fact it got progressively worse. However I managed to calm the storm in my mind and knock out 21.5 miles today. A great day all things considered.

A post shared by Colin O'Brady (@colinobrady) on Dec 19, 2018 at 5:40pm PST

Το 2016 ο Βρετανός Χένρι Γουόρσλι που επιχείρησε κάτι ανάλογο δεν κατάφερε να επιζήσει. Ο 55χρονος Βρετανός αναγκάστηκε να εγκαταλείψει την προσπάθεια μόλις 48 χιλιόμετρα πριν από τον τερματισμό και να καλέσει για βοήθεια. Λίγο αργότερα απεβίωσε στο νοσοκομείο όπου νοσηλευόταν.