American Man Makes History By Being The First To Travel Across Antarctica Solo

An American man made history Wednesday after successfully traveling across Antarctica without any support or resupply.

Portland, Oregon, resident Colin O’Brady, 33, traveled 930 miles over 54 days, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

“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,” O’Brady wrote on a Wednesday Instagram post. “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.”

Others have traveled across Antarctica, but generally with some sort of support, like being able to resupply or have kites to move them forward, according to The AP.

O’Brady started his journey with nearly 400 pounds of gear that was pulled on a sled. He faced other challenges besides walking in the frigid weather that often went below -20 degrees Celsius. He battled 30 mile per hour winds for eight hours on Nov. 18. O’Brady also traveled in a whiteout on Nov. 14.

“I’m usually uncomfortable all day, from the second I step outside and the -25 degree temp stings my face,” O’Brady wrote on a Nov. 26 Instagram post.

British explorer Henry Worsley tried to travel Antarctica alone in 2016, The AP reported. He died, however, due to exhaustion. English adventurer Louis Rudd was competing against O’Brady to be the first person to travel across Antarctica solo in honor of Worsley.

O’Brady will wait for Rudd to finish.

“His intention is to wait for Louis and have kind of a celebratory moment with the only other person on the planet to have accomplished this same thing,” O’Brady’s wife, Jenna Besaw said, according to The AP.