Two Australians have become the first men to travel more than 1800 km through the Antarctic wilderness unassisted, in an expedition called ‘Crossing the Ice’.
Adventurers James ‘Cas’ Castrission, 29, and Justin ‘Jonesy’ Jones, 28, have spent the past 80 days pursuing their quest to ski unsupported from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back.
If they are successful, they will set another record in being the first team to complete the journey unassisted.
It is expected that the expedition will be completed in time for the last flight out of Antarctica for the season on January 27.
The pair have trekked through the heaviest snowfall Antarctica has experienced in years, with almost two weeks of white-out days and winds up to 70kph.
They have taken only four rest days - mainly due to injuries - as they push on to reach their goal and raise money for the youth cancer campaign, You Can.
Both have lost 15 to 20 kgs and with a little under 400 km to go they are down to half rations and quickly running out of supplies.
“This expedition has been both physically and mentally gruelling but we’ve reached a great milestone overnight,” the Herald Sun quoted Castrission as saying.
“We are now down to half rations and are being pushed to our very limit, but reaching the record overnight has given us a boost and we can’t wait to punch out the last few hundred kilometres and finish the job,” he said.
Jones said it was a nice feeling to set a new world record but their mission was by no means complete.
“We’ve still got a lot of kilometres to cover to make it in time for that last flight out of Antarctica and only when we step foot onto that flight will we feel like we have achieved something special,” he said.