They also had to pull sledges loaded with over 200 kilograms of gear.
International Online Exclusive: According to the UK's Daily Mail on February 7, 100 years after the death of famous British explorer Captain Scott during his Antarctic expedition, two British men have fulfilled his unfinished mission. They hiked 1,735 miles (approximately 2,792 kilometers) over 105 days, reaching Antarctica and successfully returning at 1:15 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on February 7, completing the epic Terra Nova expedition (Captain Scott’s ship was named Terra Nova — translator’s note), breaking the world record for the longest polar trek.
The two men are 36-year-old Ben Saunders and 32-year-old former WASPS rugby player Tarka L’Herpiniere. In an interview, Saunders said that completing Captain Scott’s expedition had been a lifelong dream. He said: “During the expedition, we often found ourselves in dire straits due to the extreme cold, strong winds, and high latitude. Our bodies were exhausted, teetering on the edge of death. At those times, Tarka and I truly admired Captain Scott and his team. We admired their endurance and unyielding spirit.”
According to reports, the polar trek challenged not only one’s endurance but also physical strength. During this expedition, Saunders and Tarka had to hike 17 miles a day in temperatures as low as minus 46 degrees Celsius, while also pulling sledges loaded with over 200 kilograms of gear. The total distance of the journey was equivalent to running 69 marathons back-to-back.
To fully document the expedition, Saunders and Tarka also carried laptops that could function in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, allowing them to update their progress at any time.
Captain Scott was a polar explorer and a national hero of Britain. The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station established by the United States at the South Pole today is named after him. In 1911, Captain Scott set off on his Antarctic expedition aboard the Terra Nova. At the time, Norwegian Roald Amundsen was also leading another expedition team heading for the South Pole. The two teams were engaged in fierce competition, each striving for “national honor.” In the end, Amundsen’s team reached the destination first on December 14, 1911, while Scott’s team arrived on January 16, 1912—more than a month later. Unfortunately, on the return journey, the harsh Antarctic weather arrived earlier than expected, supplies ran out, and the team suffered from hunger and cold. They struggled in the extreme cold for over two months before eventually succumbing to exhaustion and perishing in the snow.
Captain Scott authored the travelogue The Voyage of the Discovery, and the tragic story of his final Antarctic expedition has inspired generations of Britons.