STEPHANIE Solomonides, soon to be Cyprus’ first ever trekker to the South Pole, began the first leg of her epic adventure yesterday.
Along with seven other women from throughout the Commonwealth, Solomonides will first fly to their base camp in Antarctica, where they will stay for a week to acclimatise to the harsh conditions.
The 4.5-hour flight to Patriot Hills, aboard a specially prepared plane, is only undertaken a few times each year during the short austral summer and the team are on the very first flight to be attempted this season.
The flight over the Southern Ocean to the remotest continent on Earth depends entirely upon the weather conditions. At any point the aircraft may be forced to return to South America by deteriorating weather conditions.
Lying in the lee of a range of mountains which includes Antarctica’s tallest peak, Mt Vinson, Patriot Hills is situated near a vast area of naturally occurring blue ice. Once at Patriot Hills the team will spend a week acclimatising to average temperatures of between -20C and -40C. They will also have to contend with 24-hour daylight, dazzling scenery that is so bright that it can cause blindness and the constant threat of serious sunburn due to the lack of ozone above Antarctica.
In one week, the team will set off braving blizzards, crevasses and temperatures below minus 40C as they ski 900 kilometres over approximately 40 days to the geographic South Pole.
On reaching their target, the team members from Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana and Jamaica will be the first people from their respective nations, to ski to the South Pole.
Those from India, New Zealand and Singapore will be the first women from their nations to make this symbolic and prestigious journey.
“Only a great team is capable of performing the great deeds”, said the representatives of Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition.
“Together with Kaspersky Lab we make an outstanding team and we believe our expedition will become one of the most eminent historical events ever! From the bottom of our hearts we’d like to thank Kaspersky Lab for being with us on the turning point of our lives and sharing our spirit of adventure!”
The expedition marks the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth as well as demonstrating the potential for greater international understanding and exchange and highlights the achievements of women across the World.
