What an achievement as Jonny Huntington makes history by becoming the first ever person with a disability to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole!

Only 52 people have ever successfully skied to the South Pole without support. Jonny is the first explorer with a disability to do so, covering the 911km of Antarctic tundra with limited mobility down his left-hand side; a feat he completed in 45 days, 14 hours, 15 minutes. Having set off from Fuchs-Messner on the edge of the Antarctic landmass on 21st November, Jonny arrived at the South Pole on 6th January at around 5pm (GMT) officially making history as the first ever explorer with a disability to reach the South Pole alone.

“I’m exhausted – but so proud to make it to the pole and complete an expedition that many thought impossible. It has pushed me to my limits – both mentally and physically – but there was no way I was going to give up. I just needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

On average, Jonny was skiing for 11 hours a day and dragging all his equipment and food in a sled which weighed more than 90kg, with everything he needed to survive the expedition. Throughout the expedition he battled Arctic temperatures as low as -40 C and blistering 24-hour sunlight; huge ice formations called sastrugi and soft snow making progress challenging. This year has been particularly challenging for adventurers in Antarctica with other expeditions having to be aborted.

“Antarctica is a remote, hostile and uninhabitable environment, and some of the conditions were incredibly challenging. There were days when I had to finish earlier than planned because of dangerous conditions or pure exhaustion and self-preservation for the longevity of the expedition, meaning the expedition took longer than I initially planned. I ended the expedition with just 24 hours of rations left.”

Completing the expedition has been a monumental effort for Jonny, who has a significant lack of mobility and control down his left-hand side, following a stroke in 2014. At just 28 years old, the stroke left Jonny with complete left-side paralysis from the neck down. After years of intense rehab, today Jonny lives with permanent brain damage resulting in a significant lack of strength, mobility and control down his left side. Talking about how it affected him on the expedition, he said:

“This was a massive undertaking for an able-bodied person. Add my restricted movements due to neuro fatigue from the brain damage, and it took the challenge to a whole new level. My disability means I have little control in my left ankle, meaning that my leg kind of freely rotates. I fell a lot over the course of my journey, especially at the start of the expedition while I was getting acclimatised to the conditions, but just had to get back up, dust myself off, and carry on. It was also exacerbated by the cold climate of Antarctica and proved a constant challenge with the uneven and sometimes unpredictable snow conditions. Despite the challenges I faced on the ice, my hope is that by completing the expedition, I have shown that disability does not mean inability.”

Jonny would like to thank the many people who have helped him to take on this challenge including his partners Specialist Risk Group, Team Forces, Collins Aerospace, ACRE Capital Real Estate, and Continuate. He’d also like to thank Veeam, Dell Technologies, Pointwire and Comtech.

Major General Lamont Kirkland CBE, CEO Team Forces, added; “What a monumental effort from Jonny. It’s a privilege to have supported him to show that anything is possible with the right training and mindset.”

Images courtesy of Antarctic Logistics (ALE)

It is incredible to think that I am the first disabled person in history to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole, and it just proves that anything is possible with self-belief. I will never let my disability define me, and I hope that by reaching the finish line, it shows that no matter what life throws at you – with enough determination everyone can fulfil their own potential.

Jonny Huntington

Antarctic Explorer

Through his expedition, Jonny was raising money for four charities including the Invictus Games Foundation, Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team, Team Forces and The Adaptive Grand Slam Foundation.

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ABOUT JONNY HUNTINGTON

Jonny joined the British Army in 2013, training at Sandhurst to become an officer. In June 2014, just eight weeks after commissioning, Jonny was in the gym when he suffered a devastating stroke. The neurological damage left Jonny paralysed down one side. After years of intense rehab, today Jonny lives with permanent brain damage resulting in a significant lack of strength, mobility and control down his left side. During his recovery Jonny became a member of the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team (AFPST), which fuelled his love of cross-country skiing. This led to Jonny becoming one of the first athletes in a new GB Para Nordic ski team, where he competed from 2017 to 2020 at international level at World Cups in Lviv, Ukraine and Vuokatti, Finland, as well as the inaugural European Paralympic Committee Games in Poland in 2020.

Para classifications and his unique physical limitations eventually made it impossible to compete at the highest levels, however this experience laid the foundations for his plans to be the first disabled explorer to reach the South Pole.

To find out more about Jonny’s expedition and see his progress on an interactive map, visit jonnyhuntington.com or follow him @jonnyhuntington or on LinkedIn.