An army commander who was a trailblazer has been the first woman of colour, after fighting -60mph winds and freezing temperatures to reach South Pole.
Preet Chandi (32), dragged a 190lb sled 45 days to complete her challenge. She covered 700 miles in 40 days.
After flying from Chile to Chile, the London-based woman who is a servicewoman in the Medical Regiment of the north-west began her incredible trek on November 24, after which she was transferred to London.
Daily blog entries and photos were sent by her, showing how she skied around 11 hours per day and laughing at every fall due to the icy conditions.
Preet successfully completed her incredible quest using live-tracking data.
Her amazing feat was noted by her, and she said: “Feeling such many emotions right now.
“This expedition was about much more than just me. To encourage others to challenge their limits and have faith in themselves, I hope to do so.
Preet Chandi (32) is a Polar Explorer and Trailblazer. She dragged a 190lb weight sled alone for 45 days in order to tackle her monumental challenge, walking unaided to the South Pole.
After flying to Antarctica from Chile’s Punta Arenas via Chile’s Union Glacier, she set off for the Hercules Inlet, which is located at the southern end of the Ronne Ice Shelf. It is 702 mi (1,130 km) from South Pole.
Preet flew from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Antarctica’s Union Glacier.
She dragged her ultra-marathon runner, tied to her back, tyres in her hands for the week leading up to the trip.
Preet spent another 27 days in Greenland’s ice caps, where she battled through extreme weather conditions. She described the whiteouts as ‘travelling through marshmallows.
Her journey was over when she sent an inspiring message to her followers: “I had no idea about the polar environment three years back and it’s surreal to be finally here.
“It took a lot to get here, and I would like to thank everyone for all their help.
The expedition meant so much more to me than it was about me. My goal is to inspire people to challenge their limits and be confident in their own abilities. I also want to help you feel comfortable being yourself without being labeled a rebel.
‘I have been told no on many occasions and told to “just do the normal thing”, but we create our own normal. Your capabilities are limitless.
“No matter your origin or starting line, everyone begins somewhere. I don’t want to simply break the glass ceiling. I want it to be broken into millions.
She updated her blog on Christmas Eve to say she’s doing well. She added: “I’m still working my way through Sastrugi. It was clear which is very helpful.
Preet shared an image of the terrain that she faced on Day 30. “I did fall a couple of times, but nothing serious. I also had to use my arms and pull the Pulk out of the Sastrugi deeps. They can get to a few meters high so when its a whiteout and you cant see you’re stepping very carefully’
Preet faced temperatures as low as -50C, fierce wind gusts of up to 60 mph and was able to live track her trip with an interactive map. (Pictured during a pre-expedition to Iceland in the earlier part of this year).
The long journey was not the only thing she worried about when she returned to England for her intensive training program.
A Derby-born Army physiotherapist who served in South Sudan was incredibly frustrated by her fear of training in darkness at her London park.
In an October blog posting, the 32-year old revealed how she had stopped outdoor training at night. She was wearing tyres that were tied around her waist and back by ropes after’recent horrible events.
The murders of Sarah Everard (33), and Sabina Nessea (28) occurred in capital city earlier this year.
Preet was pulling her tyres around 7:45pm, when suddenly it became dark.
She said, “I was afraid,” and then added, “I considered how I could’ve checked to see if there were street lamps.”
“I was frustrated because I thought of how others would say that I should not have gone out by myself at that point, which only made it worse.”
Preet claimed that she kept her poles at her side, ready to defend her self if necessary. She then drove as quickly as she could back to her car.
Elle added, “I felt uneasy about returning to that park. Even though I was there every day.”
Preet wrote the council after she returned home with her partner a week later to find that there had been lamp posts along the route. It was clear they were not working.
She said, “There have been some terrible recent events. It’s frustrating to watch people victim blaming.”
“We don’t need to be afraid. I don’t know the answers, but I want to make others feel safe and to help them feel that way. It’s not something that I am alone with feeling like this.
This sports lover, who was a student at Novak Djokovic tennis school as a child, persevered with her training. Ben Fogle (British adventurer) told her to keep going on her journey and that she would be following her.
The sports enthusiast, who once trained at the Novak Djokovic tennis academy as a teenager, has received heaps of support online, including from British adventurer Ben Fogle, who told her on Instagram: ‘Good luck, I’ll be following you’ (Pictured with her boarding pass before her flight to Antarctica)
Preet used to be seen at home pulling tires to imitate the heavy sled she was pulling across Antarctica. But she admitted to being too afraid to use them in her London park, October after some ‘horrific’ events.
Spending Christmas in Antarctica, speaking with her fiancée David and sipping a celebratory Coke Zero at the end of her trek were among the highlights of Preet’s journey that she shared in her daily blog posts.
Preet said on Day 12 that it was “so tough today, terrain is icy.” In the first hour, I was able to fall over several times.
“The first time that I fell, I felt frustrated. The next several times that I fell, I laughed and continued to laugh. You just need to take one step at a time.
“Besides, although I cannot control the weather, or terrain, what I can do is control my reaction to it.” Therefore, I concentrate on the things I can control: my mind.
She said, “Strangely to think that for the past 14 days I have not seen any sign or contact with another human being.” I’ve not even tried to communicate with myself.
Day 14 saw her reach 83 degrees South, which she called “awesome”.
Preet has been listening to audiobooks along the journey, including three of Ben Fogle’s – Up, Inspire and Race to the Pole – Amy Poehler’s book Yes Please and Will Smith’s.
On December 20, day 27, she wrote: ‘I’m in good spirits still and I’m still enjoying my own company which is always good.’
By day 29 she added: ‘I’m doing ok so far. Bit tired. Feels strange to have been alone for 29 days, its funny I thought I’d feel more lonely but to be honest I felt much more lonely as a teenager living away and playing a sport full time I wasn’t enjoying.’
David was her engagement ring bearer. Dave is simply my rock.
She updated her blog on Christmas Eve to say she was doing well. She stated, “I am still making my way through Sastrugi. It was clear which is very helpful. This section is experiencing 30mph wind speeds today, so it’s moving slowly. It’s also getting colder which means I don’t stop for as long on the breaks. I’m feeling ok, a bit tired.’
Preet snaps a picture of her skiing in the Antarctica sled, two weeks after she started her journey
Preet is an officer in the Medical Regiment, north-west England. On November 24, Preet flew to Chile’s icecap. (photo taken in a selfie, Day 14)
Preet, a British-born Indian Sikh who lives in London and is currently pursuing her historical feat, stated that she hopes to inspire Asian women.
British-born Indian Sikh, she said that her historical feat will inspire Asian women.
Because she “looked different”, she revealed that eggs were thrown at her as a teenager.
She wrote in a blog: “It took me long to be proud about the colour of my skin. I used to be embarrassed, having eggs thrown at me and people spit at me when I was a teenager because I “looked different” certainly didn’t help.
It took me some time to understand my culture, and my roots. So when I refer to myself as “woman of color”, it’s because I finally feel proud of my skin, my roots and my culture.
‘This term isn’t used to offend anyone. I am a part of it and this expedition with a woman of color is very powerful. Having been told on many occasions that I don’t look like a polar explorer… lets change the image you expect to see.’
Before setting out, she told the Army: “When I decided to go to Antarctica I didn’t know that I would become the first woman of color to solo explore the continent. People have also said to me, “You don’t look like an polar explorer.”
“It’s important that we show diversity, and encourage it, just so it can be shown this can be achieved.
‘It might not be the norm, I might not be the image that you’d expect to see doing something like this, but I think it’s important to break out of what people expect to be the norms… if enough people do something new, it becomes normal.’
The Army claims that Preet never went camping prior to signing up for the army.
She has since been wild camping and mountaineering in Wales, and she spent many months studying polar navigation in Norway and sled-pulling.
Super-fit members of the squad have also hiked in Brazil and Bolivia.
However, sport and competition are in her blood. At 14 she left home to learn tennis at an academy. Two years later, she joined Novak Djokovic Academy in Czech Republic.
Additionally, she’s an ultramarathon runner who has successfully completed many of the toughest challenges on the planet including the Marathon des Sables, a 156-mile race through the Sahara desert.
It was hot and humid throughout. On one night, we were hit with a sand storm that nearly ripped our tent apart. She recalls this in her blog.
“The highlight of the trip was getting a coke zero on my achilles heel (day five) and then finishing with course.
Preet poses after being dropped off at Antarctica with the Twin Otter airplane
Preet was welcomed by the Chilean Army as she waited to board a plane for Antarctica.
She is using 50% of the money she raised to finance an adventure grant that will support women undertaking unique challenges.
Preet learned to haul a heavy-sled in Iceland during a training trip this year. He also had to withstand severe weather conditions.
A Derby-born Army physiotherapist, the Physiotherapist is currently serving in a Medical Regiment located in the west of England. However, he has also been working out in the field including South Sudan.
Preet named the sled for her 9-year-old niece Simran, and her skis after Karanveer, her infant nephew.
Half of her funds will be used to fund an adventure grant to women who take on unique challenges. She plans to launch it next year.
The rest will go to Khalsa Aid, ‘who’s message is to recognise the whole human race as one,’ she said.
She announced her trip via her website and wrote, “Hopefully doing something so extreme that I push me out of my comfort zone” to encourage others to believe in their abilities and push the boundaries.
“Only a handful of female adventurers have made solo treks on the continent unaided.
“It’s time to give history a new name, to bring more diversity to the world.
“I want my niece not to be limited, and I know the endless possibilities for all of her future endeavors.”
She said, “This is a journey that inspires future generations to achieve whatever they want and push boundaries.”
“By encouraging and completing the challenge, I can act as a role-model to young women, men, and people from different ethnicities.
Polar Preet has joined other British inspirational women who have broken Antarctica records
Mollie Hughes, 29, a resident of Edinburgh and the youngest person to solo ski to the South Pole since 2019, is pictured here at Edinburgh Airport.
British women seem to love Antarctica and have set records.
Briton Felicity was the first woman in the world to solo ski across the icecap back in 2012.
After 59 days on two sledges covering 1,084 miles, the record-breaking adventurer reached her destination.
Following her completion of the journey that began at the Leverett Glacier in November 2011, she finally tweeted that they had reached Hercules Inlet.
Aston from Kent also broke another record by becoming the first person to solo ski across Antarctica with only her muscle power.
A team of male and female skiers had previously crossed Antarctica, although they didn’t have any machines or kites to help them. Aston however was the first person to solo do so.
Mollie Hughes from Edinburgh, a 29-year old adventurer, became the youngest female to successfully ski solo to South Pole in Jan 2020.
Ms Hughes skied for 58.5 days pulling all her food in a sledge during her lone trek across Antarctica, before confirming she had reached the geographic South Pole via Twitter.
She is originally Devon-born and weighed 105kg during the 702 mile journey to Antarctica from South Pole.
Due to extreme conditions, she described the expedition as “extremely hard”.
She had originally hoped to make it to South Pole by New Year’s Day. But the weather conditions in the first 2 weeks almost ruined her plans.
Headwinds up to 55knots were encountered, as well as temperatures below 0°C. She was also subjected to a whiteout eight days consecutively.
Ms. Hughes is the first woman in history to reach Mount Everest on both sides of her body.