The Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition was a

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

expedition in which seven women from six Commonwealth member countries skied to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

in 2009 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth. They had been selected among over 800 candidates. It took the expedition 38 days to reach the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, skiing six to ten hours a day, covering an average of 24 km a day. In total, they covered 904 km. They reached their destination on December 29. The team took a day off on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

. Team leader

Felicity Aston Felicity Ann Dawn Aston (born 7 October 1977) is a British explorer, author and former climate scientist. Early life and career Originally from Birchington-on-Sea, Kent, Aston went to Tonbridge Grammar School for Girls and was educated at U ...

, of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, explained: "Half of the team don’t usually celebrate Christmas so the others are having great fun teaching them Christmas songs and explaining why they have to hang their

smelly socks Smelly socks are socks that have acquired a strong odour due to prolonged wearing. Their odour, which is complex and remains the object of study, is a mixture of ammonia, fatty acids (in particular, isovaleric acid), and lactic acid. Odorous so ...

outside the tent on Christmas Eve". The expedition marked several firsts. Era Al-Sufri, Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, Sophia Pang,

Stephanie Solomonides Stephanie Solomonides (b.1982, Nicosia) is an explorer, who is the first person from Cyprus to reach both the North and the South Poles. She became the first Cypriot to reach the South Pole on 29 December 2009 as part of the Kaspersky Commonwealth ...

and Kylie Wakelin were, respectively, the first

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

an woman, the first

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n woman, the first

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

an woman, the first

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

and the first

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

woman to ski to the South Pole.

Expedition members

Completed the trek

* -

(expedition leader) * - Era Al-Sufri * -

Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu (Hindi: रीना कौशल धर्मशक्तू) is the first Indian woman to ski from coast of Antarctica to South Pole covering a distance of 900 kilometers . About Dharmshaktu was born into a Hindu f ...

* - Sophia Pang * -

* - Helen Turton (replaced Barbara Yanney) * - Kylie Wakelin

Pulled out

* - Barbara Yanney. Contracted

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

before departure. Recovered, but was unable to take part. * - Kim-Marie Spence. Pulled out on the third day, due to

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the han ...

on her fingers."Women complete 562-mile ski journey to South Pole"
''Los Angeles Times'', December 31, 2009

External links

Official website

References

{{Authority control Antarctic expeditions Female polar explorers Commonwealth of Nations 2009 in Antarctica