Ex-Army officer becomes first disabled person to ski solo and unsupported to South Pole
A former Army officer and GB Para-athlete has made history after becoming the first disabled person to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole.
Jonny Huntington, from Kingsbridge, South Devon, covered 566 miles (911km) of Antarctic tundra in 46 days despite the effects of the debilitating stroke he suffered in 2014, and says: "I just refused to stop putting one foot in front of the other."
The 38-year-old, who joined the British Army in 2013, set off from Messner-Fuchs on the edge of the Antarctic land mass on 21 November 2024 and arrived at the South Pole on Monday.
Throughout his expedition, he skied in extreme conditions including freezing temperatures and blistering 24-hour sunlight, while dragging a 242lb (110kg) sled carrying his food and equipment.
Speaking via a satellite phone on arrival at the South Pole, Mr Huntington said: "It's been a bit of a whirlwind since getting here, it's pretty emotional.
"My right leg is pretty sore, which I think is probably reasonable because it's done most of the work.
"And I've certainly lost a lot of weight, but I think I’ve escaped relatively unscathed."
Only 52 people have successfully skied to the South Pole without support but Mr Huntington is understood to be the first explorer with a disability to do so.
Mr Huntington was left paralysed from the neck down on his left side when he suffered his stroke at the age of 28.
It took years of rehabilitation before he was able to fully walk again, and even then he was left with restricted movement down his left side.
He said the final stage of his expedition was much more challenging because he encountered huge rippled ice formations called sastrugi and soft snow, which made progress difficult.
He also had a lot more climbing to do while skiing for nine to 11 hours and covering between 11 and 14 miles (18km-23km) per day.
"This has been tough, the injury has certainly made it more difficult," said Mr Huntington.
"Because the left side is so much weaker, the right side has been having so much work that it is now hurting.
"In the last couple of weeks I have been in a position where I've worried 'Is my good side going to survive this?'"
During his stroke recovery, Mr Huntington became a member of the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team (AFPST), which ignited his love for skiing.
He went on to join the GB Para Nordic ski team, competing between 2017 and 2020 at World Cups in Lviv, Ukraine, and Vuokatti, Finland, as well as the inaugural European Paralympic Committee Games in Poland in 2020.
The idea for his South Pole expedition came after he stopped skiing competitively.
Mr Huntington, who had been planning and training for the expedition for five years, said he felt very emotional when he reached the Ceremonial South Pole, an area set aside for photo opportunities.
"I don't think I've pushed any boundaries in the sense of the route I've done, or anything like that – but at the same time, I've dragged a pretty mangled body through that route," he said.
"I'm just a normal bloke from South Devon – there is no magic formula and there's nothing special about me to enable me to have done what I've done.
"On this trip, I kept putting one foot in front of the other until I got to the end.
"When things were really tough, I just refused to stop putting one foot in front of the other."
Mr Huntington said he is looking forward to celebrating his achievement with a steak and a glass of red wine.
Find out more about his achievement on Mr Huntington's fundraising page.
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