Ex-Army officer credits 'invaluable' military training after historic solo ski to South Pole
A former Army officer covered 566 miles (911km) of Antarctic tundra in 46 days despite the effects of the debilitating stroke he suffered in 2014.
Jonny Huntington, from Kingsbridge, South Devon, made history after becoming the first disabled person to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole and has credited his military training as "invaluable" in keeping him moving.
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.
Mr Huntington skied in extreme conditions including freezing temperatures and blistering 24-hour sunlight, while dragging a 242lb (110kg) sled.
He has spoken to BFBS Forces News about how he was able to prepare for such a huge challenge.
"The primary concern from my point of view was making sure that my body particularly the injured side of it was robust enough to basically not fall apart during the trip," the former Army officer said.
The former GB Para-athlete noted that soft snow meant that doing distances was "extremely hard work", and "my 'good side', my right side ended up getting what could have been a serious injury in the Achilles tendon and it was inflamed pretty early on, that caused a significant amount of anxiety through the trip".
Mr Huntington said he was perfectly happy to sometimes let his mind wander to things back home, such as his garden, but when the "real problems occurred, when you were struggling so hard" he had "no doubts at all" that his military mindset was key.
He added: "Those serving in the military will, almost all of them, encounter these times, that's the point at which you really need to focus your mind and just grit your teeth, get on with it and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
"That's another aspect of the stuff from the military side of things, which was invaluable on this because there were a couple of days that was the only way I was going to keep moving."
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 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."
Find out more about his achievement on Mr Huntington's fundraising page.
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
