‘Polar Preet’ first known woman of colour to do solo journey to South Pole
Posted February 2, 2022 7:07 am.
Last Updated February 2, 2022 7:29 am.
Enduring freezing temperatures for 40 days, a British woman hopes to inspire others to break barriers, after becoming the first known woman of colour to complete a solo journey to the South Pole.
Preet Chandi, who’s also known as ‘Polar Preet,’ says she spent two and a half years training for her trek across Antarctica, meeting challenges even before setting off on her trip.
“I was told that I don’t look like a polar explorer. It was hard to get funding,” she told OMNI News.
Chandi is from England and is a British army physiotherapist. Over the last few months, she’s been challenging herself to the extreme, skiing just over 1,126 kilometres across the world’s southernmost continent by herself.
“In one section I’d fall over and keep falling over again and again,” she recalled. “It’s very cold, and at those points I just took it one step at a time. And I think that’s the important thing in situations like this, it’s important to break it down. Otherwise, it’s just so hard. If you look at the big picture, I thought, ‘wow, 700 miles.’ But I did each day at a time.”
One of the best intv with @PreetChandi10 known as Polar Preet is British Army officer, who is not only first punjabi girl but also first woman of colour walked to South Pole solo in 40 day with -50C. @OMNITelevision @OMNIpunjabi pic.twitter.com/BI0H4DOl6M
— Prabhjot Kahlon (@PrabhjotKahlon) January 31, 2022
She documented her journey through Instagram, giving people an idea of just how much work was put in to keep moving and stay alive.
“So 12 hours I would ski and then … I’d put the tent up and I would … melt snow, put the stove on — that’s how I would make water. It’s all run by Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions, so every Monday I would speak to the doctor, so every week, to check I was okay, to check that I was eating. They’d ask me all these questions,” Chandi explained.
“So the support was there but, to be honest as well, they approved my expedition, with my experience that I had. They wouldn’t just say yes to anyone, you have to have a certain amount of experience. And I spent two and a half years in Norway, Iceland, Greenland, to get that experience.”
Welcome back #PolarPreet
Captain Chandi has arrived home after her inspirational achievement as the 3rd fastest solo female skier to reach the South Pole
Read more about her groundbreaking feat: https://t.co/1WvCyqvsXq@PreetChandi10 @ArmyMedServices pic.twitter.com/wTlX4sG1pk
— British Army (@BritishArmy) January 14, 2022
Chandi successfully finished her expedition on Jan. 3, a week ahead of schedule.
She hopes her journey will help show others that they, too, can accomplish whatever they put their minds too, noting she didn’t know anything about polar expeditions before she began her training.
“It was important for me for other people to see somebody that looks like me doing something like this, pushing their boundaries and barriers, and I hope people can relate to this in a lot of different ways. They don’t have to want to go to Antarctica, they could want to do anything. But just to show, you don’t have to start at a certain level,” she said.
