Yesterday Małgorzata Wojtaczka finished a 69-day trek to the South Pole. She walked more than 1,200 kilometres and became the first Polish woman who achieved that all on her own.

The road to the South Pole

On the last day of her trip she walked for almost 24 hours without a break. She walked alone for 69 days through Antarctica to become the first Polish woman who managed to reach South Pole without any support.

Life is beautiful. It was worth it. The journey is important, but I’m glad that I have reached the destination, said Wojtaczka yesterday.

In the last days she was fighting not only fatigue, but also temperatures reaching -34°C.

She was pulling a 100 kg sledge with equipment, food and special fuel – white gas (normal fuel cannot be used in these conditions, because it freezes).

I feel as if I was pulling two heavy truck tires on the gravel, 50 kg each. Every day a dozen kilometres. But I know I have to hurry, because in a few days the season will be over, reported Małgorzata a few days ago.

She had one goal: to reach the South Pole alone and without any assistance.

She had to face a lot of problems. The temperature was getting lower and lower, hurricane wind harder and it was very difficult to walk. Time was running out, because every year, at the end of the season, the American Antarctic base closes. If she hadn’t managed to get there on time, she would have been taken away by a helicopter. But then she would not have achieved her goal.

She slept less in order to spend more time walking. She also ate less, because she didn’t have enough food left. Americans wanted to help organise an airdrop with some food, but Małgorzata didn’t agree to that, because she wanted to finish the trek without any support. And she did, yesterday at 12:00 CET. Małgorzata reached the South Pole, exhausted but very happy and proud of herself.

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