The South Pole – Reaching explorers’ Holy Grail

IF ALL goes to plan, and hopefully it will, a group of Irish adventurers will today safely reach the South Pole, an achievement that once represented the Holy Grail for generations of explorers.

It was once a challenge suffused with mystery, national pride, stiff upper lips and physical challenges with the potential for the most lethal consequences. Less than a century later the circumstances surrounding polar travel are completely different.

Today’s small group — including Dr Clare O’Leary, who will become the first Irishwoman to walk to the South Pole should the group’s ambitions be realised — completed an arduous trek of 1,100km over 55 days while man-hauling a sledge weighing 150kg.