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Real Life: Cambridge para-athlete skis solo to the South Pole in world first




Cambridge’s Jonny Huntingdon has just made history - becoming the first explorer with a disability to ski both solo and unsupported to the South Pole. Velvet’s Alice Ryan talks to him

Jonny Huntingdon reaches the South Pole CREDIT Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE)
Jonny Huntingdon reaches the South Pole CREDIT Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE)

Skiing solo to the South Pole is a superhuman achievement by any standard. But when Jonny Huntingdon reached the Pole on January 6 2025 - having traversed 911km of Antarctic tundra, a journey which took him 45 days, 14 hours and 15 minutes - he officially entered the history books.

Having suffered a stroke 10 years ago, as a 28-year-old Army officer fresh out of Sandhurst, Jonny is the first person with a disability ever to ski solo and unsupported to the Pole. Only 52 people in total have completed the challenge.

Jonny Huntingdon reaches the South Pole CREDIT Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE)
Jonny Huntingdon reaches the South Pole CREDIT Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE)

“It pushed me to my limits – both mentally and physically – but there was no way I was going to give up. I just needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other,” says Jonny.

“It just proves that anything is possible with self-belief. I will never let my disability define me, and I hope that by reaching the finish line, it shows that no matter what life throws at you, with enough determination everyone can fulfil their own potential.”

Setting off from Fuchs-Messner, on the outer edge of the Antarctic landmass, on November 21 2024, on average Jonny was skiing for 11 hours a day, dragging all his equipment and food in a sled which weighed more than 90kg.

Jonny Huntingdon becomes the first disabled explorer to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole CREDIT Jonny Huntingdon
Jonny Huntingdon becomes the first disabled explorer to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole CREDIT Jonny Huntingdon

Throughout the expedition he battled Arctic temperatures as low as -40C and blistering 24-hour sunlight, with huge ice formations, known as sastrugi, and soft snow making progress challenging. This winter has been particularly inhospitable for adventurers in Antarctica, with other expeditions having to be aborted.

“Antarctica is a remote, hostile and uninhabitable environment, and some of the conditions were incredibly challenging,” admits Jonny. “There were days when I had to finish earlier than planned because of dangerous conditions or pure exhaustion and self-preservation, meaning the expedition took longer than I initially planned. I ended with just 24 hours of rations left.”

Jonny Huntingdon becomes the first disabled explorer to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole CREDIT Jonny Huntingdon
Jonny Huntingdon becomes the first disabled explorer to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole CREDIT Jonny Huntingdon

Born in Cambridge, growing up in Ely and a schoolboy at Oundle, Jonny says he wasn’t especially sporty until he reached university and started playing hockey. Going on to join the Army, fitness became a focus; by the time he left Sandhurst, he was at his physical peak.

“Literally eight weeks out of Sandhurst, I was in the gym one morning, doing a normal workout, and over the course of about 15 minutes, to this day I can only really describe it as ‘I felt a bit weird’,” Jonny recounts.

“I went from standing to sitting to lying on my back on the floor, because I couldn’t support my body any more. It was surreal. It wasn’t scary, but only because I had absolutely no concept of what was happening. Having a stroke was pretty much the furthest thing from my vocabulary.

“I’d joined the Army at the height of Afghan, so there was plenty of stuff that I’d mentally talked myself through in terms of what could potentially happen to me; at no point had having a stroke in a gym in Winchester featured in the conversation. But that’s what happened.”

Jonny Huntingdon becomes the first disabled explorer to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole CREDIT Jonny Huntingdon
Jonny Huntingdon becomes the first disabled explorer to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole CREDIT Jonny Huntingdon

Scans revealed a “satsuma-sized puddle of blood in my primary motor cortex. Having a cavernous malformation erupting in your brain at 28 is monumentally bad luck; there are no exacerbating factors. The result was I was completely paralysed down my left side. Nothing worked below the neck.”

Intensive rehab at Headley Court followed. Always one to push his limits - “I think it’s a healthy thing to do, to exist slightly outside our comfort zones” - Jonny’s goal was to ski. He proved so skilled on the slopes, his talent was spotted by Team GB and he was recruited to join the Para Nordic ski team.

Skiing solo to the Pole was, Jonny says, the next challenge: “Within the confines of my injury, this is the biggest thing I could realistically conceive of doing. I’m not sitting here encouraging everyone to become a polar explorer; it’s not for everyone. But equally lots of other, perhaps more conventional jobs, are not for me.”

Jonny Huntingdon becomes the first disabled explorer to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole CREDIT Jonny Huntingdon
Jonny Huntingdon becomes the first disabled explorer to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole CREDIT Jonny Huntingdon

Despite his remarkable recovery, Jonny still lives with a significant lack of strength, mobility and control down his left side. “It’s very difficult to manage risk factor,” he concedes. “My expedition manager and I have spent more time than any adult men ought to discussing how you poo in the snow with a bad leg!

“The solution - not really a solution - is do it the same way everyone else does, but it was something we were significantly worried about, because when I squat down with my injury, I can easily topple over backwards.”

Talking about how his injury affected him on the expedition, Jonny reflects: “This was a massive undertaking for an able-bodied person. Add my restricted movements due to neuro-fatigue from the brain damage, and it took the challenge to a whole new level.

“My disability means I have little control in my left ankle, meaning that my leg kind of freely rotates. I fell a lot over the course of my journey, especially at the start of the expedition while I was getting acclimatised to the conditions, but just had to get back up, dust myself off, and carry on.”

Concludes Jonny: “Despite the challenges I faced on the ice, my hope is that by completing the expedition, I have shown that disability does not mean inability. We all have potential - and the capacity to fulfil it.”

To find out more about Jonny’s expedition, visit jonnyhuntington.com and follow @jonnyhuntington on Instagram.

Showing Support: Throughout his polar challenge, Jonny has been raising awareness and funds for four charities: the Invictus Games Foundation, Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team, Team Forces and The Adaptive Grand Slam Foundation. To donate, visit givestar.io/gs/south-pole-solo-expedition.


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