The South Pole has been getting a lot of action lately – remember ‘Tractor Girl’? Now, an Egyptian adventurer has accomplished the feat of a lifetime after skiing to the last degree of the South Pole to raise his nation’s flag on the frozen tundra.
Omar Samra crossed an amazing 70 miles, or 111 kilometers, in Antarctica to reach the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth – undoubtedly one of the most frigid, windy, and dry places on the planet. Samra skied up to nine hours a day along with a team of eleven other enthusiasts who were from all around the world, including Germany, Russia and India, the Daily News Egypt reported. Altogether, the group would cross a distance of around 9-10 miles a day (14-16km) – depending on weather conditions.
Samra and his team arrived at the South Pole on Monday, December 29th, and announced the achievement on the Internet the next day.
“It was a rough start for me at the beginning,” Samra said to the news outlet. “I had a stomach microbe causing me severe pains; and I was on antibiotics for five days, which affected my performance early on; especially, that we had to pull sleds weighing 80kg throughout our journey. However, as I improved, I started building more stamina and was able to make it.”
Samra started his expedition by flying to Punta Arenas, a town located in Chile. From there, he headed to Antarctica on a special Russian plane that was designed to be able to land safely on the frozen runway. Afterwards, he boarded a propeller-based aircraft and flew to the 89th degree to finally complete his trek.
He’s not done, though. Samra’s end goal is to complete the “Adventurers Grand Slam,” which includes climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents and traveling on foot to the North and South Poles. He has already completed climbing the seven highest summits in the world, so now he needs only to hang the Egyptian flag on the North Pole in order to achieve his dreams.
“With this achievement close to the New Year, I hope that 2015 will be a good year for Egypt and for everyone who is passionate to pursue his dreams,” he added.
The Egyptian skier is planning his attempt to get to the North Pole in April 2015.
