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Stroke Survivor’s South Pole Solo Ski Underway


A stroke survivor aiming to become the first disabled person to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole has finished his first week on the ice.

 

Jonny Huntington has covered 120km of his landmark Antarctic expedition, skiing for around eight and a half hours and covering between 18 and 23 km of distance per day on his way to the pole.

  

Surprisingly, it’s not been the frozen polar temperatures that’s been worrying Jonny, but the heat and strength of the sun.

 

“The sun is brutal when it hits you and you must be so careful not to burn,” said 38-year-old Jonny.

 

“It’s a real threat I have to be aware of.”

 

Also hampering Jonny’s progress has been the need to navigate over sastrugi, wind formed ice formations that can grow to the size of cars sticking out of the Antarctic ice.

  

“For me, one of the things with my left leg is that pulling the pulk over the sastrugi requires a lot of pull force from the back of your legs,” explained Jonny.

 

“Due to my disability, my left leg doesn’t really produce enough force to get me and the pulk moving over one of these divots. So, I have to take extra care to make sure I’m positioned correctly to get myself up and over.

 

“In flat light you can’t really see texture well, so seeing where lumps are is difficult. That makes it easier to fall in a hole, but it also makes it much harder to get yourself positioned well for it.”


A stroke in 2014 left Jonny with complete left-side paralysis. After years of intense rehab, today Jonny lives with permanent brain damage resulting in a significant lack of strength, mobility and control down his left side. 

 

“I have taken a few falls, four in one day is the record, however it is all about getting back up, brushing yourself down and moving on,” said Jonny, who is planning to increase his daily target to consistently hit 24km per day as he progresses into week two of the expedition.

 

To find out more about Jonny’s expedition, visit www.jonnyhuntington.com or see @jonnyhuntington on Instagram and LinkedIn.

 

Photo Credits: Callsign Studios and Steve Jones

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