Felicity Aston

In the whirling noise of our advancing technological age, we are seemingly never alone, never out-of-touch with the barrage of electronic data and information. Felicity Aston, physicist and meteorologist, took two months off from all human contact as she became the first woman -- and only the third person in history - to ski across the entire continent of Antarctica alone. She did it, too, with the simple apparatus of cross-country, without the aids used by her prededecessors - two Norwegian men - each of whom employed either parasails or kites. Aston's journey across the ice at the bottom of the world asked of her the extremes in terms of mental and physical bravery, as she faced the risks of unseen cracks buried in the snow so large they might engulf her and hypothermia due to brutalizing weather. She had to deal, too, with her emotional vulnerability in face of the constant bombardment of hallucinations brought on by the vast sea of whiteness, the lack of stimulation to her senses as she faced what is tantamount to a form of solitary confinement. Like Cheryl Strayed's Wild, Felicity Aston's Alone in Antarctica becomes an inspirational saga of one woman's battle through fear and loneliness as she honestly confronts both the physical challenges of her adventure, as well as her own human vulnerabilities.

The First Woman to Ski Solo Across the Southern Ice

Alone in Antarctica

Could you ski to the South Pole? That was the challenge that BritishAdventurer, Felicity Aston put to women from around the Commonwealthas she set out to create the most international all-female expedition ever tothe South Pole. The team would not be experienced explorers but 'ordinary'women who wanted inspire others to follow their dreams or make a changefor the better in their lives. She received more than 800 applications andembarked on a three-month journey around the world to interviewcandidates. 'What is skiing?' was the question that greeted her in Ghana.At the close of 2009, Felicity led a team from places as diverse as Jamaica,India, Singapore and Cyprus - some of whom had never even seen snow orspent the night in a tent before joining the expedition - on a 900 km skiingtrek across the Antarctic, one of the toughest and most notoriously hazardousjourneys on the planet.Eighty-mile-an-hour winds ripped through base camp; frostbite and injurieswere an everyday occurrence; deadly crevasses emerged from the crackingice beneath their feet. But they also shared beliefs, ideas, philosophies andlaughter, made lasting memories and broke no less than six World Records.

Taking the World to the South Pole

Call of the White

In 2009, Felicity Aston led a team of ‘ordinary’ women – some of whom had never even seen snow or slept in a tent before – on a 900 km skiing trek across the Antarctic, one of the toughest journeys on the planet. Despite eighty-mile-an-hour winds, deadly crevasses, frostbite and injuries, the expedition broke six World Records.

What would it feel like to be out there alone in that empty vastness? Just before midnight on 24 November 2011, Felicity is left completely alone on the coast of Antarctica. The isolation is instant and devastating. Only three people in the world have crossed Antarctica alone. The first two were men and both Norwegian. At the age of 34, British woman Felicity Aston became the third. Unlike her predecessors, she didn’t use kites or parasails to assist her. Within days, frozen into her facemask and reflecting on what had drawn her to such a place, she was battling desperate weather as she towed her heavy sledges. Every morning she wakes believing she cannot face another day as the expedition becomes a race against time to reach the coast before the last flight out. This gripping and inspirational account of personal endurance shows what you can achieve when you grit your teeth and decide just to get through today in one piece.

Felicity Aston

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