A 21-year-old Norwegian woman has become the youngest person to reach the South Pole on skis, her team says
A 21-year-old Norwegian woman has become the youngest person to reach the South Pole by skiing alone and without help, her team told AFP on Tuesday.
Karen Kylleso did this feat overnight between Monday and Tuesday, 114 years after Norwegian and polar explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole.
Kylleso, who was born on May 9, 2003, traveled 702 kilometers in just under 54 days.
“A page written in the history of the country,” his adviser, Lars Ebbesen of Norway, told AFP.
Kylesso posted photos on Instagram of reaching the South Pole.
In that way, the young Scandinavian dethroned Pierre Hedan of France, who, according to Guinness World Records, held the record for being the youngest person to reach the South Pole, alone and unassisted, at the age of 26.
He set the record on January 7, 2024.
Kylleso, who is only five feet tall and weighs 106 pounds, pulled a 100-pound sled, or twice his own weight, in his attempt to reach the pole.
In a November interview with entertainment company Shackleton, Kylleso said “gaining weight was one of the hardest parts.”
“Since I am smaller than the average man who does this, I need more weight and strength to pull the same load,” he said, adding that he increased his body weight by 10% before the trip.
Kylleso arrived late on Monday in temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius (-13 degrees Fahrenheit).
She is still the youngest girl to cross Greenland on ice, completing this task at the age of 15, in 2018.
“He hadn’t even been to (Greenland) before he asked me: ‘Do you think I can go to the South Pole?'” Ebbesen recalled.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store praised the young player on Tuesday, saying he was “following in the footsteps of Norway’s heroes”.
On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole, part of a tragic race against Robert Scott of Britain who died of exhaustion and cold on the return journey along with four of his companions.
Kylleso’s success comes after a few years Preet Chandi skied solo to the South Polebecoming the first woman of color to accomplish this feat. “I want to encourage people to, you know, be proud of their skin color and be proud of where they’re from,” the Brit told CBS News. “It took me a really long time to be proud of that.”
