Oregon Man First Person to Cross Antarctica With No Assistance

A man from Portland, Oregon, has recently become the first person ever to traverse Antarctica on his own, with no assistance needed.

33-year-old Colin O'Brady even documented the whole mind blowing journey on his Instagram page, after finishing up Wednesday after 77 miles (124 kilometers) across the frozen, virtually uninhabited landmass. O'Brady has proven without a doubt the true strength of the human spirit, as anything can be accomplished with true determination.

 

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Day 54: FINISH LINE!!! I did it! The Impossible First ✅. 32 hours and 30 minutes after leaving my last camp early Christmas morning, I covered the remaining ~80 miles in one continuous “Antarctica Ultramarathon” push to the finish line. The wooden post in the background of this picture marks the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctica’s land mass ends and the sea ice begins. As I pulled my sled over this invisible line, I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided. While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced. I was locked in a deep flow state the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey. I’m delirious writing this as I haven’t slept yet. There is so much to process and integrate and there will be many more posts to acknowledge the incredible group of people who supported this project. But for now, I want to simply recognize my #1 who I, of course, called immediately upon finishing. I burst into tears making this call. I was never alone out there. @jennabesaw you walked every step with me and guided me with your courage and strength. WE DID IT!! We turned our dream into reality and proved that The Impossible First is indeed possible. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” - Nelson Mandela. #TheImpossibleFirst #BePossible

A post shared by Colin O'Brady (@colinobrady) on Dec 26, 2018 at 12:55pm PST

“While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced,” O’Brady posted. While O'Brady may not be the first to have traversed Antarctica, he is the first to do it without assistance. Those who have prior to him either had assistance with reinforced supplies or kites that helped them propel forward.

It's truly almost unbelievable, as, during the bone-chilling 54-day journey O'Brady had to haul 375 pounds of gear largely uphill. As they say, there's nothing tougher than an Oregon Boy. Read the full story here at USA Today.