Colin O'Brady Completes Historic Antarctic Crossing

The final miles of a nearly two-month race across Antarctica -- a lonely effort marked by long days, short nights and stunning endurance -- ended Wednesday with a sprint to the finish.

From a report: Adventurer Colin O'Brady on Wednesday accomplished what he had dubbed 'the Impossible First,' becoming the first person to complete a solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica. With a push of 32 hours after leaving his last camp on Christmas morning, the 33-year-old American reached the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf on Day 54 of his expedition. He had covered almost 80 miles since his last sleep. Briton Lou Rudd, who set off the same day -- Nov. 3 -- on the same quest, on Wednesday had about 70 miles left, according to his expedition's tracking map. It estimated a finish on Saturday.

The full trek is about 935 miles. O'Brady's Instagram post from the finish post read in part: '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.' O'Brady had reached the South Pole on Dec. 12, a day ahead of Rudd.

The New York Times story adds: To some following his progress, his decision was unnerving. Under intense stress, the line between lucidity and madness can be fuzzy, and especially so for someone who has been alone for almost two months, trekking miles each day, while doing battle with raging winds, unseasonal snowfall, whiteout visibility and polar temperatures. Could someone in that situation, exhausted and emaciated, be trusted to make sound choices?

'I can feel myself in a deep fatigue state,' O'Brady said when reached by satellite phone on Dec. 22. 'When I was crossing Greenland' -- a journey he undertook this summer to prepare for this expedition -- 'I kind of let my guard down on my last night, and I fell into a crevasse that could have easily killed me. I want to be done badly, but at the same time, it's about executing all the little things and not make any stupid mistakes at the end.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.