Cool Feat: British Teen Youngest Person to Ski to South Pole

Amelia Hempleman-Adams, 16, on trek with her explorer dad.

ByABC News
December 9, 2011, 10:38 AM

Dec. 9, 2011 -- A 16-year-old British schoolgirl has become the youngest person ever to ski her way to the South Pole.

Amelia Hempleman-Adams, daughter of explorer David Hempleman-Adams joined her dad on the expedition. They skied 97 miles and spent 17 nights on the ice, where temperatures were as low as -58 degrees and there was 24-hour daylight, before they arrived Friday in the early morning.

Amelia called the experience "extraordinary" and told the BBC: "The biggest challenges were the freezing cold, dried food, pulling frozen poo in a sledge, dad's snoring."

The best bit, she said: "Experiencing what dad does on expeditions." She said she wasn't sure whether she'd want to repeat the experience. "I'll have to think about that after a few nights' sleep."

Father and daughter, and their small team left the U.K. on Nov. 18 and arrived in Punta Arenas in southern Chile on Nov. 20. They began the expedition on Nov. 26 from the Farthest Point South, where legendary British explorer Ernest Shackleton turned back in 1909. Amelia carried a picture of Shackleton and a coin that his granddaughter, Alexandra, had given her.

Amelia's father told the BBC that he was very proud of his youngest daughter. "Amelia has done amazingly well." He said he was very protective and looked out for her. "Obviously, I wanted to make sure she returned to the U.K. with all her fingers and toes."

On Amelia's blog, he noted that he found it hard to keep up with his daughter. "She did everything: She cooked, she pulled her sledge the whole way, so there was no slacking."

Amelia, who is in high school in Bath, England, said she didn't manage to get any schoolwork done during the trek. "I brought a lot of homework with me, but dad took most of the books out of my sledge to keep the weight down."

She said she has a busy Christmas ahead. "I think I'll have a lot of homework to do over the Christmas holidays," she told the U.K.'s Telegraph. "I'm most looking forward to a comfy bed, a shower and some chocolate brownies."

On her blog, Amelia wrote that she was following in the footsteps of her sisters, Alicia, 22, who in 2005 at age 15 became the youngest person to travel to the North Pole, and Camilla, 19. "It must be in our blood!" she said. She said she would really miss her black retriever, Lilly, while she was away.