A 21-year-old woman has become the youngest person to ski solo to the South Pole.
Karen Kyllesø smashed the world record, conquering a 1,133km trek in just 54 days.
The young adventurer braved extreme conditions with temperatures plummeting to as low as -40C.
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Karen even battled sastrugi – a term used to describe the texture of heavily wind-eroded snow.
Throughout the journey, Karen dragged a sledge which weighed 100kg – double her body weight.
Frenchman Matthieu Tordeur became the first person to break the record in 2019.
In 51 days, he became the youngest explorer to ski from the coast of the Antarctic continent to the South Pole at the age of 27.
Now Karen has smashed her way into the record books and cemented her place in polar history.
“For me, the biggest inspiration is dreams and working towards them,” Karen, who is from Norway, told What’s The Jam.
“That sense of accomplishment when you complete something hard – it’s a big motivator.
“The record itself isn’t what motivates me, but I thought that it would be cool to hold the overall and female record.
“It’s great to have a woman up there on that list.”
Karen began her journey on 21 November 2024, tackling the Hercules Inlet route which is famous for its tough conditions.
Each day of the expedition required hours of skiing through whiteouts and total isolation.
Both her mental and physical well-being were seriously put to the test.
At a height of 148cm and weight of 48kg, Karen had to add 10% to her body weight to give her the strength she needed for the journey.
“Gaining weight was one of the hardest parts,” Karen said.
“I’m smaller than the average male and I needed extra weight and strength to pull the same load.
“It was on [a] three-week solo expedition [in Norway when] I learned the most.
“It was my first time being alone for that long.
“There were a lot of things I had to handle on my own – just the feeling of being far from home for that amount of time.”
Before her record-breaking expedition, Karen had to prepare herself physically and mentally.
She says she used her previous experiences to stay grounded and driven throughout.
Karen hit a record at the age of 14 when she joined a team of strangers to cross a 600km ice shelf in Greenland.
She became the youngest female to complete the journey.
Karen relied on a specialist kit given to her by expedition brand, Shackleton, who she is an ambassador for.
She wore padded jackets and trousers specifically designed for the extreme weather to help her make it through the below-freezing temperatures on her trip.
The young adventurer hopes that she can inspire others by showing them that even the most daunting of goals are possible to achieve.
Karen said: “Start small.
“Build your confidence gradually instead of jumping straight into something as big as the South Pole.
“Take small steps.”
“I never doubted that I was going to make it.”
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