A record-breaking summer for expeditions in Antartica
By MICHAEL WARREN Associated Press January 24, 2012 5:24PM
FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2011 file photo provided by the Kaspersky ONE Trans-antarctic Expedition, Felicity Aston takes a picture of herself at Union Glacier days before she traveled to her starting point on the Ross Ice Shelf for a solo trek across Antarctica. Aston, 34, crossed Antarctica in 59 days, pulling two sledges for more than 1,084 miles (1,744 kilometers) from the Leverett Glacier to the Hercules Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf. On Monday morning, Jan. 23, 2012, she tweeted that she has completed her journey. (AP Photo/Kaspersky ONE Trans-antarctic Expedition/Kaspersky Lab, File)
Updated: January 24, 2012 5:29PM
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — British adventurer Felicity Aston is getting on the next flight out of Antarctica after becoming the first woman to ski alone across the icy continent, a journey of 59 days and more than 1,000 miles in near-total solitude.
That leaves just one more team out on the ice: Australians Justin Jones and James Castrission. They are skiing to the South Pole and back to the same place where Aston finished up, Hercules Inlet. That pair has been skiing for 85 days and much farther than Aston, with no re-supplies.
It’s been the busiest summer ever for Antarctica, with about 20 expeditions supported from the South American side of the continent, many honoring the centennial of the conquest of the South Pole.
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