10/24/01Pair first to cross Antarctica unassisted

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upi.com Wrote:

ATLANTA, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- An American -- who had never cross-country skied before -- and a Norwegian woman together became the first to cross Antarctica unassisted, records show.

Ryan Waters, 36, a native of Cobb County, Ga., now living in Boulder, Colo., and Cecilie Skog, 35, a native of Alesund, Norway, reached the South Pole on New Year's Eve and arrived at their destination Thursday at the Ross Sea, completing their 70-day, 1,000-mile expedition, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Others have traversed the continent, but with the assistance of kites or dogs. Waters and Skog did it all alone, each pulling 300 pounds of equipment as they skied in temperatures as cold as minus 50 degrees.

"The mental part was the most difficult part. It was so many days of constant skiing and at times it was hard," Waters said.

Waters currently lives in Boulder, Colo., where he runs his own business called Mountain Professionals, Waters' parents said.

Waters worked as a geologist for a number of years before focusing on his passion for exploration, the newspaper reported.

In May 2004, Waters became the second Georgian to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He resided for a number of years in South America, where he led more than 30 Andes Mountains expeditions.

The Norway Post reported Skog is the only woman to have reached both the North and South poles, climbed Mount Everest and the so-called "Seven Summits," the highest peaks on each of the Earth's seven continents.

[embm]

cool
damn tats cold