Posted: Oct 19, 2006 05:52 am EST
(ThePoles.com) British Hannah McKeand is a keen adventurer, but also a social animal. Her empathy and cheerful temperament has been decisive in all expeditions she has taken part in. She has fit without effort in close-knit teams crossing northern Africa’s Western Desert and Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains, as well as a sailing crew racing around the world.

Right before her previous SP trip she couldn’t stand an evening alone in a hotel in Punta Arenas, so she hit the bar in town and rapidly made friends among cargo sailors harbored at the spot. Once on the way to the Pole, she entertained her team-mates by making stuffed pet-toys out of her expedition gear and performing at dinner with her bra over her polar clothes.

Alone on Antarctica

Taking into account her resume, it is not surprising she now wants to break a speed record on an unsupported trip from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole – but it seems shocking she has decided to do it solo.

“I think it is going to be really hard,” she told her home team. “I’m naturally a gregarious and social person and it will be very interesting managing my internal reaction to the isolation.”

Keeping calm is the clue

“I’ve been working quite hard at doing lots of positive visualization of how it’s going to be and how I’m going to feel. I have some on-the-spot relaxation techniques to keep myself calm if something makes me anxious. On the whole I’m a pretty calm person anyway, so I think it will be OK.”

To combat the loneliness and to keep in contact with the outside world, Hannah will be carrying an array of technology. As well as an Argos beacon, she will also carry two satellite telephones and a PDA equipped with Contact 3.0 software, allowing her to send live dispatches straight to her website.

Pain is only pain – it can be managed

She also has her previous polar experience to give her an idea of what lies ahead. “The biggest lesson I have learnt so far is that with a little patience, you can get anywhere. If you just keep putting one foot in front of the other then vast distances can be covered in time. I’ve also learned that pain is only pain and it can be managed psychologically to surprisingly good effect.”

“But most importantly I have learned that in the wilderness we are completely insignificant, and that only with utter respect and the best preparation can you spend time there safely.”

After the Pole, Blizzard expedition

In addition to the South Pole challenge, Hannah has a sailing trip prepared, also across Southern regions – which will go off after she finishes the skiing SP expedition. As soon as she returns from the Geographic South Pole, Hannah will sail from Tasmania to the South Magnetic Pole aboard her 20-meter, schooner-rigged sailing yacht "Blizzard", accompanied by her partner David Pryce.

Hannah's upcoming expedition plan is simple: Ski the 730 miles (1130 km) to the South Pole, solo and unsupported in a record time of 40 days.

Hannah plans to land at Patriot Hills early November and practice for two weeks; skiing to Hercules Inlet and back. “I intend to train hard and get used to the uphill section out of Hercules Inlet,” she told ExplorersWeb. “With that I hope to increase my speed and cover 15km a day by the time I start the real trip.”

Three other women have completed the trip to the South Pole from Hercules Inlet solo and unsupported: Norwegian Liv Arnesen covered the 1130km distance in 50 days, back in 1994. On November 30, 2003 two British women, Fiona Thornewill and Rosie Stancer-Clayton set off from Hercules Inlet, Fiona reaching the Pole on January 10, 2004 – and Rosie only two days later. Hannah will attempt to break Fiona’s speed record by two days.

After earning a degree in Classics at Lampeter University and working as Marketing Manager and then Tourmanager for the Watermill Theatre in Newbury U.K. for seven years, at 31 Hannah McKeand decided to drop everything, mortgage the house and go exploring.

In 2001 she traveled across the Western Desert on the borders of Egypt, Libya and Sudan; the first of several trips to the Northern Africa desert areas. In 2004, she hiked across Afghanistan. Later that year she joined a team led by Denise Martin for the South Pole. Other members were Owen Jones, Craig Mathieson and Fiona Taylor. They were dropped onto the ice at Hercules Inlet on November 4 and headed straight into bad weather.

Fiona suffered frostbite during the trip from Hercules Inlet to Patriot Hill, where she decided to abort her attempt. Weeks later, Owen, in pain due to an Achilles tendon injury, would be airlifted near the Thiel Mountains.

In exchange, the team was joined by Stuart and Linda, who were pinned down when their team leader Devon suffered a bad cut to his hand, and had to be airlifted from the ice. The group arrived at the Geographic South Pole on Dec 29, 2004.

Back from Antarctica in 2005, Hannah completed half the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, sailing as watch leader on Glasgow Clipper from Liverpool, England to Portugal, Brazil, Durban, Fremantle, Singapore and the Philippines.

Earlier this year, Hannah resurfaced - teaming up with David Pryce, an experienced Antarctic and Southern Ocean sailor. They launched Blizzard Expeditions, an adventure outfit company exploring the Southern Ocean regions including Antarctica, South Georgia, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego as well as Cape Horn and the Beagle Channel.

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