From Devon and Serre Chevalier to the South Pole; para-skier's epic challenge

On November 24, para-athlete and former army officer Jonny Huntington started a long, long solo journey– a 911km ski trek across Antarctica to the South Pole. 

Originally meant to start on November 30, the start was pushed forward because "who waits for a blizzard when clear skies call?" as he points out on his Instagram page. 

He will face vicious winds, temperatures as cold as minus 30C, and unpredictable snow and ice hazards while pulling a 110kg coffin-like sled containing his vital gear.

His only contact with his support team at the base camp at Union Glacier will be via two satellite phones.

In 2014, a massive stroke left Jonny totally paralysed down his left side.

Yet he rebuilt his life, becoming an elite climber, kayaker and cross-country para-skier in Serre Chevalier in the French Alps. In 2020, he achieved another dream, completing a master’s degree in sport and health sciences.

Read more: Vendée Globe round-the-world solo sailing race begins in France

'Used to challenges'

Jonny, 38, will be the first person with a disability to attempt this gruelling solo journey.

He has devoted five years to intensive training: at his home in Devon, England, in the French and Swiss Alps, and with the Para Nordic team in Scandinavia.

Before he flew to San Diego in Chile, from where he will be travelling on to Puntas Arenas, then flying on to join his team in Antarctica, Jonny spoke about his battle to prepare physically and mentally for the expedition.

“I’m used to challenges. My gradual recovery has meant facing one challenge after another and this is my biggest yet,” he said.

“We’ve known for hundreds of years that we all need challenges to survive. You only have to look at mid-19th Century French literature to get that – Madame Bovary was bored!

Read more: ‘I hit rock bottom, learned to swim and then swam the Channel’

Long recovery

“My stroke was just bad luck. Ironically, I had started running and then got injured eight weeks later. A blood vessel burst in my brain, affecting my strength, balance and limb co-ordination. I was in intensive care for five weeks.”

He then spent eight months at the famous Headley Court military hospital in Surrey and continued in rehab for the following two-and-a-half years.

For a time, he was still able to work for the Army but was discharged in 2016 and got a job as a civil servant. 

Despite his gradual physical improvement and the financial and emotional support he received, he hit a bad patch in 2016. “I went through a period of losing my identity. I couldn’t run, I was operating with no purpose.

“My then-girlfriend split with me on the day Brexit was announced. I think she saw some kind of breakdown coming... both for the EU and for me. I was driving down to Devon and was ready to jump off a cliff.”

New passion

It was a dangerous but defining moment. Instead of giving up, he rang his former commanding officer, Liz Winfield, who is also chief operations operator of the Armed Forces Para Snowsport Team (AFPST).

“Liz had been a pal from the start of my illness. I realised that day that I needed a different challenge, so I rang and asked her if AFPST did cross country skiing, which I hadn’t tried.”

The sport became a passion.

Now, eight years later, he can run long distances, slowly, is an elite paraclimber and a kayaker.

As he journeys across the Antarctic, he will be skiing, slowly but surely, every day while listening to ski and “surf bum” music, including classic Beach Boys tracks.

His equipment includes a regular medical kit, but no special drugs for his condition as he now copes without. 

Read more: France’s ‘Iron man’: ‘I had this crazy dream of flying even higher’

Most important are two pairs of lightweight skis, used for glacier racing. “If temperatures near zero, you lose snow and get burrows so your skis have to be light and flexible… also, if it is cold over sheet ice, it is very slidey.

“I have a fantastic bag of kit: basically a snug tent, like any other, and an inflatable roll mat to sleep on, full of down.

“My sleeping bag is warm up to minus 40 degrees. I have a jacket and balaclava and I am in touch with the base. I might need to eat my words as there are certain things you can’t control, like the weather.”

Calorie intake

A key part of his day will be eating and drinking. “Foods for my trip are supplied by a company called Expedition Foods.

“They contain micro-nutrients, which supply enough fat, which you need, but they make them light so you don’t feel uncomfortable. My calorific burn will be about 9,000 a day, and I take in about 6,000. 

"The practicality of adding more calories is tricky as, unless you are a weightlifter, all you are doing is eating. I am 5ft 11in and weigh 86kg but expect to lose 10kg.”

He will eat a 1,000-calorie breakfast, including 400 cals of protein shake, plus a couple of real coffees, and salami, cheese and peanuts as snacks - about 300 calories in total.

Lunch is 800 calories from a pasta dish such as spaghetti bolognese, and dinner is a treat such as Asian chicken. A chocolate bar with marzipan supplies 400 calories of indulgence before sleep.

“I have a stove that burns white liquid fuel, so no gas. You just get the snow, and turn it into water.” 

'Dreams are there to be followed' 

As he sets out from Union Glacier, the holding camp for all Antarctic explorers, he says he will look forward to the task before him.

“I am good when on a mission. You put blinkers on. Humanity has bigger issues than some bloke in the cold. 

“There is so much horror in the world that there is a place for optimism. I went back to my old school recently to give a talk, and realised that none of the boys in the sixth form had been born when I was their age.

“I went from school to Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and followed an army career but in 2014 my life changed completely. I told them to be adaptable and think big. Dreams are there to be followed.

“This journey is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done. But I had to learn to walk again at 28 and have the resilience to finish.”

Read more: ‘Run of my life’: French skier hits 255.5km/h to break speed record

Jonny now gives talks to other school groups about coping with life, emotional problems, and disabilities. “Facing daily challenges comes into it but, of course, it doesn’t have to be sporting. I tell them that even old people like me need challenges to keep us going.”

Jonny hopes to complete his expedition during the first week of January with a world record.

His first stop after flying home?

“London zoo, where I can see the penguins,” he jokes. “I won’t see any in Antarctica as my route will be inland.

“Still, I will be taking pictures so I hope people will enjoy the journey with me.”

If you want to enjoy the journey with him, you can follow his Instagram, where  updates to his journey will be posted such as radio recordings and explanations of the challenges he faces.