A thrilling polar competition between two adventurers to cross Antarctica alone, unsupported and unassisted had a happy ending with both explorers achieving the unprecedented feat (功绩). American professional athlete Colin O'Brady and British Army Captain Louis Rudd set off a mile apart at the same time on November 3, 2018, from the Atlantic coast with the aim to become the first person to ski across the remote continent alone.
Louis Rudd maintained the lead at first. However, O'Brady caught up with Rudd on November10 and never let the British man get close to him again. O'Brady was the first to conquer the 930 mile icy land, arriving at the Ross Ice Shelf on the Pacific coast by way of the South Pole on December 26, 2018. The 33-year-old spent 54 days skiing the world's coldest continent while pulling a 300-pound sled(雪橇) with supplies.
Instead of leaving the harsh environment after completing the historic adventure, the explorer set up a tent on the world's largest ice sheet and waited patiently for Rudd to complete the great undertaking. On December 29, just three days after O'Brady arrived, the British explorer finished his adventure, becoming the world's second person to complete the solo crossing of the frozen continent.
Rudd was not disappointed at being second since he never considered it to be a "race". Besides, the 49-year-old British Army Captain had a more selfless motive for attempting the feat. He was doing it in memory of his friend Henry Worsley, who had introduced him to polar exploration. The disaster happened while Worsley was trying to cross the continent alone in 2016. Rudd said, "I didn't want to get drawn into a race. All that mattered to me was that I completed it, and that I skied solo and unsupported, carrying the flag with Henry's name on it."
After spending a few days camping 10 feet away from each other, the two adventurers were picked up by a helicopter to the South Pole scientific research station.
