Why are we called Apopolaris? 

Apopolaris is a word we’ve invented, from the Greek for “away” and the Latin for “the pole star”. We’re a diverse team, but we have a common dream: to venture away from our homes in the Northern hemisphere as far as our feet will take us; to step away from the comforts of daily life; and to encounter nature at her most challenging and awe-inspiring.

We are inspired by giants of the heroic age of polar exploration: Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton, among others. They were masters of moving in the unknown; the unmapped. They would have orientated themselves away from the fixed point of the pole star when they set off. But while we walk in their footsteps we also walk another path, as we have 21st century technologies to clothe and feed and protect us.

We are surprised that no woman has yet skied up the Beardmore Glacier and on to the South Pole, and we also know that the social barriers to this are gone:  we are moving away from old certainties. We look up to Liv Arnesen and other female pioneers of polar expeditioning.

The route

We will ski from the Bay of Whales, over the Ross Sea, up the Beardmore Glacier and then head steadily towards the South Pole. No one has ever skied this route.

The Bay of Whales is where Roald Amundsen started his ski to the Pole. He was the first person to get there in 1911. The Beardmore Glacier is the way Captain Scott made his approach. Scott’s team arrived second, in 1912. Our team is exclusively made up of British and Norwegian team members.

Most Antarctic expeditions begin form the inner coast, but we will start from the outer coast - at the water’s edge. ~450 people have skied from the inner coast to the South Pole, fewer than 50 have skied from the outer coast to the South Pole. The Ross Sea is about the width of Spain, and we will ski across it. It’s flat, the wind blows unimpeded and can reach high speeds.

Next, we will ascend the Beardmore Glacier. It will be too steep to pull all of our gear up at once, so we will relay our way up. At points, the snow will be blown off completely, exposing blue ice, and we will use cramp-ons and ice screws. On the polar plateau we will steadily ascend to 3500 meters to reach the South Pole.

The adventure will involve packing 70 days of food. That is almost the entire length of the Antarctic summer, so steady and regular progress is essential.

We believe that there are numerous Unique Selling Points to our endeavour:

  • We are blending the historic first and second routes to the pole in a unique way, honouring the legacy of the giants of the Heroic Polar Age

  • We will travel from the outer (or “true”) coast, so we will be able to dip our ski tips in the sea at the start

  • We will travel through at least three distinct zones: the Ross Ice Shelf, the steep and crevassed Beardmore Glacier and the polar plateau

  • Our team includes the first women to ever ski from the coast to the Pole via the Beardmore Glacier

  • We are contacting science research labs to find out what sampling support we can offer in this remote region

We aim to start skiing in mid-November 2025. We will be skiing over Christmas and New Year. Reaching the South Pole in mid-to-late January 2026.