Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Colin O’Brady is Attempting to Cross Antarctica Solo, Unaided, and Unsupported

Colin O’Brady is attempting an impossible first: be the first person ever to walk 1,000 miles across Antarctica alone with no help and no food caches. To complicate things, British Army Captain Louis Rudd is trying to do the same thing at the same time.

Recommended Videos

We talked with O’Brady just before he left Punta Arenas in Chile for the chilly expedition.

On November 3, 2018, O’Brady started dragging a 400-pound sled on top of the ice of Antarctica. He has enough food for 70 days. Either he makes it in under the deadline or uses a satellite phone to call for rescue — and hope it can arrive in time.

The Risk

Solo, Unsupported, and Unaided

Colin O’Brady
Colin O’Brady

The record requires O’Brady to be unaided so he can’t use any machine or animal for help. People have used kites in the past to pull them up to 200 miles per day. Talking to O’Brady, he made sure to point out that’s a vastly different trip than the 10-20 miles he hopes to ski per day. Unsupported means he won’t have food drops or caches waiting for him along the way. He has to carry every ounce of food he’s going to eat for 70 days. And solo, of course, means he’ll be alone. Just the ice, a sled, and his own thoughts for two months.

Everyone Else Has Given Up (or Died Trying)

Colin O’Brady
Colin O’Brady

Everyone who has tried a solo, unaided, and unsupported trek in the past has been unsuccessful. Ben Saunders attempted the record in 2017 but ran out of food and had to call for rescue. Henry Worsley tried in 2016 and nearly made it. Weak from too little food near the end and a bad infection, he called for rescue but died two days later in hospital.

The Gear

What to Eat

Colin O’Brady
Colin O’Brady

One of the biggest problems with walking across Antarctica is getting enough calories. He’ll be walking 10 to 12 hours per day dragging a sled that weighs nearly 400 pounds. Not to mention the longest leg of the trip, from the start to the south pole, is all uphill. The South Pole itself sits on 9000 feet of ice.

O’Brady will eat nearly 5000 calories per day of custom-made ‘Colin Bars’. For a year before the expedition, he worked with doctors at Standard Process, a company specialized in whole food and nutritional supplements, to create a source of food perfectly formulated for Colin’s physiology. Each bar is 1250 calories of coconut oil, nut and seeds, veggie protein and cocoa powder. He’ll eat four of these every day. Combined with Alpineaire freeze-dried meals for breakfast and dinner, he aims to consume about 8000 calories per day.

What to Bring

Colin O’Brady
Colin O’Brady

Surviving on the ice in -30 degrees Fahrenheit and wind reaching 100 miles per hour requires specialized gear. O’Brady takes shelter in a burly Hilleberg Keron 3 tent that’s shaped like a tunnel. He stays warm while moving in a Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer down jacket and Bergen of Norwayouter layers specifically built for Antarctica. His Garmin inReach satellite tracker sends his exact location to the inReach website at regular intervals (where you can follow his progress). He uses a satellite phone to check in every day and, if necessary, call for emergency pick-up.

All the gear and food gets packed in a carbon fibre sled called a pulk and dragged across on the ice.

Last-Minute Race

Colin O’Brady
Colin O’Brady

Louis Rudd is also attempting the same trip. Henry Worsley, who died in 2016 attempting the crossing, was a good friend of Rudd’s and got him into polar exploration. Rudd but planned on crossing the continent in the opposite direction but changed his plans after meeting O’Brady in Chile, agreeing to a long-distance race of sorts. Rudd started only 20 miles away from O’Brady.

Rudd has been to Antarctica multiple times, including a trip to Worsley’s last campsite with six comrades after his death. O’Brady has been training hard for the last three years as well. He completed a record-breaking 139-day Explorers Grand Slam (the seven summits and two poles) in May 2016, broke the 50 highest points record in the U.S., and dragged a sled around Greenland for a month in 2017.

Follow Colin’s journey on his Instagram and the ImpossibleFirst website. Follow Louis’ expedition dispatches on the Shackleton blog.

Ross Collicutt
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ross is an outdoor adventure writer, amateur photographer, and computer programmer based on Vancouver Island, British…
The Dyrt’s new feature makes finding campsites easier than ever
The Dyrt adds new drive time feature to their Pro offerings
Camping with a view of the sunset over mountains

There are so many amazing camping apps out there, but Dyrt is one of my favorite apps for finding campgrounds, RV parks, glamping sites, and reviews to help you make informed decisions. Their premium offering, Dyrt Pro, already gives members access to many extra filters and tools to help users find exactly what they're looking for. But there's a brand-new feature called Drive Time that promises to be particularly helpful.

Drive time is a new tool that allows campers to instantly find campsites within a predetermined amount of driving time from their current location. If you already have Dyrt Pro, try it out by clicking "Drive Time" on the map. Then, use the toggle to indicate your preferred driving time. The app will then give you all options that match your specifications.

Read more
2025 Jeep Wagoneer Overland is a rare, limited-edition, off-road-ready beast
With beefy tires, a next-gen 4x4 system, and trail-ready tech, it's Jeep's most off-road-capable Wagoneer ever
2025 Jeep Wagoneer Overland SUV parked in the desert.

In my experience, I rarely see the latest generation of Jeep Wagoneers out on the trail. They're far more likely to be found in the parking lot of a yoga studio or smoothie cafe. But, that doesn't make them any less capable of conquering the backcountry. To further cement its off-road-ready chops, Jeep just released the limited-edition 2025 Jeep Wagoneer Overland Special Edition.

The exclusive new trim takes its already trail-ready SUV to the next level, with a long list of exclusive upgrades that make it the most capable Wagoneer in the lineup. A Quadra-Drive II 4x4 system with an electronic limited-slip differential and a two-speed transfer case automatically sends up to 100% of engine power to either the front or rear axle, depending on the required traction. That transfer case also boasts a 4-Low mode with a 48:1 crawl ratio and a user-selectable Rock Mode as part of Jeep's Selec-Terrain traction system (with Auto, Sport, Snow, and Sand/Mud settings, too). Plus, a Quadra-Lift air suspension with semi-active damping gives this Wagoneer up to 10 inches of total ground clearance. It all rides on beefy 32-inch all-terrain tires and handsome, 20-inch aluminum rims.

Read more
This national park has new rules after too many close calls with wolves
Here's how to keep your food safe from wolves this summer
Passage Island Lighthouse, Isle Royale National Park

With the increasing number of wolf encounters in the area, the National Park Service at Isle Royale National Park has implemented new food storage regulations, effective immediately. These new regulations aim to keep both wildlife and visitors safe while exploring the beautiful Great Lakes of Michigan. While these regulations are mandatory, I would recommend taking a note from them, no matter what national park you're headed to next.

The Isle Royale area is well-known for its wolf population, and at the park, there have been increased interactions between wolves and humans due to improperly stored food and trash, especially in areas like Rock Harbor and the eastern campgrounds. These items include all food, trash, cooking supplies, utensils, and toiletries.

Read more