Former GB Para-Athlete On Target to Ski to South Pole

3rd December 2024

The 38-year old suffered a stroke while serving as an officer in the British Army in 2014 – it left him completely paralysed from the neck down on his left side. NEW

Jonny Huntington is a 38-year-old stroke survivor aiming to become the first disabled person to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole.

He’s completed the first week on the ice, covering 120km of his landmark Antarctic expedition.

Aware that this is a “marathon not a sprint”, Jonny is easing his way into the expedition.

He is skiing for around eight and a half hours and covering between 18 and 23 km of distance per day on his way to the Pole.

He expects to take 40-days to reach his goal.

Earlier on PlanetSKI we reported as he set off:

Former GB para athlete sets off to ski to the South Pole

About his start, Jonny said; “So I’ve been on the ice for a whole week now. It still feels weird to be in Antarctica.

“We’re getting on pretty well and so far, I’m hitting distances.”

Surprisingly, it’s not been the frozen polar temperatures he’s been most worried about, but the heat and strength of the sun that has been a challenge.

From the ice, Jonny said: “The sun is brutal when it hits you and you must be so careful not to burn at all. It’s a real threat I have to be aware of.”

Also hampering Jonny’s progress has been the need to navigate over ‘sastrugi’ – wind formed ice formations that can grow to the size of cars sticking out of the Antarctic ice.

Antarctica expedition. Image © Jonny Huntington

“I had a bit of a rough end to the day on Friday as I hit some sastrugi later on which really slowed me down in terms of movement. And then had a load of really flat light,” added Jonny.

“For me, one of the things with my left leg is that pulling the pulk over the sastrugi requires a lot of pull force from the back of your legs.

“Due to my disability, my left leg doesn’t really produce enough force to get me and the pulk moving over one of these divots.

“So, I have to take extra care to make sure I’m positioned correctly to get myself up and over.

Antarctica expedition. Image © Jonny Huntington

“In flat light you can’t really see texture well, so seeing where lumps are is really difficult.

“That makes it easier to fall in a hole, but it also makes it much harder to get yourself positioned well for it.

“So, the combination of sastrugi and flat light makes it really slow to make progress, meaning I decided to finish the day a little earlier than planned.”

Antarctica expedition. Image © Jonny Huntington

Here’s what it’s like inside Jonny’s tent.

Antarctica expedition. Image © Jonny Huntington

At just 28 years old, a stroke in 2014 left Jonny with complete left-side paralysis.

After years of intense rehab, today Jonny lives with permanent brain damage resulting in a significant lack of strength, mobility and control down his left side.

Due to Jonny’s disability, the lack of mobility and control down his left-hand side, exacerbated by the cold climate of Antarctica, has proved a constant challenge with the uneven and sometimes unpredictable snow conditions.

Jonny added; “I have taken a few falls, four in one day is the record, however it is all about getting back up, brushing yourself down and moving on. But it is to be expected.

“Snow down here is different to that you’d expect in a ski resort. It tends to be pretty hard and icy. And obviously not groomed at all.

“So, your skis will hit something, and you won’t know if it’s going to be hard or soft.

“My injury means I have little to no movement in my left ankle, meaning that my leg kind of freely rotates.

“So, the problem I have is that if the edge of my ski clips on something in the snow it can cause the foot to rotate and the ski to veer towards my other ski.

“Crossing skis is really not what you want and can often cause you to fall over.”

Jonny is now planning to increase his daily target to consistently hit 24km per day as he progresses into week two of the expedition.

Through his expedition, Jonny will be raising money for four charities:

The Invictus Games Foundation
Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team
Team Forces
The Adaptive Grand Slam Foundation.

To donate, visit https://givestar.io/gs/south-pole-solo-expedition

Jonny was born in Cambridge, where he lived until he went to university at 18-years-old and subsequently joined the military.

He now lives in Kingsbridge, Devon.

To find out more about Jonny’s expedition, visit www.jonnyhuntington.com see @jonnyhuntington on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Jonny would like to thank the many people who have helped him to take on this challenge including his partners

Specialist Risk Group
Team Forces
Collins Aerospace
ACRE Capital Real Estate
Continuate

Here at PlanetSKI we will be following Johnny’s journey to The South Pole so do look out for the next update.

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