Indian-origin Sikh Army officer, Captain Preet Chandi will make history by becoming the first woman to cross Antarctica solo in an unsupported expedition, travelling over 1,600 km while pulling her sledge with her kit.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate have officially supported Captain Chandi in her quest to create history.
In January, she became the first 'woman of colour' to complete a solo expedition to the South Pole
Known as 'Polar Preet', Captain Chandi is serving as a medical officer in the British Army and is on a period of leave for her journey. She started her challenging expedition in November for phase one of her trip to the South Pole, covering over 1,000 km in 40 days alone on the ice.
After reaching the south pole, Captain Chandi wrote in her blog post, " I don't want to just break the glass ceiling, I want to smash it into a million pieces."
The aim of her expedition is to complete a solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica, the coldest driest continent on Earth, where temperatures go below -50 C with wind speeds up to 95 km/hr.
Captain Preet Chandi joined the Army Reserves at the age of 19 where she eventually got commissioned in 2012. At the age of 27, she joined the Regular Army and was part of deployments and bilateral exercises. Her most recent deployment was with the UN for a 6-month peacekeeping tour to South Sudan.
She is the first person in her to get a degree, which she says is "one of her greatest achievements".
