Norwegian Man Crosses Antarctic Alone

For 64 days, Boerge Ousland saw little more than white. Endless fields of packed snow, occasionally broken up by peaks and canyons of icy white. Fiercely blowing flakes at times obscured the view of his white horizon.

The 34-year-old Norwegian emerged on the Pacific edge of Antarctica on Saturday to become the first person to cross the continent alone and unaided.

Exhausted and slightly frostbitten, Ousland beat three other adventurers who set out separately Nov. 15 to complete the 1,675-mile journey.

“I am very, very tired, but incredibly happy,” Ousland said by radio.

Four New Zealanders from the Scott Base research outpost at McMurdo Sound cheered Ousland on the last three miles of his crossing.

“He was fine and happy. He had a big smile and was elated that it was over,” base radio operator Rick James said by telephone.

The New Zealanders shook Ousland’s hand and shot photographs and video footage as he skied the rest of the way unassisted to the base, home to 55 scientists and support personnel.

After reading a congratulatory message sent by fax from British rival Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Ousland ate a hot meal of pasta, meat and vegetables, went into a warm cabin and fell into a deep sleep.

“He’s overwhelmed. He’s arrived at Scott Base. He hasn’t seen anyone for the last two months, except for at the South Pole, and now suddenly he’s got 50-odd new faces around him,” base operations manager Rex Hendry said.

Ousland beat his own prediction of how long the crossing would take--90 days--by nearly a month.

He harnessed Antarctica’s fierce winds by strapping himself to a parachute-like sail. With winds in his favor, he could ski as much as 140 miles a day--all while towing a sled carrying about 400 pounds of supplies.

Having set out from the northwestern point of Berkner Island, he reached the South Pole--roughly his midway point--on Dec. 19, and briefly met other people in his only human contact of the trip.

“The loneliness is a positive in a way,” he said Saturday. “When you’re by yourself, you get closer to yourself, and to the surroundings.”

He maintained his strength and warmth by eating a high-fat food ration of 6,200 calories every other day. Asked how it tasted, Ousland said only: “It just gets better and better the more hungry you get.”

With his arrival Saturday, Ousland now holds four polar records. He and Norwegian Erling Kagge were the first pair to ski to the North Pole unaided in 1990; and Ousland made the trek by himself in 1993. He also is the only man to have reached both poles.