Devon explorer Sam Cox completes most treacherous part of Antarctic expedition

A former Royal Marine from Devon has travelled 600km to the mainland of Antarctica in an attempt to break a world record.

Sam Cox from Torquay has recently completed the most treacherous part of his epic 2000km solo expedition to cross the continent.

It was an uphill battle and the former marine had to split his kit into smaller bags so he could make his way to contact his team from the Salee Snowfields.

Now, Sam has successfully travelled across the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf making up Antarctica.

Sam began the trek on Monday 20 November following a 15-day delay in Chile, and has just 78 days to complete the journey.

Sam said: “It was a big climb up with 300m elevation over 3km. It’s now a much steadier climb to the pole. I’m at 1300m and the pole sits around 2800m. But that’s spread over another 820km.

“I’ve had to cope with some pretty hot conditions and vicious winds, and I'm still pulling a lot of weight – but feeling strong and in good spirits.”

Sam is currently about 160km away from the South Pole.

During this time of year, Antarctica experiences 24 hours of sunlight meaning the sun does not set, which allows for warmer nights.

Sam wants to be the first person to complete a solo crossing of Antarctica and has to spend between 10 and 12 hours a day on skis to complete his mission, sometimes more.

He is only able to reach out to his wife and daughter for support once a day, apart from that it's just Sam and the ice.

Sam said: “I think I’m bound to have cloudy days and no sun where that’s going to be more and more prevalent but that’s probably just learning conditions.

“Learning more about myself out here is probably one of those things that will take a couple of weeks I think.”

You can keep an eye on Sam's journey on the Frozen Dagger website.