Portland man is the first man to walk across Antarctica alone

(JANUARY 26, 2019) Colin O'Brady is from Portland. He is a professional athlete. He has won many contests.

Last month, Colin walked across Antarctica. In fact, on December 26, 2018, Colin became the first person ever to walk across Antarctica without help. He finished before another man doing the same thing at the same time.

Colin's trip was 921 miles. The trip took 54 days. He walked, and he used skis. He pulled a plastic sled with his things, such as food and clothing.

Colin was alone. He had no car, airplane, or snowmobile. Nobody brought him extra food, fresh water, or new clothing.

The weather was very cold. Sometimes there was a lot of snow and wind. That is called a whiteout. He could not see far in a whiteout.

Colin said, "When it’s blue sky and you’re on [high ground], you can feel so small. It’s just endless, and you’re like this tiny little speck. You can look [everywhere, and] there’s nothing. There’s no tree, no building. You are the only tiny little thing out there in this endless sea of light. So that makes you feel small. But then when it’s whiteout, it’s the opposite ... all I can see is my compass a couple inches away from my nose."

Colin has one suggestion for others: Bring extra skis.