Advertisement

‘The most special moment of my life’ – first man to walk to both poles hands globe to next generation

Robert Swan rejoins 23-year-old Barney at climax of pioneering Antarctic expedition fuelled entirely by renewable energy

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Father and son Robert and Barney Swan are the first people to walk to the South Pole using only renewable energy. Photos: Handout

What could be more special than becoming the first person to walk to both the North and the South Pole? For Robert Swan, it was arriving at the South Pole almost 30 years after his pioneering expedition but this time with his son, Barney.

Advertisement

The two men set out to be the first people to reach the pole using only renewable energy for cooking, eating and survival.

“In one sense it is quite easy to walk to the poles because you can trust the systems to get you there,” Robert said of the trip that saw temperatures reach minus 40 degrees Celsius.

“The lightest system is the traditional system to cook, eat and survive [which burns fuel].”

But with this trip, the sledges they dragged were heavier and untested to accommodate some of the world’s most advanced technologies, including advanced biofuels provided by Shell and a state-of-the-art solar-powered ice melter from Nasa.

Advertisement

WATCH: The Journey to the South Pole

Advertisement