Aussie doctors attempt world-first crossing of Antarctic

Two adventuring doctors will battle major polar storms, winds of up to 150km/h and temperatures as low as -40C as they attempt a world-first crossing of the Antarctic.

Dr Gareth Andrews and Dr Richard Stephenson will embark on the first unsupported ski crossing of Antarctica over an estimated 110 days, a mammoth project which has been years in the making.

Dr Andrews told Today people have tried and failed the difficult trek in the past, but he and Dr Stephenson are the best prepared team to successfully complete the task.

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"It is a difficult prospect, you have to be endurance fit but also big enough to haul this 200 kilogram sled," Dr Andrews said.

"Then there's the specific polar training. We just got back from high up in the Arctic where we were testing our kit and our physical resilience, so it is almost like a second part-time job."

The duo begin their adventure to the outer edge of the Ross Ice Shelf in October and will venture 26 kilometres a day, everyday for three and a half months to complete 2600 kilometres through snow, ice and wind storms.

The project has been dubbed the Last Great First and aims to bring attention to the climate emergency in Antarctica, and inspire others to work towards their goals, however impossible they may seem.

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Dr Andrews said they had a great team behind them and a big part of whether the mission will be successful is how mentally tough he and Dr Stephenson can remain.

"I would say it is 80 per cent mentality," he said.

"We work a lot on the mental side of things, just having the motivation to get out of the tent every day in those sorts of conditions and keep going and going.

"We have different ways of dealing with that, having a positive attitude, as silly as it sounds a handshake and smile at the start of every day sets the tone for the team, and of course we have both got wonderful families behind us and that contributes massively to our psychological wellbeing."

For more information on Dr Andrews and Dr Stephenson's mammoth adventure, check out the Last Great First and follow them on Instagram.

Watch the full interview above

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