Fahad Badar, the Qatari banking executive leader and high-altitude climber, arrived in Antarctica on December 21 to begin the first leg of his expedition to ski the last degree and climb Mount Vinson, according to a statement received in Doha.
"This incredible crossing with 24 hours of continuous daylight involves skiing in intervals for 110km, using sleds to haul provisions across the Antarctic in temperatures of minus 20C, which can drop down to minus 50 at the summit," it was explained.
Skiing the last degree, simply means one degree of latitude where Badar will ski from 89 Degrees South to 90 Degrees of the South Pole, a distance of sixty nautical miles or 110km.
Badar is expected to reach deep within the frozen Antarctic for the second leg of his expedition some time after the first week of January, 2020 to then scale one of the coldest mountains on earth, Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica; his fourth of the Seven Summits. Records show only around 1,200 climbers have summited Vinson since 1966, much less than Everest.
Badar shared his aspirations for the journey ahead, saying: “I know it will be a physically challenging expedition with extreme weather conditions that can be obstacles to success. However, I am feeling extremely positive after months of training and ready to set out on this next challenge, with the determination to succeed.”
In May of this year, Badar made history by becoming the first Arab male to double summit both Mount Everest and Lhotse in a single expedition.
He is one of 85 people in the world to have succeeded this massive accomplishment, making him also one of only two Qataris to successfully climb Mount Everest to date.
People can follow Badar on his social media Instagram account @fahad917 for more news as he reaches the summit of Mount Vinson in the coming days.