PIO makes history with solo climb to South Pole

London: Captain Harpreet Chandi, a 32-year-old Indian-origin British Sikh Army officer and physiotherapist also known as Polar Preet, has created history by becoming the first woman of colour to complete a solo unsupported trek to the South Pole. Chandi announced her history-making feat on her live blog on Monday at the end of Day 40 after travelling 700 miles (1,127 km) while pulling a pulk or sledge with all of her kit and battling temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius and wind speeds of around 60mph.

"I made it to the South Pole where it's snowing. Feeling so many emotions right now. I knew nothing about the polar world three years ago and it feels so surreal to finally be here. It was tough getting here and I want to thank everybody for their support," she wrote. "This expedition was always about so much more than me.

I want to encourage people to push their boundaries and to believe in themselves, and I want you to be able to do it without being labelled a rebel. I have been told no on many occasions and told to 'just do the normal thing', but we create our own normal," Chandi said. She uploaded a live tracking map of her trek and also posted regular blogs of her journey to the snow-capped region.

"Day 40 – Finished. Preet has just made history becoming the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition in Antarctica," reads the final entry of her blog. "You are capable of anything you want. No matter where you are from or where your start line is, everybody starts somewhere. I don't want to just break the glass ceiling; I want to smash it into a million pieces," she said.

As part of a Medical Regiment in the northwest of England, Chandi's primary role is to organise and validate training for medics in the Army as Clinical Training Officer.

Currently based in London, she is completing her masters degree in Sports and Exercise Medicine, part-time, at Queen Mary's University in London and had dragged around two large tyres over the past few months for her polar training as a substitute for the heavy sledge she has been dragging along in Antarctica.

"It definitely feels colder in the last degree where I'm at higher altitude. I haven't seen anyone here in the last degree and now I'm 15 nautical miles from the South Pole. I can't believe I'm almost there," read her entry from Sunday, a day before her milestone.

She also used her time in the cold to think about wedding plans for when she returns to England, having been engaged to Army reservist fiancé David Jarman before setting off on her expedition. The couple are expected to be reunited in Chile when she returns from the South Pole later this month.