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A schoolgirl whose father was the first Briton to reach the South Pole solo and unsupported said Thursday she hoped to become the youngest person to ski there when she joins him on a return visit.
Amelia Hempleman-Adams, 16, will join adventurer David Hempleman-Adams when he sets off on the two-week challenge on November 18, braving temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius -- minus 60 with the wind chill.
They will start at the point where explorer Ernest Shackleton had to turn back in 1907 and ski the last 97 miles (156 kilometres) to the South Pole.
"I am frightened about the harsh conditions as I don't know what to expect, the cold, the wind. I am not sure if I'll be able to sleep as it is 24 hours daylight at the South Pole and Dad is a terrible snorer," the teenager said.
She will have to consume 8,000 calories a day to keep up her strength, but joked: "Eating a lot of chocolate won't be hard for me."
Her father admitted he was "apprehensive" at taking his daughter into such a harsh environment, saying: "I've got quite a lot of fat on me so it's easier but Amelia is a teenager so burns quite a lot of calories and is quite thin.
"We are really going to have to be careful that's she's kept warm.
"But Shackleton has always been a hero of mine and it will be wonderful to walk in his footsteps. It will be very special to share this experience with my youngest daughter."
Hempleman-Adams added that his daughter would not escape her homework when she was on the trip, saying: "There will be quite a lot of downtime in the tents so she can do a couple of hours a day."
In 2005, Amelia Hempleman-Adams' sister Alicia, then aged 15, became the youngest person to trek to the North Pole.
While you would imagine that most school girls would be happy with a family ski holiday to France, Italy or Switzerland, one 16-year-old has persuaded her dad to take her to the South Pole for a fortnight! Amelia Hempleman-Adams plans to make the epic two-week ski journey with her father David later this month. If she completes the dangerous and arduous challenge she will become the youngest person to ski to the South Pole.
[caption id="attachment_1235" align="alignleft" width="288" caption="School girl sets off to become the youngest to ski to the South Pole"][/caption]
Amelia, who will endure temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius lowering to minus 60 with the wind chill during the 97 mile ski trip, is reported as saying: "I am frightened about the harsh conditions as I don't know what to expect. There'll be the cold and the wind." But it seems one of her biggest fears is her dad's snoring! She adds: "I am worried about sleeping, too, because it's 24 hours daylight at the South Pole and dad is a terrible snorer!"