Woman aims to be the first to walk across Antarctica

A team of six adventurers are to follow in the footsteps of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton by attempting to cross the Antarctic on foot.

To mark the centenary of Shackleton’s 1914 expedition, the team will traverse the Antarctic continent.

Experienced adventurers Joanne Davies, from Cornwall, and Sebastian Coulthard, a Royal Navy petty officer from Worcestershire, will be leading the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Centenary Expedition.

They will begin the expedition in summer 2014 and it will take between 100 and 120 days to complete.

Ms Davies, 32, who will become the first woman to take on the Antarctic challenge, said: “The team are determined to complete the mission that Shackleton once set out to achieve.

“The next three years are going to be incredibly busy for us.

“I am excited to be involved in such an amazing project and very much hope to be the first woman to complete the trans-Antarctic crossing following Shackleton’s proposed route.”