JonathonBradshaw

Gone were the distant peaks from the east; now we had a 360-degree panorama of nothing but white ice and azure sky. For the uninitiated it was a featureless and soulless vista that could drive many into despair, but over the next few weeks it would become a blank canvas, rich in opportunity for me to paint whatever world I wanted to live in.

We had skied 20km in fifteen hours, and only 20km remained to the finish line; just the thought of it had become like the Holy Grail to me. I imagined all sorts of treasure and prizes at the end to celebrate what we had been through.

There was no group hug or affectionate words about what we were embarking on. This was Irish history, this was personal history – this was a huge landmark event in all our lives, and we said nothing to each other. In hindsight, I feel we were all deeply lost in our own thoughts and feelings, and any expression of emotion was too far outside of what we had to do.

I clicked the button on my GPS that marked our starting point on the Seventy-Ninth Parallel and knew this trip would change me forever. I was unsure in what ways, but I was very open to the experience and cognisant that the first step I took would be across a threshold into a new life.

There was no group hug or affectionate words about what we were embarking on. This was Irish history, this was personal history – this was a huge landmark event in all our lives, and we said nothing to each other. In hindsight, I feel we were all deeply lost in our own thoughts and feelings, and any expression of emotion was too far outside of what we had to do.

I clicked the button on my GPS that marked our starting point on the Seventy-Ninth Parallel and knew this trip would change me forever. I was unsure in what ways, but I was very open to the experience and cognisant that the first step I took would be across a threshold into a new life.