Man who lost his sight nine years ago sets new record for trek to South Pole

Amateur explorer Alan Lock, 31, battled howling arctic winds, snow white-outs, temperatures as low as -35C (-31F), and a diet consisting of dehydrated food packs and chunks of butter to complete the nearly 600 mile trek in 39 days.

Mr Lock, who lost his sight to macular degeneration in just six weeks while training as a Royal Navy officer nine years ago, dragged a sled weighing 9st 4lb (60kg) harnessed to his waist – and all with severely limited vision.

Speaking from the South Pole, Mr Lock said: “It feels amazing to have made it to the South Pole, what an adventure.

“The high point is having the opportunity to make this expedition in the first place. Reaching the pole, having been only one of a handful of people to have ever walked here, is a fantastic experience.

“There have been difficulties with the terrain but this has all been made possible for me by my great team members.

The trip, which started on November 22, has raised £15,000 so far for the Sightsavers charity, which aids blind people in the developing world, and San Francisco-based Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Mr Lock, from Clevedon, Somerset, undertook the Polar Vision trek accompanied by two sighted team mates Andrew Jensen and Richard Smith, whom he met while studying for an MBA in the United States, plus guide Hannah McKean.

Having been forced to halt his naval career after losing all but his peripheral vision, Mr Lock now works in telecommunications.

But since losing his sight, he has completed 10 marathons, including the 151 mile Marathon Des Sables in the Sahara Desert. He has been to a number of mountain summits including the highest mountain in Europe, Mt Elbrus, and in 2008 set a Guinness World Record when he became the first visually impaired person to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

The Polar Vision team underwent intensive training that included a camp in Iqaluit, Canada, where they spent a week traversing the ice pack near the Arctic Circle on skis, and dragging tyres attached to their waists along beaches and parks back home to develop the muscles needed to pull the sleds.