Temperatures. Ranging from rather warm -5°C to bone-chilling -40°C.

Sunlight. 24 hours, day and night. Unless there is a whiteout. In which case the sky becomes indistinguishable from the ground in an all-encompassing white.

Animals. None, except for penguins at the coast. And definitely no polar bears. “Antarctic” literally means “opposite of the bear” in Greek.

Solo. Out there all alone.

Unsupported. Fully self-reliant receiving no outside help, such as resupplies, of any form.

Unassisted [a label no longer used to classify polar expeditions]. Solely human powered using no external power aids, such as kites.

Berkner Island. A large ice dome bordering the open sea. Starting point of the expedition.

Whiteness. In all conceivable forms, glaciers running into ice-shelves, mountains peaking out of the snow cover as Nunataks, and snow fields full of sastrugi.

Geographic South Pole. Situated at 2835m above sea level and moving constantly. Finish of the expedition.

Norway. Learning the basics of polar travel and getting into the details of fixing things in a safe environment.

Greenland. Crossing the ice cap West to East. Calibrating and finetuning her fitness, gear, and nutrition plans.

Switzerland. Pulling tyres, making a fool of herself. Strength, endurance, and character building.

Contents. Freeze-dried meals, nuts, dried fruits, cheese, chocolate and energy bars. High calory-density is a priority.

Quantities. Packing 66 kg of food, totaling 315000 kcal into 66 day-rations. Under normal circumstances, this would suffice for 5 ½ months.

Reserves. Gaining excess fat prior to the start. It serves as a buffer for the calorie deficit, with the side benefit of insulating the body.

Functional. Because it just needs to work. Without compromise.

Lightweight. Because every gram adds up. Think far beyond cutting off the toothbrush.

Safe. Because it is mission critical. Without a stove to melt water, you can only get that far.

Moving. All day long, at a slow but steady pace, covering approximately 24 km a day.

Stopping. At fixed intervals for a few minutes to eat, drink and change layers as necessary.

Navigating. With a traditional compass, complemented by a GPS, and natural features like sun, wind or clouds.

Daily. Via phone. To report my position and make any potential issues known.

Frequently. Via text messages. To discuss details like weather, expedition progress, or fuel status.

Whenever. Via text messages and one phone call. To provide updates so people could follow my journey, and to keep a minimum social connection.

Body. With plenty of calories and sleep. It’s the prerequisites for a good day of skiing.

Brain. With sleep and some music. It relieves the stress.

Electronics. With a power bank and solar panel. Simple and effective. Unless there is a white-out (again).