The University academic who helped prepare Edinburgh-based adventurer Mollie Hughes for her epic expedition to the South Pole has saluted her success.
Scott Graham, an exercise physiologist at Edinburgh Napier, worked extensively with Mollie over a nine-month period before she set off on her 702-mile trek in Antarctica on November 14 last year.
Scott, who has years of experience of working in Desert, Jungle and Arctic regions, is an expert in the physiology and psychology of achieving peak performance in extreme environments.
In the course of dozens of sessions with Mollie, they undertook activities aimed at preparing her for the solitude, physical exhaustion, mental fatigue and biting cold she would face in the course of her long-distance ski to the southernmost point on Earth. Mollie had to be ready to withstand temperatures of minus 500C while dragging a 90kg sled across obstacles like crevasse fields in powerful Polar winds.
Scott also advised her on nutrition – key to the success of the mission as her varied diet of high-fat and protein meals needed to sustain her throughout her energy-sapping challenge during which she burned between 6000 and 9000 calories a day.
Scott also coached Mollie on dealing with any medical issues which might arise. It was essential that she could self-treat minor injuries, so that soft tissue wounds such as abrasions did not jeopardise the success of the challenge.
The academic, from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Applied Sciences, monitored her progress with pride as she reached the half-way point in mid-December before going on to complete her mammoth journey just days into the New Year. She becomes the youngest female to complete a solo supported ski from the coast to the South Pole.
Scott said: “I am thrilled to hear that Mollie has made it to the South Pole. Her determination to achieve her aim shone through in the course of her training, and it was coupled with a very cheerful, positive outlook.
“It is great to see a young person take the initiative, find the sponsors and have the drive and strength of character to see through such a remarkable feat of endurance.
“This was a very ambitious undertaking, and it sets a wonderful example to others of what can be achieved when you get out of your comfort zone and push yourself beyond your previous experiences.”
Mollie is the youngest woman to ski solo to the North Pole, and Lothians MSP Miles Briggs has lodged a motion at Holyrood to celebrate her achievement.
Motion Number: S5M-20393
Lodged By: Miles Briggs
Date Lodged: 10/01/2020
Title: Mollie Hughes, the Youngest Woman to Ski Solo to the South Pole
Motion Text: That the Parliament congratulates Mollie Hughes, who lives in Edinburgh, on becoming the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole; understands that Mollie skied for 58.5 days, pulling all her food in a sledge, to reach the South Pole, and recognises this exceptional achievement of travelling 702 miles over Antarctica to become the record holder for the youngest women ever, at the age of 26, to achieve this feat.
Miles Briggs said: “This is an exceptional achievement to have become the youngest woman ever to ski solo to the South Pole.”
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