RAF team set for Antarctic trek

The team has spent two years preparing for the trek

An RAF team is preparing to trek across Antarctica to become the first RAF team to walk unassisted to the south pole.

Warrant Officer Al Sylvester of HQ Strike Command at RAF High Wycombe and Corporal Phil Mainprize of RAF Halton in Bucks, will take part in the trek.

They will be joined on the 670-mile (1078km) hike by Corporal Iain Kirk of RAF Kinloss in Moray and Lt Kev Scully of MOD Boscombe Down, Wiltshire.

The team is due to set off from Patriot Hills in Antarctica on 1 November.

Hostile landscapes

Patriot Hills lies on the northern section of the Ronne Ice Shelf in western Antarctica.

The team plans to cover up to 24 miles (38km) a day and hopes to reach the south pole by Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

Cpl Kirk said: "We have spent two years planning and training for this, including climbing glaciers in Norway and Iceland.

"I hope that our only major problems will be boredom from nothing to see in such a barren and hostile landscape."

He said the team's main concern was for potential communication failures and injury.