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René Koster

Rudd rests inside his tent. Due to the 24-hour sun in Antarctica this time of year, nighttime is never dark.

Rudd sets up his tent in the midst of a whiteout. The daily process is fraught with danger. If the tent were to rip or blow away in the high winds, it could prove a fatal mishap.

Rudd, a captain in the British military who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq, led a led a five-man team of British veterans across the continent in 2016 (with a resupply at the South Pole).

“The beginning was crazy,” 49-year-old Rudd wrote in one of his nightly reports. “The weight was so heavy. I’ve never pulled anywhere near that before, and I’m not getting any younger.”

Rudd is motivated to finish the expedition his friend Henry Worsley was attempting in 2016 when he called for rescue and later died. Worsley was just 126 miles short of claiming the first solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica. In honour of his friend Rudd carries Worsley's family flag with him.