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Raymond Ma

A Cathay Pacific pilot has braved temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius to complete a journey to the South Pole to raise money for a landmine-clearing charity.

Hong Kong resident Ray Middleton and three others arrived at the South Pole at about 8am (Hong Kong time) on Lunar New Year's Eve. Mr Middleton, 43, is a senior training captain with Cathay.

The gruelling trek began at Hercules inlet on the edge of Antarctica.

The team then crossed more than 1,100km of Antarctic snow on foot and skis through winds of almost 100km/h and climbed almost  3,000 metres, all while towing a 67kg sledge.

Mr Middleton, who lives at Tai Tam, yesterday told the Sunday Morning Post from Chile: 'We did 51 days of continuous skiing and pulling a sled and before we knew it, we were there. It was a strange experience.

'Skiing to the South Pole was like eating an elephant one bite at a time.'

While most of the trip to the South Pole involved a monotonous routine of skiing, eating and sleeping, Mr Middleton said the harsh Antarctic environment kept the team on its toes.

'If you exist in the Antarctic, you only do so by working hard, by walking, by skiing and by keeping warm,' he said.

'If you stop, you get bitterly cold and start to freeze.'

The 84kg pilot said he had lost 9kg by the time he reached the pole, despite eating 6,000 calories a day.

The journey was taken to raise  $5 million for the Halo Trust, the largest de-mining charity in the world. Funds raised will go towards mine-clearing programmes in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and  Angola.

Organisers also hope the trip will raise awareness about the problem of the many thousands of landmines and unexploded ordnance in formerly war-torn countries - including Afghanistan, Bosnia and Ethiopia - which continue to claim lives.

The recovery of the landmines also constitutes the first step towards returning war refugees to their homes.

'It's been amazing what the people in Hong Kong have done to support our cause,' Mr Middleton said.

'Halo has been able to raise about #130,000 [$1.85 million] so far and a lot of that has come from people in Hong Kong, especially companies such as GlaxoSmithKline  and ICap.'

Contributions can be made at www.halogoestothepole.com.

Former Hutchison Whampoa taipan Simon Murray, 63, is also making an attempt to become the oldest person to trek to the South Pole.



Cathay pilot reaches South Pole, raising $1.8m for charity