A Hampshire Scout has successfully completed the world’s first Scout expedition to Antarctica.  The polar expedition, sponsored by Rathbones Winchester, saw Joe Doherty, (25) become the first to ski to the South Pole and to complete the return leg of his journey by wind-powered kite ski. 

After man-hauling food and kit, enduring average temperatures of -27 degrees Celsius and regularly climbing to an altitude of 2900 metres, Joe reached the South Pole after a gruelling 45 days. He successfully completed the expedition in just 61 days.

Joe started his expedition to the Geographic South Pole skiing from the Messner, at the edge of the Antarctic Plateau.  He reached speeds of up to 35mph on his return journey to Union Glacier at the Southern tip of the Ronne Ice Shelf by kite ski.

To mark his successful return from his epic journey, Rathbones Winchester hosted a Winchester Young Professionals networking event on 20th March 2019, where Joe Doherty gave a fantastic talk on his overall experience including the seven years of training leading up to the event.

Joe Doherty, Hampshire Scout, said: “Rathbones supported this expedition very early on in the seven-year build-up to find the funding to make it happen. They were keen to support a local expedition and they were one of the first to back a huge undertaking to Antarctica. It was so much harder and so much more beautiful than I ever imagined. I feel extremely humbled to have been given the opportunity to accomplish this feat and was so proud to wear the Rathbones logo and fly the flag at the South Pole.”

David Kness, Investment Manager at Rathbones Winchester, said: “Rathbones is proud to have supported Joe on his epic journey, achieving both a world first in his expedition, as well as accomplishing a personal goal that he is so passionate about. It’s a truly impressive achievement and one that we are honoured to have played even just a small part in.”

“We have a long history of supporting our local communities and we continue to build on this legacy today in education, sport and the arts.  It remains a wonderful opportunity for us to support young people in enjoying new experiences and acquiring knowledge that will help them in the future.”