TWO Hampshire scouts who are set to battle freezing temperatures, and months alone when they attempt to ski to the South Pole will complete their final training expedition in just a few weeks.

Ollie Robinson from Winchester and Joe Doherty, a former Sparsholt College student from Andover, will head to Haugastol, in Norway on February 4 to perfect their hauling skills ahead of the major expedition in November.

Joe and Ollie will face temperatures as low as -20C during the training tip, which will include a five-day traverse of the Hardangervidda plateau on cross country skis.

Following that, the duo, who are part of the wider Hampshire Scout Expeditions (HSX) Antarctica team will then head to Chile in November for final preparations before jetting to Antarctica.

There they will face temperatures as low as -50C, and will be hauling more than 100kg of food and equipment across one of the toughest environments on Earth. The pair will have to consume more than 6,000 calories a day just to survive and any mishap could endanger their lives.

Ollie said: “With the help of sponsorship from Neoteryx, Box-it, Hellios and The Youth Corporation, we are now able to make our final training trip a reality. Norway is going to be essential in preparing us for polar conditions and we owe a huge debt to the four sponsors for helping us at this greatly important time for the expedition.”

The team is also spreading the news of the expedition through a ‘challenge badge’. Children and scouts can earn the badge by completing a series of activities, including building igloos, dragging sleds and sending the team their best tweet. Joe said: “We have been absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm.”

of groups in Hampshire – so much so we’re rolling it out to other counties!”