BBC Big Adventures

In On Thin Ice, James Cracknell and Ben Fogle undertake another huge and perilous feat of endurance with a 470-mile race to the geographic South Pole, the first since Scott’s and Amundsen’s fateful attempt nearly 100 years ago.

The challenge they face is immense: a 500 mile cross country skiing race to the South Pole, on the windiest, coldest, highest and driest continent in the world; winds of almost 50 and 100mph, constant daylight, temperatures as low as minus 50ºc and a steadily increasing altitude up to the equivalent of 4,000m.

If that wasn’t enough, they must survive each other’s company, day in and day out, for up to 45 days. And on top of that, they have to train their bodies to face the harshest conditions known to man, pull a sled behind them weighing almost 170lbs, escape deadly crevasses, stuff their bodies with over 6,000 calories a day, and ski for up to 18 hours a day.

Have they got what it takes to win the race?

The primetime BBC documentary series On Thin Ice, is due to air at the end of June. A book about the adventure will also be released later this year entitled Race To The Pole (Pan MacMillan).

Click here to find out more about this extraordinary race!