Young Scot faces Christmas alone in the Antarctic as part of record breaking expedition in aid of Marie Curie

As you spend the festive season with friends and family this year spare a thought for Luke Robertson - he’ll be spending Christmas alone in the Antarctic as part of record breaking charity expedition. 

The 30 year old from Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire is attempting to become the first Scot and the youngest Brit to undertake a solo, unassisted and unsupported expedition to the South Pole. A feat made all the more impressive given that just one year ago he was undergoing surgery to remove a suspected brain tumour, which turned out to be an extremely large and rare cyst, and also had a pacemaker fitted after suffering complete heart block in his early twenties. 

Luke, who now lives in Edinburgh, decided to undertake the challenge as a way of inspiring others to overcome mental and physical challenges. He decided to donate the money raised from the challenge to Marie Curie after witnessing first-hand the “amazing” work that the charity’s nurses do. The money will help Marie Curie to care for people living with terminal illness and their families.

In order to complete his mission, Luke is spending 40 days alone dragging 130kg of equipment across 730 miles of ice, burning in excess of 10,000 calories per day, all whilst braving temperatures of  minus 50 degrees Celsius and 100mph winds. This year the weather conditions have been extremely poor and so Luke has often been waking up to several feet of fresh snow and battling complete white-out conditions during the day, which is very unusual for the Antarctic summer.

The record-breaking Due South 2015 expedition started from Hercules Inlet at the very edge of Antarctica on December 5th and Luke has already travelled almost 300 miles, gaining over 1300m of elevation (the height of Ben Nevis). He is over a third of the way into the South Pole and should be halfway within days. The expedition has attracted some high profile supporters - both Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Marc Beaumont are backing Luke’s efforts.  The Saltire Foundation, the Mountaineering Council for Scotland and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society are also lending their support.  

Dr Jane Collins, Chief Executive of Marie Curie, said: “Luke’s story is incredibly inspiring and I would like to thank him on behalf of everyone at Marie Curie for taking on this amazing personal challenge.  He is a true inspiration to others and we know that his Antarctic adventure will make a real difference to people living with a terminal illness and their families.

But by far his biggest supporter is his fiancée Hazel, who is following his progress via the tracking map on his website (www.duesouth2015.com) and satellite devices. 

Hazel said: “It is difficult being apart at this time of year but I couldn’t be prouder of him. I think Christmas day will be particularly hard for him - it’s not easy to get excited about eating a dehydrated meal alone in a tent, but he’s got a yellow Marie Curie Santa hat and some Christmas cards to open and if anyone can cope it is Luke. He can receive messages via the Due South 2015 website so we’ll all be sending him lots of encouragement and hopefully that will get him through the next few weeks.” 

Speaking just before he left, Luke said: “I have been overwhelmed by the support and generosities I have received so far in my fundraising efforts and know the infinite encouragement will enable me to push myself further and keep me smiling when I spend Christmas day alone.

“I’ve seen first-hand the strength of the human character and hope that through undertaking this extreme endurance expedition I can inspire others and demonstrate the ability to overcome even the most testing situations.” 

To track Luke, send him messages of support and make donations to Marie Curie please visit www.duesouth2015.com.

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For any interview requests, please contact: Alex Sayer at Alex.Sayer@mariecurie.org.uk   / media@mariecurie.org.uk 

During his trip Luke will be providing progress updates through Facebook www.facebook.com/duesouth2015 and Twitter www.twitter.com/duesouth2015.