PORTLAND, OR – He’s spent the past 54 days on his own in one of the harshest environments on Earth. It was a quest that Portland’s Colin O’Brady had called “The Impossible First.”

On Wednesday, Colin O’Brady became the first person to make a solo trek across Antarctica completely unsupported by any drops of supplies.

“While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced,” he wrote on Instagram.

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“As I pulled my sled over this invisible line, I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided.”

The last 80 miles of the 932-mile journey were perhaps the toughest. O’Brady completed that leg in what he called “one continuous ‘Antarctica Ultramarathon’ push to the finish line.”

On Instagram, he said that the wooden pole in the background of the picture above “marks the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctica’s land mass ends and the sea ice begins.”

The last leg had taken him 32 hours and 30 minutes.

He said that for that stretch, he was “equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey.”

To make his feat more compelling, O’Brady was actually racing another man – Luis Rudd, who actually led for the first week.

Both had been dropped off within miles of each other at the Messner Start on the Ronnie Ice Shelf.

O’Brady and Rudd started by pulling sleds with roughly 350 pounds of supplies on them.

While others have trekked Antarctica solo, not have done it unsupported.

Until O’Brady.

O’Brady’y mom, New Seasons co-founder Eileen Brady, took to Facebook to share her joy.

“Colin just crossed Antartica solo!!!” she wrote. “I am so immensely proud (and relieved.) Thanks to all of our friends and family for their thoughts, prayers and mediations for him on this historic journey.”

Brady, who was raised in Portland, says he’s always loved the outdoors.

He was recruited to swim at Yale and graduated from there with in economics degree in 2006.

After college, he decided to travel before settling on a job.

In 2008, he was in Thailand when he was severely burned over 25 percent of his body in an accident.

As he recovered, he had one goal in mind: recovering enough to complete a triathlon.

Eighteen months later he did – surprising many by not only completing the Chicago Triathlon but winning it. He went on to keep racing – competing in 25 countries on six continents.

That led to his interest in mountains and his next quest – competing The Explorers Grand Slam, summiting the tallest mountain on each continent. It’s a quest completed by less than 50 people.

In 2016, he beat the record time of 139 days, finishing his seventh summit in 132 days.

Photo via Colin O’Brady.

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