Jade and her team had made it onto the plateau. The high altitude made her dizzy and short of breath. The wind was so harsh, five layers of clothing barely kept her warm.

Daily lunches were a nightmare. Jade sat on a piece of foam with her back to the wind. She tried to get frozen salami, cheese, and crackers into her mouth with her mittened hands. Snow covered her food. Sometimes, she just gave up trying to eat.

The third day on the plateau was also the 27th day of the journey. Jade hit her personal “wall.” A pain in her hip nearly crippled her. Her ears were ringing. She felt like throwing up. Her fingers and toes had lost all feeling. Maybe it was all too much. She wrote a lot in her journal that night. Could she go on? How badly did she want to succeed? Jade knew there was only one answer. She had to make it.

True grit paid off. On the morning of January 10th, Jade and her team woke to blue skies. Climbing a ridge, they spotted the South Pole station.

As evening came, they skied into the Amundsen‑Scott Station at the South Pole. After a hard 37‑day journey, they had made it. Here she was, at last.