NEWPORT adventurer Richard Parks has spoken of the bittersweet experience of trying to chase down a world record in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet.

Mr Parks succeeded in breaking his own British record for reaching the South Pole on January 15, coming in at 28 days and 21 hours.

He was ultimately aiming to break the world record - 24 days, one hour and 13 minutes - set by Christian Eide. However, it was not to be.

"I was gutted," he said.

"I was ahead of the world record pace at the half-way point, 550km in, and still on track at the 750km point."

However, Mr Parks lost two days due to the weather conditions and was unable to claw back the time.

"To now hold the second and third fastest times in history is bittersweet," he said

"I’m super proud to simply have got to the Pole the 1140km solo, unsupported and unassisted from the coast of Antarctica".

Mr Parks explained that, despite missing out on the ultimate goal, he was over the moon to have beaten his own British record for reaching the Pole - even more so than when it was set.

"It was better than 2014," he said.

"To become the first person to ski solo, unsupported and unassisted from the Coast of Antarctica to the South Pole twice and to have skied more solo, unsupported and unassisted miles than anyone in Antarctic history is awesome too."

Despite the jubilation at having beaten his previous time, Mr Parks explained that it was not all plain sailing on the expedition.

He described the journey as being similar to "a fast jog, uphill, dragging 70kg into a headwind that’s so cold it can freeze body tissue through your clothes".

This is what he faced for 16 hours a day, for 28 days, sleeping for 2-3 hours a day.

READ MORE:

"Every second, at least every half hour, the bad voice in my head would want to quit," he said.

"Wrestling the bad voice and self-preservation instinct was as tough as the physical challenge."

He said that on some days the visibility would be so bad that he would only have the compass mounted on his chest for company.

"The pressure and doubt were relentless. I questioned whether I could sustain this every day," he said.

The major potential pitfall of the trip was the decision to ration his food supplies to last longer than initially anticipated. Mr Parks cited this as the hardest part of the expedition.

He had taken 25 days worth of food and was confident that given favourable conditions he could reach the Pole within that timeframe.

However, three days of extreme conditions 21 days into the expedition resulted in a change of plans.

"White out visibility, wind chill temperatures around -45 degrees Celsius and tough sustrugi conditions on the snow made moving all but impossible," he explained.

"This was when I realised that I wasn’t going to be able to reach the Pole within my 25 day target."

Mr Parks decided to continue on to the Pole, opting against a food resupply and instead to ration what food he had to last longer.

"Had I taken a food resupply I would’ve lost the ‘Unsupported’ categorisation and the records," he said.

"The last 5 days were brutal. Mentally, emotionally and physically.

"We had designed some capacity in my food to stretch from 25 to 27 days..

"However, rationing it even further to 29 days was really tough."

Mr Parks lost 14kg of body weight and revealed that he was very weak during the last few days of his expedition.

However, he stressed: "I knew what I was doing and although I had my doubts, I was always operating safely and in control.

Even a seasoned explorer needs something to drive them on through the worst of conditions and Mr Parks had just that.

"My family are everything to me," he said. "My mum, dad, fiancé and son are my heroes. They inspire me."