Daughter of David Hempleman-Adams reaches south pole

Amelia Hempleman-Adams is the youngest person to ski to the south pole

The 16-year-old daughter of the explorer David Hempleman-Adams has successfully skied to the south pole with her father.

Amelia Hempleman-Adams has become the youngest person to achieve the feat.

The Wiltshire pair began 97 miles from the pole, where Sir Ernest Shackleton abandoned his mission in 1909.

Both said they were "elated but tired" after enduring temperatures as low as minus 50C (-58F) and spending 17 nights camping in the Antarctic.

Miss Hempleman-Adams said: "This expedition has been an extraordinary experience.

'Dad's snoring'

"The biggest challenges were the freezing cold, dried food, pulling frozen poo in a sledge, dad's snoring.

"The best bit has been experiencing what dad does on expeditions.

"It's the first time I've been on a trek with him and now I know what it's like. Would I do it again? I'll have to think about that after a few nights' sleep."

The teenager, who is studying for four A levels at Prior Park College in Bath, said she had taken homework with her but admitted she had not had time to do any.

She said: "I brought a lot of homework with me but dad took most of the books out of my sledge to keep the weight down."

Mr Hempleman-Adams said: "Amelia has done amazingly well. I'm very proud of her.

"This expedition was probably the most challenging for me. I'm very protective of Amelia who is my youngest daughter.

'Fingers and toes'

"It's one thing going off on an expedition on your own but another thing when you are looking after your own teenager daughter.

"Obviously, I wanted to make sure she returned to the UK with all her fingers and toes."

The pair, along with a small team, started their trip from The Farthest Point South, where Shackleton had to turn back on 9 January, 1909.

Miss Hempleman-Adams carried a photograph of Shackleton and a commemorative coin - gifts from his granddaughter Alexandra Shackleton - with her to the south pole.

The teenager had been keeping a blog of her progress in which she described the difficulties of navigating in snow storms.

It is not the first time one of Mr Hempleman-Adams's daughters has joined him on a polar mission.

In 2005, Amelia's sister Alicia, then aged 15, became the youngest person to trek to the north pole.