A Sussex woman has arrived in Antarctica to start her bid to make polar history.

Catharine Hartley, 34, is hoping to complete a gruelling two-month, 680-mile trek to the South Pole.

If she makes it by December 31 she will become the first British woman to complete the journey and be among the first to see in the millennium. But Catharine, from Chidham, near Chichester, and the rest of a nine- strong expedition team are now a week behind schedule.

They were delayed in Chile, waiting for the right weather conditions to be flown to Antarctica.

An expedition spokesman said: "Cloud and strong winds held up the departure. Over the last few days the team was called to the airport a number of times only to have the flight aborted as the plane was preparing to take off."

The trek to the South Pole involves climbing to heights of more than 9,000ft across glaciers, ice caps and mountain passes.

Catharine will be hauling her own sledge in temperatures as low as -48C.

She will be wearing skin-covered skis to provide a grip on the ice and snow.

Her 18-month training regime has included spending time in a cold store.

A website has been set up to follow the progress of the team - http://www.clubdirect.com/southpole.

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