Captain Preet Chandi MBE – Breaking Boundaries: World Record-Breaking Polar Explorer Inspiring the Next Generation
Release Date: 10/16/2025
Alexandra Nemeth: Beyond the Seven Summits — Highs, Lows, and Life in Extreme Places.
Tough Girl Podcast
Alex is a qualified International Mountain Leader, Polar Guide, and a professional Photographer based in St. Moritz, Switzerland. From scaling the world’s highest peaks to leading expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica, she thrives where the wild meets the extreme. Her passion for high-altitude exploration took her on a relentless quest; climbing the highest mountain on every continent, culminating on the summit of Mt. Everest in 2018. She became the first ever Hungarian to climb the Seven Summits. This journey ignited her mission to guide others through the raw beauty of the mountains...
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Bonita Norris – Mountains, Mindset, Motherhood and Mastering the Impossible
Tough Girl Podcast
Bonita Norris became the youngest woman to reach both the summit of Mt Everest at just 22 and the North Pole at 23, and her story is nothing short of extraordinary. In this episode, she shares the journey that took her from school trips in North Wales to climbing some of the world’s highest peaks, navigating extreme environments, and pushing the limits of what’s possible. Bonita reflects on the early steps that built her career in mountaineering—starting with beginner climbing courses, funding her expeditions, and preparing for the Himalayan peaks. She opens up about the mental and...
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Tough Girl Podcast
Jacquetta Megarry didn’t grow up in the outdoors, and she certainly didn’t see herself as an adventurer—or a publisher. But turning 50 sparked a journey that would transform her life. From walking the West Highland Way with friends to summiting Mt Kilimanjaro, Jacquetta discovered the power of pacing yourself, listening to your body, and building unshakeable self-belief. Her adventures inspired her to found Rucksack Readers, a guidebook company that helps hikers navigate trails around the world. Over 25 years later, Jacquetta shares stories from her experiences—from hiking in the UK...
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Becky Wandell – Reinvention, Solo Travel, and Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail at 55
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Becky Wandell is a Teacher, Writer, Tour Guide, Volunteer, and Solo Traveler. At 47, while weathering a difficult divorce and the death of four close relatives, she clawed her way up from the depths of grief and, in her words, set out to “find her way back to Becky again”. To do this, she quit her job, sold all of her belongings and charted a plan to complete a series of adventures she had always dreamed of doing. Joining the US Peace Corps, learning to speak Spanish and gaining her confidence in solo travel and living abroad set the stage for several years of living her best life...
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Denisa Krásná – Flow, Fear, and Female Adventure: Redefining Women’s Stories in Extreme Sports
Tough Girl Podcast
What does it mean to challenge the limits of both body and mind—and to redefine what success looks like along the way? Denisa Krásná, scholar, author, and adventurer from the Czech Republic, takes us on a journey into the world of women in extreme sports. From her early days trekking with her parents to highlining hundreds of meters above the ground, Denisa has always been drawn to adventure, isolation, and pushing herself beyond comfort. She co-edited Flow: Women’s Counternarratives from Rivers, Rock, and Sky, an inspiring anthology celebrating diverse women’s voices in adventure...
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Sarah Williams: Solo Reflections Episode, GR10, the Numbers and Plans for 2026
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Dr Latika Nath – Nat Geo’s Tiger Princess: Pioneering Conservation and Studying Big Cats in the Wild
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From the jungles of India to the global stage of wildlife conservation, Dr Latika Nath has spent her life studying and protecting big cats, becoming the first woman in the world to study tigers in the wild. Known as Nat Geo’s “Tiger Princess,” she shares stories from deep in the forests where she observed tigers using tools, hunting porcupines, and navigating complex human-wildlife conflicts. In this episode, Latika takes us on her journey from a childhood spent exploring the outdoors to pursuing her dream in a male-dominated field, studying elephants and tigers in the wild. She shares...
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Kaytlyn Gerbin – Motherhood, Mountains, and 100-Mile Runs: Her Ultra Running Comeback
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What does it take to return to the top of the ultra running world after major life changes and a “career-ending” surgery? Kaytlyn Gerbin knows. In this episode, Kaytlyn shares her journey from a scientist with a love for the outdoors to a world-class trail and ultra runner. Growing up active but without formal running experience, she discovered her talent in her mid-twenties and quickly fell in love with the 100-mile distance. Since then, she’s set course records, tackled some of the most technical alpine trails in the Pacific Northwest, and stood on podiums at legendary races like UTMB,...
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Sheryl Ramstad – Surviving the Impossible: A 1% Miracle, Radical Resilience, and Rebuilding Life After a Plane Crash
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Sheryl Ramstad’s story is nothing short of extraordinary. After surviving a catastrophic plane crash with less than a 1% chance of survival, Sheryl’s life was forever changed. What began as her first solo flight at age 29 became a harrowing journey through life-threatening burns, multiple surgeries, overwhelming grief, and two years of excruciating rehabilitation. But this isn’t just a survival story—it’s a testament to the power of resilience, faith, and the unbreakable human spirit. In this powerful conversation, Sheryl shares how she transformed unimaginable trauma into...
info_outlineCaptain Preet Chandi MBE is a world record breaking explorer, former British Army officer, and physiotherapist. She served in the Royal Army Medical Corps for 16 years before embarking on groundbreaking polar expeditions.
In 2022, Preet became the ninth woman in history to ski solo to the South Pole, and the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition on the continent. Less than a year later, she set out on her next adventure, breaking two Guinness World Records for the longest solo unsupported one-way ski expedition, both for a woman and overall, covering 922 miles in 70 days.
She returned to Antarctica in December 2023 to set her fourth world record: the female speed record to the South Pole, completed in 31 days, 13 hours, and 19 minutes.
Preet’s expeditions are driven by her mission to inspire others to push boundaries. She champions the message that everyone starts somewhere, and that no matter your background or starting point in life, you are capable of breaking barriers and redefining what’s possible.
In 2025, she established her Community Interest Company, Adventure is Ours CIC, which supports expeditions that promote education, inspiration, climate awareness, and diversity in exploration. Through the CIC, she also delivers outreach, mentorship, and school visits to empower people of all ages.
In 2022, Preet started delivered her school talks across the UK, reaching more than 18,000 students. That same year, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Her achievements have been widely recognised: she received the ‘Inspirational’ and ‘Woman of the Year’ awards at the inaugural Women in Defence event in 2022, was named ‘Explorer of the Year’ in 2023, and in 2025 was awarded the prestigious Geographical Award by the Royal Geographical Society.
Past TGP episodes
July 8th 2021 - Preet Chandi - Army Physiotherapist, Ultra Runner, first solo unsupported expedition to South Pole!
Feb 15th 2022 - Preet Chandi - aka Polar Preet - 1st woman of colour to reach the South Pole
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Show notes
- Who is Preet
- Originally from Darby, but basically living everywhere
- Spending 16 years in the Army
- Chatting to Preet previously on the Tough Girl Podcast
- Making the decision to leave the Army
- Coming back in debt
- Getting straight back into work
- Starting the next fundraising cycle
- Trying to get unpaid leave
- Doing her 3rd expedition without telling anyone
- Trying to cross the landmass on Antarctica on her 2nd trip
- Not making it
- The voice in her head, telling her she had failed
- Feeling the relief when she finished
- Getting 2 records from the trip
- Why it’s ok to fail
- Being slated by an article
- Feeling worried about what people in the adventure community would think of her
- Wondering if she could get the female speed record? (Needing to break 33 days)
- Why you don’t need to be the best to succeed
- Learning as she goes on
- Why 2023 was a tough year and struggling
- The impact on weight loss on your brain
- Burnout
- Starting to feel recovered
- Wanting to train for the North Pole
- Having time off
- Losing her granddad and hearing the news after the trip
- Building momentum
- Getting to sleep 8 hrs per night
- Talking about failure
- Making mistakes and being able to pinpoint them
- Being nervous to get started
- Needing to get going and hitting some storms at the start
- The voice in her head - being scared to fail, and being called a failure
- Using her pain relief before she though she would need to
- Getting a polar thigh industry
- Starting to move more slowly towards the end
- Focusing on the next 2hrs
- Getting home
- Traumatic growth?
- The daily pain cave…
- Being made to slow down
- The costs of doing these trips
- Getting help and support
- Trip 3 - the women’s speed record
- Dealing with the hunger
- The next big challenge - the north pole
- Why there is a high chance of failure
- You can not fail, unless you try
- Preparing for the misery and suffering
- The privilege of being on the start line of adventures
- Lying to herself
- Why not Preet!
- Needing luck on the next adventure
- Wanting to show show much than you can do anything
- You go and you try
- Why her trips are bigger than her
- Why adventure is for anyone
- Being very driven and being an encourager
- How to connect with Preet
- MBE and what it means
- What’s been achieved in 4 years
- Why you do belong in every single room
- The importance of the first step
Social Media
Website: www.polarpreet.com
Instagram: @polarpreet
Facebook: @polarpreet