India, Jan. 6 -- At 18, Kaamya Karthikeyan has become the youngest Indian and second-youngest woman in the world to ski to the South Pole. She braved temperatures dipping to -30degC and gale-force winds to cover nearly 60 nautical miles (roughly115 km) on foot from 89deg South, pulling a sled carrying her entire expedition load, and reached the South Pole on December 27.

"Over the last 10 years of climbing, this is probably the most difficult expedition of my life so far. But if there is one thing that has been my biggest strength, it is resilience," she tells us.

On the third day, an injury nearly forced her to abandon the expedition: "There was talk of having a pickup sent to take me back due to cold burns. The fear of being sent back...