A Scot is nearing the South Pole in a history-making trek only to be confronted by midges.
Luke Robertson is just about a week away from reaching the pole on his solo, unassisted and unsupported journey across Antarctica in an attempt to become the youngest Briton to do so.
Luke, 30, from Stonehaven, is also aiming to become the first Scot to accomplish the 730-mile feat.
In an update relayed by his fiancee Hazel Clyne, she said Luke was making great progress, but was confronted by the frozen continent’s only insect ironically midges.
Fortunately this variety was not like the Highland biting beastie that plagues much of Scotland but is flightless and was being constrained on the ground by strong headwinds.
“Luke continues to push on uphill and has now climbed to 2,500m. Just incredible progress,” said Hazel.
“Another day of climbing and then the gradient will ease and he’s on that two-degree home straight.
“More headwinds today, but at least they will keep ‘Belgica antarctica’, the Antarctic midge, at bay.”
Luke, an Edinburgh finance worker, started his epic journey from Hercules Inlet 28 days ago.
Luke has a metal plate in his head and a pacemaker in his chest, but that has never stopped his dream of walking to the South Pole.
He has so far burned more than 325,000 calories on his journey towards the pole in the minus temperatures.
In February last year Luke went to his doctor after experiencing severe headaches and problems with his vision.
It turned out he had a rare, non- cancerous, enterogenous cyst.
The surgeons operated on him for five hours. They removed a large part of the cyst, but a small section remains.
While in the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, he met cancer sufferers and was inspired by them to do something he had always wanted to attempt venture to the South Pole.
Inspired by Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen, and following his experiences in hospital and the heartache of losing his uncle to cancer, he will raise money for Marie Curie on his long walk across the ice.
His fundraising target was £25,000, but he has already raised more than £40,000.
Luke plans to drag more than 17 stone of his equipment across 730 miles of snow and ice for 35 days, experiencing temperatures of -50C.
To donate visit www.justgiving.com/duesouth2015.