A RETIRED navy lieutenant commander from Limekilns has made history by being one of the first men to cross an inhospitable stretch of the Antarctic peninsula.

Clive Waghorn was one of a team of six who negotiated 70 miles of treacherous terrain to be the first to reach the 8500-foot summit of Mount Walker, the highest peak on the peninsula.

The team, led by Major Richard Pattison, was made up of British Army personnel and was supported by the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, for which they collected data.

During the 22-day trek, the team dragged sledges through blizzards and temperatures as low as -22C.

Back in his Fife home, Mr Waghorn (57) said that despite the extreme conditions, he would always want to go back to the Antarctic.

“I’ve been to the Antarctic several times before and when I get the opportunity to go back, I generally don’t say no,” he said.

“The Antarctic peninsula is highly spectacular at sea level, where it is full of wildlife. On good days it is one of the most attractive places in the world.”

The explorer is now getting the 15 films he used on the expedition developed, and is looking forward to treating his friends to a slide show.

Mr Waghorn and team leader Mr Pattison met on a trek to South Georgia in 1991. He was asked to join the trip after a member of the team pulled out with a broken leg.

Having left the Royal Navy in 1990, Mr Waghorn moved to west Fife to work at Rosyth dockyard and is now retired.

Thanks to his regular training for triathlons, ski-ing and Munro-bagging, Mr Waghorn was fit enough to join the team at short notice.

“The advantage of being retired is that, if asked if I can travel in three weeks’ time, the answer is yes,” he said.

One of the most difficult parts of the trip was not in fact enduring the cold, but sleeping in a rain-soaked tent.

Mr Waghorn added, “We half descended from the plateau and had come down from temperatures of -5 to -10, which was quite comfortable, to temperatures above zero.

“For the next three days it virtually rained the whole time. The tents were wet, the sleeping bags got wetter and wetter—the whole thing was rather unpleasant.

“It’s nice to get back to the routine of opening your mail, hot showers, running water and normal food.”