A blind Ulster polar trekker has taken the first steps in an epic adventure to conquer the Antarctic.

Mark Pollock is part of a team competing in an intrepid track to the South Pole in the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole race.

He is hoping to become the first Irish blind man to conquer the Pole.

The 32-year-old Holywood man went blind while in his final year at Trinity College in Dublin. In the decade since he has won a silver medal rowing for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, completed the 250km Gobi Desert ultramarathon and raced in the North Pole marathon.

In 2007 he became the first blind person to complete the lowest and highest marathons in the world — the Dead Sea Ultra in Jordan, followed by the gruelling Tenzing-Hillary Everest marathon in Nepal.

“I'm using this project as a challenge for my own sake and a piece of research to see how I, and those with me, respond to this kind of extreme challenge,” Mark told the Belfast Telegraph prior to his departure.

The teams competing in the South Pole race had been due to depart on New Year’s Day but bad weather, including blizzard conditions, delayed the start of the trek.

After completing 100 miles of Crevasse Field training, the teams spent a few frustrating days tent-bound and taking it in turns to dig themselves free of drifting snow, at temperatures of around -25C.

However, yesterday the adventurers were finally able to set off.

The Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole race is the first race to the South Pole for almost 100 years since the famous duel between Scott and Amundsen.

The teams will race on the Antarctic Plateau for 430 nautical miles across the largest ice cap in the world to the Geographic South Pole, surviving in temperatures as low as -50C, while pulling a 70kg pulk (sled). The teams will also spend their nights in tents, and will climb heights of up to 9,300ft during their expedition.

Among those also taking part are double Olympic Gold Medalist James Cracknell, TV presenter Ben Fogle, and Peter Hammond (61), the oldest competitor in the race.

Mark and his team-mates have spent the past year preparing for the gruelling trek by training in the frozen wastes of Norway.

“We have also been dragging tyres on beaches, mountains and parks around Northern Ireland and doing a lot of strength work in the gym. A lot of it is about getting strong enough to avoid injury,” said Mark.

For further information on Mark’s progress visit www.markpollock.com or www.southpoleflag.com

Daily race updates and team blogs will also be available on www.amundsenomega3southpolerace.com