Tess Burrows was one of five teams that participated in the inaugural Amundsen South Pole Race. As an experienced climber and explorer, Tess was accustomed to extreme weather conditions but found that wearing contact lenses or glasses was not feasible when temperatures dropped as low as -58F. Previous expeditions had left Tess in dangerous situations when freezing breath caused issues with her contacts or glasses. In preparation for the South Pole race, Tess underwent laser eye surgery in September 2008 to correct her vision without relying on lenses. The successful surgery allowed her to focus on training for the grueling race. All teams departed for Antarctica in mid-December after a stopover in South Africa, with acclimation and training before the

1. BBC Two’s On Thin Ice with laser eye surgery
patient Tess Burrows
If you have been watching the BBC Two programme ‘On Thin Ice’ on Sunday evenings at 9
o’clock, you would have witnessed the extreme conditions that five teams faced when they
prepared to start the inaugural Amundsen South Pole Race.
Fogle, Cracknell and Coates
were hoping to turn history on
its head and beat a Norwegian
team which was one of the
other five taking part. The five
part documentary details the
experiences of this team and
during the preparations for the
race also features the other
four teams taking part. Tess
Burrows, a highly experienced
and accomplished climber and
explorer and her team partner
Pete competed as one of the
other four teams (Team
Southern Lights) in this first race to the South Pole for over 100 years.
Tess was used to
extremes in weather but
at time the temperature
dropped as low as -58F (-
50C). Her experience of
many other expeditions
had taught her that
wearing contact lenses
or glasses wasn’t a
realistic option.
Tess had found the use
of glasses and contact
lenses during expeditions
not just inconvenient but

2. life threatening! Freezing breath on glasses or contact lenses with grit behind them had left
Tess in precarious situations too many times.
Tess decided in September 2008 to investigate laser eye surgery as a means of overcoming
her visual impairments. Her research led her to trust her future vision to Accuvision Laser
Eye Clinic in Fulham, London.
Following an intensive and detailed assessment of her eyes, the Accuvision team were able
to assure her that Accuwave laser eye surgery would give her the vision Tess was seeking.
Following treatment Tess was able to concentrate on her gruelling training schedule in
preparation for the South Pole Race.
On the 15th
December all the teams left the UK for South Africa for a two day stop over
before travelling on to the continent of Antarctica. A period of acclimatisation and training
followed before the race proper got under way on 4th
January 2009.
You can read about Tess’s extraordinary adventure at www.teamsouthernlights.org and you
will be pleased to know that her knowledge and experience of extreme conditions meant
that she and her partner Pete did not suffer as much as Ben Fogle and James Cracknell in
their attempts to reach the South Pole first!