At the first opportunity, Wen contacted his wife, Hu Jiaojiao. Not, as you might imagine, assuaging her concerns about the risky endeavor he was undertaking, but because she was coordinating his expedition. Hu immediately contacted the polar logistics support and his consulting team in Norway. With two crucial items of cold-weather gear lost, Wen's team had to reevaluate the plan.

His journey continued. After wracking his brains, and days of thorough planning, Wen came up with a way of solving the problem — he had a backup sleeping bag that he turned into a down jacket, using dental floss to sew it.

On Jan 10, 2020, after skiing and man-hauling the sledge for 1,400 kilometers over 58 days, Wen finally reached the South Pole, becoming the first Chinese to make it to the landmark, physically on his own.

Earlier he had planned to cross the Antarctic, but Wen, 33, had to make the hard decision to abandon the final leg due to weather conditions and time constraints. Despite the disappointment, Wen, who studied geology from China University of Geosciences, says his main goal was to raise awareness, especially among Chinese youth, of global warming through his visit. He also wanted to collect samples to give for research, he says.

"I conquered difficulties on my solo trip to the South Pole," he says. "I hope it will bring more public attention to the issue of global warming."