text: Image copyright Antarctic Gurkha Image caption Scott Sears arrived at the South Pole on Christmas Day 
   
   Tennis star Andy Murray's brother-in-law believes he has become the youngest person to reach the South Pole solo. 
   
   Scott Sears, a lieutenant in the First Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles, pulled a sled and supplies for 38 days through 150mph winds in temperatures of -50c. 
   
   His 702-mile trek ended at the South Pole on Christmas Day, more than 12 days sooner than he had anticipated. 
   
   The Guinness Book of Records has yet to confirm whether the 27-year-old's feat will make it into the record books. 
   
   Lt Sears, from east London, is the brother of Murray's wife, Kim. 
   
   From a family of tennis players, he played the sport on the international circuit until the age of 19. Several years later, he went on to join the Army. 
   
   'Not one more step' 
   
   The first part of the journey from Hercules Inlet where sea ice meets land in Antarctica is considered the most dangerous part, as the ground is riddled with crevasses. 
   
   Travelling alone meant Lt Sears was not roped up to a teammate who could stop him falling down them, and he used skis to cross the ice instead. 
   
   In a blog post from his five-week expedition, he described unexpectedly hitting a wall with just 38km (24 miles) to go on Christmas Eve, his penultimate day. 
   
   "I couldn't have asked for better weather but well and truly hit a wall midway through the day," he wrote. 
   
   "I've never experienced anything like it, I would take a couple of steps and just stop, everything was just saying 'no more, not one more step'. 
   
   "It was bizarre as I've genuinely been feeling pretty good." 
   
   But after some juice, biltong, chocolate and music on his iPod, he was back on his way. 
   
   That night, Lt Sears hung his socks up as makeshift stockings, but said he feared Santa might give them a miss because of the "state and stench" of them. 
   
   The following day, he reached the pole in blue skies, and wrote saying he was "absolutely chuffed to pieces". 
   
   He told the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday that he expected it would take a few weeks for the experience to sink in. 
   
   "I've been alone in a tent for nearly six weeks so it's all a bit overwhelming," he said. 
   
   "I can't wait to have a shower and get some food in me. I've been dreaming about it since day three!" 
   
   Image copyright PA Image caption Scott Sears with his sister, Kim 
   
   Judy Murray, Andy's mother, congratulated him, tweeting: "Well done Scott Sears - (brother of Andys wife Kim) youngest person to reach the South Pole on a solo mission. Got there on Christmas Day......" 
   
   Lt Sears has raised more than £33,500 for the Gurkha Welfare Trust to help rebuild schools in Gorkha, Nepal, which was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake. ||||| A serving British Army officer has become the youngest person to reach the South Pole on his own and unsupported, after trekking for more than five weeks. 
   
   Lt Scott Sears, the brother-in-law of Andy Murray, reached his destination on Christmas Day after negotiating 700 miles of Antarctic plateau, crevasse fields and glaciers. 
   
   The 27-year-old officer with 1st Bn Royal Gurkha Rifles raised over £30,000 for The Gurkha Welfare Trust and schools destroyed in the 2015 Nepal earthquake. 
   
   Waiting on Tuesday night for a plane to take him off the pole to Union Glacier, he said: “The last 5 weeks have been a huge challenge but I’m proud to be standing here now after 2 years of planning and training. 
   
   “It’s going to take a few weeks for everything to sink in, I’ve been alone in a tent for nearly 6 weeks so it’s all a bit overwhelming”.
target: – While many people were unwrapping gifts on Christmas Day, the brother-in-law of tennis star Andy Murray was wrapping up a 700-mile, 38-day journey through brutally cold temps and blistering winds—and, he hopes, setting a world record. Scott Sears, 27, reached the South Pole on Monday, and he says he's the youngest person ever to do so solo, though Guinness has yet to offer its final seal of approval, the BBC notes. "MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE SOUTH POLE! Absolutely chuffed to pieces," he wrote on his blog, where he documented his unassisted adventure, which included temperatures of minus 58 degrees and wind gusts of up to 150mph. Sears said he was so tired when he finally took a rest after his trek that he fell asleep "within about 2 minutes of my head hitting the mat." Sears, whose sister, Kim, is married to the tennis star, describes a grueling expedition with icy, crevasse-marred terrain and an isolation made worse when the "iPod poltergeist" would occasionally strike, causing his music player to stop working. He says he "truly hit a wall" on Christmas Eve, where "everything was just saying 'no more, not one more step.'" But he devoured some dried meat, juice, and chocolate and pushed through, even hanging up his stinky socks as "makeshift stockings" for Santa that night. Sears' message from Andy Murray's mom once he arrived at his destination: "Well done Scott Sears." If Guinness confirms Sears' feat, he'll be three years younger than the previous record-holder, per the Telegraph. (Prince Harry drank champagne out of a prosthetic leg when he arrived at the South Pole.)