A CLAYHIDON couple got more than they bargained for after battling blizzards and ferocious weather in an attempt to cross the world’s largest ice cap.

Endurance athlete Katie-Jane Cooper, 30, and partner Tarka L’Herpiniere, 28, left for Chile earlier this year for Rivers of Ice, their attempt to cross the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap without the aid of sail kites or pre-placed food supplies.

Despite making it over two thirds of the way and surviving in makeshift shelters, the couple were forced to leave via helicopter.

But there was something to celebrate as they left.

After facing gruelling weather and challenging climbs as well as acute carbon monoxide poising, foot infections, hypothermia and zero visibility, the couple got engaged.

Tarka said: “After overcoming such an epic ordeal, I felt Katie-Jane had displayed everything that I admired and loved in her ­ and more. “As we sheltered from strong winds in a deep crevasse waiting to hear what time the helicopter would be landing, I got down on one knee and proposed.

“I had a ring hidden in my camera bag and was delighted that Katie-Jane nodded through the tears.” Although they couldn’t complete the couple achieved the longest British crossing and Katie-Jane achieved the longest crossing for a woman.

The couple hope to marry in the French Alps in late February and are also hoping to complete the crossing fully unsupported next year.

Here is more information on the couple's trip: The journey was far from what they had planned as their intention had been to complete a full unsupported crossing.

Starting with backpacks of 50kg each, the pair skied, walked and climbed from the Jorge Montt glacier (the Ice Cap¹s most Northerly point) onto the Plateaux, constantly dealing with the notorious weather: regular whiteouts; blizzards and ferocious winds.

Once on the Plateaux, the team made exceptional progress, towing their packs with micro sledges that had been attached to the packs, en-route dealing with acute carbon monoxide poising, foot infections, hypothermia, falling through multiple crevasses and walking 99% of the time in zero visibility.

After 25 days and two-thirds of the way across, the team became tent-bound for 5 days on half food rations, waiting for a suitable good weather window to attempt the expeditions most technically demanding section, a jumbled ice fall followed by a 400m vertical ice abseil. At this point, in winds of up to 135km/hr and intensive snow fall, the tent suffered a critical failure, leaving the team to erect a survival shelter as quickly as possible from what remained of the tent.

The following day the pair calculated that the Spegazzini Glacier offered them the best chance of survival due to its close proximity although it was steep and incredibly difficult.

In total, Tarka and Katie-Jane spent 5 nights in makeshift shelters as they negotiated the descent from the Ice Cap via the glacier in storm conditions.

The pair had hoped to leave as they had arrived, by boat, however the unstable nature of the glacier mouth made it unsafe for a boat to collect them. Subsequently, the El Calafate 42 division of the Argentinean Gendarmerie were called to provide a safe pick-up by helicopter.

The team spent one night in hospital as a precautionary measure and were discharged with mild frostbite to the toes and snow blindness.

Tarka and Katie-Jane firmly believe they can complete a full unsupported crossing to the Balmaceda Glacier (the Ice Cap¹s most Southerly point) and will return next year fitter, fatter and faster with every intention of achieving this goal.