The Hindu : National : Conquering North Pole on skis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 07, 2006

National

National

Conquering North Pole on skis

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Ajeet Bajaj covered a distance of 200 km in 11 days

NEW DELHI: Ajeet Bajaj is the first Indian to reach the North Pole on skis as part of a cross-country skiing expedition from a Russian polar research station on the Arctic Ice to the North Pole — a distance of 200 km — in 11 days.

Ajeet was part of a five-member team that reached the North Pole on April 26. Managing Director of Snow Leopard Adventures, Ajeet was felicitated on Saturday by the Indian Association of Tour Operators at a function here in the Capital.

Recalling what he described "as the toughest and the most challenging period of his life'', Ajeet said: "Making the decision to travel to the North Pole wasn't a chance adventure trip. I put in six months of rigorous training before embarking on the journey. We trained at a small island in Norway. Here we meticulously went over each detail of the journey, we triple-checked all our equipments, our route plans and fitness levels, knowing full well that there was no scope for lucky escapes. I knew that a mistake could cost me my life. It is really sports at its meanest best with zero margin for error,'' said Ajeet, adding that the team was airlifted from Norway and dropped at a place called Bavneo from where their journey began.

Ajeet has also rafted in the most challenging rivers on six continents and is a well-known name in arena of adventure sports.

Ajeet, the only Indian in the group consisting three Americans and a Swiss — who had to be evacuated mid-way due to knee injury — credits his success to good teamwork and training. "The North Pole is one of the toughest terrains to cover in the world and throughout our journey we had to battle sub-zero temperatures, pressure ridges, frequent blizzards, shifting polar ice caps and extreme fatigue. In fact, we were out for 14-15 hours each day trying to reach the North Pole. Here we also got to view the effects of global warming first hand and came back understanding that the threat is very real and near,'' he said.

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