Niyog is all set for the adventure of a lifetime. This 26-year-old adventure traveller from Punalur in Kerala’s Kollam district has just got through an online poll that would make him the first Indian to take part in Fjällräven Polar, an expedition across the Arctic, set to be held in April, 2018.
Fjällräven Polar is a dream expedition of adventure travellers across the world. It is an annual expedition organised by Swedish company Fjällräven since 1997.
Arctic wilderness
The participants will have to travel 300 km at minus 30° Celsius through the arctic wilderness in Norway and Sweden on sleighs pulled by around eight Siberian Huskey dogs.
As only 20 aspirants out the thousands applying for it get the chance to take part in the expedition every year, the competition is quite tough. Entries are invited from adventurers in 10 categories of countries. Indians get to participate in the poll under the ‘World’ category. Only one person from each category is selected in the online poll. The rest are nominated by a jury.
After physical tests and intense training to survive in the arctic for almost a month, the team of 20 sets out for the deathly expedition.
This year’s entries started pouring in since November 16. Niyog registered only on December 1, with bare minimum expectations. But his friends and followers took over the campaign requesting people to vote for him. When the polls concluded on Thursday, he had scored 51,078 votes.
Trip to the Himalayas
Niyog is used to travels and adventure since childhood. He had travelled to different parts of the Himalayas, solo on various occasions, and believes that it has conditioned him for adverse climatic conditions.
He is excited about theexpedition that starts on April 8 from Norway, yet a bit apprehensive.
“More than the temperature, the sleighs thrill me. Managing the sleigh and the dogs is quite hard. Besides, we have to look out for thin ice, which only a trained eye can notice,” he tells The Hindu .
Having won the poll, it’s now preparation time for Niyog. “I am planning an extreme trek through Himalayas during the second half of January,” he says.
