Indian Army at the North Pole
From 10.03.2012 to - Status: postponed
The Indian Army wants to reach the North Pole
© Expedition website
After having summitted four eight thousanders and scaled seven out of nine available peaks, after having conquered the South Pole last year (15 January 2011), The Indian Army is undertaking yet another ‘First Indian’ Ski Expedition -to North Pole this time. As usual, Lieutenant Colonel Anand Swaroop is leading the group.
Having gained the requisite experience, Indian Army is now undertaking yet another ‘First Indian’ Ski Expedition to North Pole.
The initial team was selected after long and tough selection trials in general area Sumdoh, HP conducted in Nov 11.
The team led by Lieutenant Colonel Anand Swaroop, SM, includes 02 officers and 06 OR. To realistically prepare the team in polar conditions, a training expedition was conducted at Svalbard, Norway from 10 Jan 12 to 28 Jan 12.
The main expedition is planned from 25 Feb 12 to 30 Apr 12. The expedition team of 08 personnel along with the equipment will fly to northernmost island of Ellesmere in Canada by a mix of commercial and chartered flights. But at the time this presentation is put on line, the expedition was still stucked in Resolute Bay waiting for part of their luggage !
The expedition will take off from the classical starting point, Ward Hunt, and will involve skiing for a distance of 780 Kms from the north coast off Ellesmere Island, Canada, to North Pole. The team will pull sledges with all the equipment and supplies required for approximately two months.
During the expedition, the team will have to face extreme cold temperatures, in the range of -250 C to -500 C, ever prevalent high winds causing even cooler temperatures due to ‘wind chill factor’, gradual climb, total lack of landmarks for navigation, lack of any possibility of support (depends on weather conditions), drifting ice, ice packs and leads, encounter with polar bears and nonstop challenges for a period of about 50 day.
