By Laura Smith-Spark and Francesca Street | CNN | Britain |
Preet Chandi is aiming to make history. The British-born Indian Sikh Army officer is embarking November 7 on the long voyage to Antarctica. Once there, she hopes to become the first woman of color to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole.
Nothing about the expedition sounds easy.
After flying to Chile, she will be dropped at Antarctica’s Hercules Inlet. From there, Chandi will trek solo 700 miles across the ice to the pole, hauling a sled weighing 90 kilograms (nearly 200 pounds) with all her kit, fuel and food for around 45 days.
The sun will never set but temperatures could dip as low as minus 50 Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit) with wind chill. Her only contact with the outside world will be a daily check-in with her support team.
Chandi, who has adopted the nickname “Polar Preet” for her blog and fundraising efforts, has spent two and a half years preparing for the grueling expedition.
She’s undergone crevasse training in the French Alps, trekked across Iceland’s Langjökull Glacier and endured 27 days on the ice cap in Greenland — not to mention months spent dragging a heavy tire behind her back home in England, to simulate pulling a sled.
‘I’m told: “You don’t really look like a polar explorer”‘
The 32-year-old Army captain is determined to achieve her goal — both for her own satisfaction and, she hopes, to inspire others to push their boundaries and defy cultural norms.
“I’m not really the image I think people expect to see, even now,” she told CNN, referring to her South Asian background. “I’m told that ‘you don’t really look like a polar explorer.'”
Read the full story, ‘British Sikh Army officer aims to be first woman of color to ski solo to South Pole’ (CNN, 6 Nov 2021), here.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
She is a British Sikh Army officer, NOT Indian , she is a British born citizen, NOT Indian citizen, period. To travel to India , you need a tourist visa bcoz it is a sovereign country so next time be loyal to the country you belong as a citizen. Cheer the country who gives you a fair future and equal opportunity .
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