South Pole Ski Trekking World Record Holder Sets Sights on North Pole

Harpreet Chandi set the female world record for trekking from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole in 2023, now she turns her attention to the North Pole.

Harpreet Chandi - South Pole 2022 / PREET CHANDI/PA

From The South Pole to The North Pole

Adventurer, elite mountaineer and cross-country skier Kristin Harila recently suspended her solo and unsupported ski trekking expedition in Antarctica. Her plan to trek approximately 702-miles from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole came to an end after 20 days due to an injury sustained early in the expedition.

Prior to abandoning the challenge, Harila skied with efficiency and speed, perhaps hoping to top the women’s speed record for the route established by British Adventurer Harpreet Chandi in 2023. The four-time Guiness Book of World Records holder, known as ‘Polar Preet’ continues to own the record of 31 days, 13 hours and 19 minutes. Just over a year after setting the record in Antarctica, Chandi has set her sights on the polar opposite spot of the globe — The North Pole.

Lara Wildenberg recently reported in an Article for The Times that the 36-year old from Derby, UK intends to become the first woman to trek solo and unsupported to the North Pole. This arduous journey remains rare for men or women, as only Borge Ousland of Norway (1994) and Pen Hadow from Britain (2003) boast the only individuals on record as completing the journey solo and without outside contact or resupply (unsupported). Undeterred, the former army physiotherapist, who served for 16 years in the service, intends to begin her journey in March from Ellesmere Island, Canada.

Harpreet Chandi - South Pole / Preet Chandi

Global Warming and Melting Ice

Global warming complicates her plan as the multi-year ice on the North Pole continues to melt, leaving large swaths of the journey near impossible to cross. Where solid ice once stood, large bodies of water now flow, which will greatly increase the degree of difficulty. Even Polar Preet predicts success to complete the approximate 70-day journey covering around 500-miles of shifting sea ice in frigid temperatures (below -50C) at 5-10%.

Don’t count Chandi out. Her polar accomplishments suggest she will triumph. She broke the record for the longest solo and unsupported one-way polar ski expedition by amassing 922 miles (1,485Km) in 70 days. And, as mentioned, still holds the record from Hercules Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf to the South Pole.

Harpreet Chandi / Aviaaja Schluter

Chandi recognizes the long odds of completing the journey. “No females have done it for a reason. It’s insanely hard and not very many men have done it either.”

Given the warming planet, she will face rough, unpredictable depths and blocks of ice and vast bodies of open water. “On Antarctica I could be on land when I’m skiing. This is sea ice, so it is moving. I could ski one day and then the sea could drift me back to where I started. Can you imagine just literally going day after day and then going back further than when you started? That’s pretty hard and challenging, [but] there’s not really much I can do about that, it’s Mother Nature.”

Polar Preet wants to bolster the dreams of her teenage niece, and all young adventurers, by attempting the seemingly impossible. She noted when achieving one of her world records that simply breaking the proverbial glass ceiling wasn’t enough – she wanted to “smash it into a million pieces.” She also said recently “If a Punjabi girl from Derby can get to Antarctica, you can go and achieve anything.”

Logistical and Expensive Nightmare

Air charter services no longer fly onto the ice of the North Pole, as two outfits seized operations for economic reasons. Consequently, Chandi must organize and establish a rescue and pickup location for potential evacuation from the Pole if necessary. Such an endeavor will add to expedition costs, which will likely exceed $1 million. We will keep an eye on Chandi’s efforts to put this expedition together in time to launch her North Pole dream in a few months. (Related Article)