expedition

Women’s EuroArabian expedition arrives at the North Pole

The team, led by veteran polar explorer Felicity Aston, met with Eugene Kaspersky on arrival at the North Pole.

Sarah Pike
May 3, 2018

The women’s polar expedition team has arrived at the North Pole. Renowned polar explorer Felicity Aston led seven women from Europe and four from the Middle East, most of them novices at polar trekking. A few were the first women from their countries to set foot on the Arctic ice cap.

The adventurers completed the demanding cross-country ski in eight days. They persisted through extreme temperatures, blistering wind, shifting ice, and more. At times, they had to double back to move forward.

At the end of their grueling trek, they met up with Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of sponsor Kaspersky Lab, who took a much easier trip on a plane to toast the women on their accomplishment.

Aston launched this polar adventure to foster greater dialogue and understanding between women from Western and Arabian cultures, hoping their efforts would inspire all women to reach beyond the expectations of others and fulfill their own life ambitions.

: Euro Arabian team members Lames Nijem (Kuwait) & Susan Gallon (France) for the NatGeo Instagram photo series. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Euro-Arabian team members Anissa Al Raissi (Oman) & Misba Khan (UK) for the NatGeo Instagram photo series. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Euro-Arabian team members Ida Olsson (Sweden) & Asma Al Thani (Qatar) for the NatGeo Instagram photo series. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Euro-Arabian team members Mariam Hamidaddin (Saudi Arabia) & Natasa Briski (Slovenia) for the NatGeo Instagram photo series. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Euro-Arabian team members Stephanie Solomides (CYP) & Olga Rumyantseva (RU) for the NatGeo Instagram photo series. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Trying on the skis in the equipment warehouse in Svalbard pre-departure to make sure the bindings fit properly. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Sled packing and unpacking drills pre-departure in Svalbard. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Making sure nothing is missing and that the tents are intact pre-departure in Svalbard. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Triple checking that all the gear is in working order and nothing is forgotten during pre-departure preparation in Svalbard. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Paying attention to every detail to avoid any single point of equipment failure pre-deaprture in Svalbard. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: All equipment checks and final equipment drills done Now the waiting game before leaving Svalbard for the Barneo Polar Station begins. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Tears of excitement, mixed with some pre-expedition anxiety, while waiting to board the airplane to the Barneo Polar Camp, 89 deg North. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Happy tears as the expedition members prepare to leave Terra Firma for a vast, floating sea of polar ice for 10 days. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: View of the An 71 cockpit wiith Olga at the controls This Russian aircraft is built specifically for challenging arctic conditions. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Unloading the expedition equipment from the An-71 aircraft after a dramatic landing on the 1km ice airstrip at Barneo Polar Station. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Expedition leder Felicity Aston making sure all sleds are are accounted for after the hectic unloading from the An 71 aircraft. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Last chance to check that all equipment is in working order before boarding the Mi-8 helicopter for the final leg to drop off point. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Filling up on stove fuel in -38 Celsius. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Olga Rumyantseva on the ice at Barneo Polar Station. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Olga Rumyantseva 48 hours and approxmately 48 degrees warmer, earlier in Svalbard. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: A frozen tear and frozen eye lashes on Misba Khan before boarding the helicopter at 89 degrees North. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Anisa Al Raissi keeping her face wam in her polar jacket. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: The Mi-8 helicopters that are used for emergency rescues, bringing expeditions to their drop off points and back to Barneo from the North Pole. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Loading the sleds into the Mi-8 helicopter to go to the final drop off point before starting the expedition to the North Pole. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Director Holly Morris (right) and her expert polar film crew that documents the full journey for the expedition feature documentary. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Cockpit view of the pack ice from the Mi-8 helicopter, flying in formation to the final expedition drop off point. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Lames Nijem looking down on the pack ice throgh the helicopter window moments before reaching the expedition starting point. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: Veteran polar adventurer & Euro-Arabian expedition leader Felicity Aston keeps her team focused as they are about to exit the Mi-8. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: And so it begins, the starting point for the journey across the ice to the North Pole From this point on the team is on their own. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: The final view of the team from the Mi-8 as the helicopter rotor wash covers them in a dusting of snow and ice. Photo by Renan Ozturk

: The photo that became the inspiration & set the theme for expedition member profiling photo series featured on NatGeo Instagram. Photo by Renan Ozturk