First Army Ski Expedition to South Pole Flagged Off

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Army Chief General V K Singh flagged off the first ever Indian skiing expedition to the South Pole.

A team of eight Army Personnel will ski down from the coast to Pole in 60 days, covering a distance of 1,170 km and endeavour to reach the geographical South Pole on January 15 next year to unfurl the National Flag, an Army release said.

January 15 is celebrated as Army Day every year.

The Army is imparting training in more than 17 fields of adventure including mountaineering, sport climbing, white water rafting, para-gliding, para-motoring, skydiving and land yachting.

For this expedition, the selected team members were put under extensive training initially at Gulmarg and Sonamarg in India and subsequently at Greenland to expose them to polar temperatures and conditions.

"This is for the first time an Indian team will embark on a journey from coast to pole on ski. It will be led by Colonel Anand Swaroop," the release said.

Totally self-contained, the team will haul their entire equipment and rations weighing up to 80 kg on sledges in an undulating ground devoid of landmarks and in sub-zero temperatures.

In the near future as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Army Adventure Wing, more such activities are being undertaken like an expedition to the eighth highest mountain of the world Mount Manaslu and a microlight flying expedition to the length and breadth of the country, the release added.

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