On April 10th, 2010, Dubai-born Elham Al-Qasimi bid farewell to her career as an investment manager in order to pursue her life goal of becoming the first Arab woman to reach the North Pole!
Her two-week expedition began at the Borneo Russian ice station and will culminate in the North Pole on April 24th. This intrepid Arab exploress set out on her brave mission accompanied by a single guide: the two of them took to the snow unassisted and unsupported on cross- country skis pulling small toboggans called pulks.
External and Internal Challenges
In order to build her physical and mental endurance for the expedition, Elham embarked on a high-performance training programme prior to setting off, in order to optimize strength and power whilst enhancing agility and speed.
The training plan was specially designed to factor in the idiosyncrasies in climate and potential personal health issues. During the expedition both she and her guide will face risks such as thin ice, open water, polar bears, frostbite, hypothermia and injury.
Temperatures could reach around -30ºC (somewhat of a contrast to the climate of Elham’s homeland in the United Arab Emirates). In order not to freeze, she is using a layering system to provide more layers when she’s static, but also enable her to effectively use the heat my body generates while on the move.
In an interview with IslamiCity.com, just prior to setting off on the expedition, Elham explained that one of the biggest challenges while skiing is to avoid overheating.
“If you sweat and your base layer gets moist it will turn into an ice sheet when you stop for a break, and your circulation and hence body heat drops.” – she said.
A Giant Step for Man, A Giant Leap for Arab Women…
In the interview, Elham also described what the prospect of becoming the first Arab woman to reach the North Pole means to her:
“…To be here today and have the opportunity to send a message to Arab women is humbling. I would stress that I did not reach this point by focusing on external challenges, but rather by focusing on my internal challenges. It has been a liberating experience for me and I’m not done yet.”
Elham and her guide will typically ski for an average of eight hours a day, with a 10-minute break every two hours to snack. They’ll cook all their our own meals, pitch their tent and generally live with little to no environmental footprint.
Here’s sending all our positive energy that Elham achieves her goal and puts Arab women on the most extreme point of the world map!
