To the Top of the World!

Jim McMahon/Mapman

For six hours, Felicity Aston and her team hunted for a way to cross a giant wall of ice. The 20-foot-tall ridge stood between them and the North Pole, the northernmost point on the planet. There was no end in sight. So they had to go over it.

The team worked together to get their skis, their 90-pound sleds, and themselves over the ice wall. When they reached the other side, “it was this moment of real euphoria,” says Aston.

Aston was the leader of the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition. She handpicked 10 women from countries across Europe and the Arabic world. Their mission: to ski 70 miles over ocean ice to reach the North Pole.

Felicity Aston and her team had a problem. They needed to get across a giant wall of ice. The ridge stood between them and the North Pole, the northernmost point on the planet. For six hours, they hunted for a way around the 20-foot wall. But there was no end in sight. So they had to go over it.

The team worked together to get over the ice wall. They had to haul their skis and their 90-pound sleds along too. Finally, they reached the other side. “It was this moment of real euphoria,” or joy, says Aston.

Aston was the leader of the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition. She selected 10 women to join her. They came from countries across Europe and the Arabic world. Their mission: to ski 70 miles over ocean ice. Their goal: to reach the North Pole.

More than 1,000 people applied to be part of the expedition. Lamees Nijem, a digital artist from Kuwait, was one of the 10 women accepted. She had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, but the Arctic was new to her. “I wanted to challenge myself and my body, and to live in extreme cold conditions,” she says.

The expedition was also an opportunity for scientists to learn how extreme cold affects women—a topic there’s very little data on. Most of the extreme-cold research has been conducted with male volunteers. Scientists gathered data on each woman’s body temperature, blood sugar levels, heart rate, and more.

Throughout the day, the scientists also took spit samples. “The reason they needed our spit is they were measuring a hormone called cortisol, which is an indicator of stress,” explains Aston. The physical exertion and extreme cold led to a lot of stress on their bodies.

The team set out on April 14, 2018, and reached the North Pole a week later. Marking the Pole with Aston’s skis, they crowded together to take a photo at the top of the world. “I am very honored to be part of this cultural exchange journey,” Nijem says. And she’ll never forget being part of a group of such strong and determined women.

More than 1,000 people applied to join the expedition. Lamees Nijem was one of the 10 women accepted. She’s a digital artist from Kuwait. She had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, but the Arctic was new to her. “I wanted to challenge myself and my body, and to live in extreme cold conditions,” she says.

The expedition was also an opportunity for scientists to learn how extreme cold affects women. There’s very little data on the subject. Most volunteers for previous studies of extreme cold have been men. On this expedition, scientists gathered data on each woman’s body temperature. They measured the women’s blood sugar levels, heart rate, and more.

The women also collected spit samples to give to the scientists. “The reason they needed our spit is they were measuring a hormone called cortisol, which is an indicator of stress,” explains Aston. The physical work and extreme cold led to a lot of stress on the women’s bodies.

The team set out on April 14, 2018. They reached the North Pole a week later. They used Aston’s skis to mark the Pole. Then they crowded together to take a photo at the top of the world. “I am very honored to be part of this cultural exchange journey,” says Nijem. And she’ll never forget being part of a group of such strong and determined women.