Preet Chandi to attempt unsupported solo trek to North pole

Just over a year ago, Preet Chandi concluded her interview with Viv Micklefield for Derbyshire Life by saying tantalisingly: ‘Although I’ve not yet planned the next one, I’m sure there will be more adventures.’

This remarkable trailblazing woman, from Sinfin, Derby, who has spoken passionately in the past about wanting to be a good role model, has stayed true to her word.

When we last caught up with Preet, we did so directly from the South Pole where, on December 28 2023 – after 31 days, 13 hours and 19 minutes’ skiing across 1,130km of Antarctica – she became the fastest woman ever to complete such a solo unsupported expedition.

Having already achieved three world records at the South Pole, ‘Polar Preet’ as she is affectionately known to many, now has her sights set firmly on the North – where the moving sea ice, wildlife and remoteness make this, by her own admission, her toughest challenge yet.

Preet on an expedition to Norway in 2020 Photo: Preet Chandi To put the enormity of Preet’s expedition into context, just two people have ever successfully trekked solo and unsupported to the North pole – Norway’s Børge Ousland and Scotland’s Pen Hadow.

In fact, only nine individuals have ever made it to the North pole on foot – full stop.

Should Preet, a former British Army medical officer, complete her audacious challenge unaided, she would become the first woman, and only the third person ever, to achieve the feat.

Preet has stated previously that she doesn’t like the word ‘conquered’, preferring instead to treat the might of nature with the respect it deserves.

It brings a degree of humility to the determination she is known for – a character trait she will need in abundance in the weeks and months ahead.

‘I’m not somebody who ever thought I could do anything like this,’ reveals Preet honestly.

‘It’s a challenge that feels bigger than me, and at times it can feel like there is a 99% chance I won’t make it.

Preet was honoured with an MBE at Windsor Castle in 2023 Photo: Sway Communications ‘The reality is probably a little better, but it’s important I stay realistic about the difficulty and risk and prepare as thoroughly as possible for the best chance of success.’

Once on the ice, Preet’s expedition is expected to take between 70 to 80 days. She’ll be pulling everything she needs to live and survive in one of the remotest and harshest environments on Earth.

Just some of the dangers she will face include the bitter Arctic climate, crevasse and breaks in the moving ice and even polar bears.

‘Ultimately, with the many factors that come into play, it has to be about more than the end goal,’ suggests Preet philosophically.

‘It’s about the journey in attempting what for most only seems like a dream you have as kids. They won’t all come true but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.’

Preet’s Army career was inspired by an advert she saw in Derby city centre Photo: Sway Communications It was back in 2021 that Preet, who has since been honoured with an MBE, first made a name for herself by becoming the first solo woman of colour to complete an Antarctic journey unsupported.

Returning in 2022, Preet, who spent time in the Army having seen an advert for the Army Reservists in Derby city centre, went on to break two World Records, including completing the furthest (1485km), solo unsupported one-way Polar ski expedition by any person in history.

Yet for all her remarkable achievements to date, the unpredictable and harsh nature of the environment she will find herself in will care little for past glories.

The Arctic Ocean brings with it some of the toughest conditions in the world. Most of the Arctic Ocean is covered by a thin layer of ice and, since this ice floats on water, it behaves unpredictably due to the influence of winds, tides, and ocean currents.

Yet Preet will be nothing if not prepared.

She’s currently affording herself just one day a week rest. The other six are spent on strength and conditioning, ‘tabbing’ out to the hills, to use a military term, with weight on her back, dragging tyres to replicate the demands of a sled haul over the ‘rocky ice’ on the approach to the North Pole.

The challenge is not for the faint-hearted Photo: Preet Chandi In November, Preet headed back to Antarctica to simulate the conditions she’ll face on the top of the world – ‘my playground for three months’, as she rather cheerfully refers to it.

From there, Preet headed back to the UK for a week, for family farewells and to collect kit and equipment before heading to Canada and the edge of the Arctic circle.

February was spent in the Qikiqtaaluk region, where she was faced with three weeks of extreme cold, before moving on to the aptly-named Resolute Bay, where the waiting for a suitable weather window begins.

One difference to the South Pole, as alluded to, is the not insignificant presence of polar bears.

‘In Antarctica, I had to be wary of crevasses, but not wildlife,’ explains Preet. ‘There were times I could listen to music or daydream. Not here.’ Indeed, this will be a mission where constant vigilance will be required.

It’s natural to assume the mission will get harder the longer it goes on as fatigue sets in. That’s not necessarily, argues Preet, the case.

‘The start is when my kit will be heaviest,’ she explains.

‘I’ll be dragging it over rough ice, which I’d describe as scrambling over rocks with no real pattern to it.’

It’s one of the most remote places on earth – but that doesn’t necessarily mean Preet will be alone Photo: Getty If Preet reaches the end of this remarkable test of endurance, skill and courage, her home city of Derby will, no doubt, still feel a long way away.

The route has not been completed since 2014 and, while Preet will be using a GPS and compass to navigate her way – available via polarpreet.com so people can follow her journey all over the world – collection will be extremely difficult.

The North Pole station has not opened in the past five years, which is what aircraft would use as their base to collect people.

Preet and her team are currently looking into options for collection, the most favourable being aircraft.

Just what drives Preet to such challenges? It seems the answer to that lies both in a duty to herself and the opportunity to act as an inspiration to others.

‘I’m still learning what I’m capable of,’ she says.

‘As an adventurer, I’m going out there and doing something different, in a world that I once didn’t feel I had a place in.

‘Now I’m exploring places I knew nothing about and it’s extraordinary, for me. Yes, I’m an Asian woman but it’s so much broader than that. I get messages from people who’ve completely different backgrounds and genders.

‘Often you don’t always realise who relates to you and what’s really important, is that I’m honest about my experiences; both the ups and also the lows because it’s okay to have lows.

‘Anything ambitious can feel out of reach at the beginning, I’m often still amazed at how far I made it. If a Punjabi girl from Derby can get to Antarctica, you can go and achieve anything.’

Many people across the globe will follow the next few weeks with interest, none more so than those in her home county of Derbyshire where, whatever the outcome of her latest quest, she is a hero.