First Indian woman to ski to South Pole

New Delhi: Reena Kaushal on Thursday became the first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole.

Kaushal, 38, settled in Delhi, made the historic ski-run as part of an eight-woman Commonwealth team that crossed a 900-km Antarctic ice trek to reach the South Pole to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth.

Skiing eight to 10 hours a day, Kaushal and her teammates from seven other countries covered the frozen continent to the pole in about 40 days. Each skier towed a sledge with food and gear weighing some 80 kg.

The skiers, Kaushal said in a statement online, braved blinding blizzards, jet speed winds blowing in excess of 130 km an hour and temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius.