Test. Conquer the Arctic in 7 Steps

Gender equality

And feel like part of the first Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition

11 women from 10 countries in Europe and the Middle East went on a trip to the Arctic Region in the spring of 2018. It took The Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition 2018 participants seven days to pass 100 km on skis: from Barneo, a drifting ice camp, to the North Pole. Most of them were discovering the Arctic for the first time, but had dreamt about it for long enough. They have proven that any woman can achieve big goals, no matter what their experience or what other people think. We at Kasperksy Lab are proud to have been the expedition sponsors.

The participants provided detailed coverage of their experience in their blogs and in interviews; a film has been shot about the journey, and a book has been published. As for us, we’ve created a test inspired by the adventure. Answer these 7 questions about the everyday life of The Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition 2018 to reveal what you’re up against as you discover the Arctic.

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To survive in the Arctic desert, one has to learn to plot routes and overcome ice ridges, to set up tents and not burn the camp down with the camping stove. Members of The Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition 2018 trained in Iceland. Why Iceland?

All beginner polar explorers do that.

The expedition organizer lives there.

The world’s most renowned training camp is located there.

It became clear after Iceland: hands would be painfully freezing cold. What would you take on the expedition: mittens or gloves?

Mittens. Many pairs of mittens.

Gloves and badger fat, to anoint the frostbitten hands.

Both gloves and mittens

The key meals on the journey are instant cereal, pasta and soups: boil snow, pour in the food and eat. But that’s in the camp. What do you eat as a snack along the way?

Space food from squeeze tubes and cans.

Instant noodles.

Chocolate and dried berries.

The way to the North Pole starts from the Svalbard archipelago. The team gathers there to drink coffee with cinnamon rolls and take a charter flight to the Barneo ice camp. As an expedition participant, you have been asked to take a needle and a thread with you. Why?

In case the sledge strap tears on the way.

To sew on your badge.

For emergency care in case of freeze burns.

By the way, who pulls the sledge with equipment and food?

Polar husky dogs.

Porters hired on Svalbard.

Expedition participants.

To get to the destination point, it’s essential to stick to the chosen direction and not veer off course. How do you choose a reliable reference point?

An iceberg is the only reliable thing, as far as reliability is possible in the Arctic.

The ski track left by another team. Everyone heads to the North Pole from here!

Choose an ice ridge far away and move in that direction.

And the last question, for experts. Who is Eric Philips?

A polar guide and traveler from Australia.

Snowmobile inventor.

President of the Philips Company, who also loves North Pole expeditions.

You gave right answers out 7.

I’m a born Arctic explorer!

I’d love to show off my heroics by surviving the cold, sleeping in a tent with three other people, pulling a sledge for miles across an icy, snowy desert on top of a frozen sea and bumping into Eric Philips. Sounds like a dream journey!

I’d conquer the Arctic by helicopter, with champagne!

The North Pole is a great place, but I wouldn’t go there on skis. I’d happily support the brave people who do it, and then join them in a helicopter and treat them to some champagne. Why not? I can afford it.

I could conquer the Arctic, but I won’t!

It’s cold and snowy there. I’d rather sit at home and wait for the new season of Black Mirror. Or maybe I’ll go to Las Vegas – at least it’s warm there.