All Women's Euro-Arabian Expedition arrive at the North Pole

Eight days after starting out on their expedition the mainly novice team of females from 10 countries have arrived on top at the world at the North Pole.

The team have travelled just over 80 km on the moving pack ice of the Arctic Ocean. They have faced freezing temperatures, open leads of water in the sea ice, as well as the constant threat of polar bears.

All-female EuroArabian Polar expedition comprising women from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Slovenia, Sweden, France, Cyprus, Russia and the UK.

The team departed the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard in the early hours of 15th April. From there they flew to the floating ice station known as ‘Barneo’ and started their ski journey across the Arctic pack ice to the North Pole. Preparations for the expedition have been ongoing for nearly two years including training expeditions in Iceland and Oman.

Led by Felicity Aston, MBE the Euro-Arabian team has an experienced polar guide. In 2012 Aston became the first person in the world to ski across Antarctica alone and without the aid of kites, machines or dogs – a journey of 1744 km that took her 59 days to complete.

Aston said about the trip "The world is facing global problems – such as climate change – that can only be tackled with global solutions. We want to send a strong and positive message about gender equality and the need for greater cultural understanding when tackling large problems."

After a particularly gruelling last leg of the trip the team arrived at the North Pole in good spirits. They were met there by their sponsor Eugene Kaspersky who flew out by helicopter to meet and celebrate with them at the top of the world.

Everyone was also delighted to be reunited at the pole with Saudi team mate Mariam who had left the team on day 2 after suffering minor cold injuries. She was flown out to the North Pole on the helicopter with the Kaspersy team for an emotional reunion.

The team are participating in two important science experiments during the expedition looking at the effect of the extreme environment on their bodies and on their minds.

The novice team has worked hard to reach the top of the world. Aston commented "The team have endured the extreme environment and restricted living spaces with great humour and tremendous sense of adventure. They have held on tightly to their reasons for making this trip and each team member has been critical to the success of the expedition."

The expedition is sponsored by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, as well as Engie, Poseidon Expeditions, OmanTel and I Feel Slovenia

Having sponsored two of Aston’s previous polar adventures – the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition in 2009, and the Kaspersky ONE Transantarctic Expedition in 2011 – the cybersecurity company was keen to announce its support of her latest endeavour: the first ever all-women Euro-Arabian North Pole expedition.

Kaspersky Lab CEO Eugene Kaspersky – who will fly to the North Pole to meet and congratulate the women upon their arrival – said the company was proud to continue its support of inspiring female adventurers like Aston and her team.

"For me, arctic adventuring isn’t just an exciting challenge, it’s a powerful motivation. People like Felicity and her team – determined and passionate – genuinely inspire me. They’re also role models for the younger generation – they help them to really go after what they want in life."

Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2017. Kaspersky Lab’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe.

The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky Lab technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them.

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