Polar Preet
Indi Setu London: Explorer 'Polar Preet' Chandi Sets Sights on North Pole Solo, Unsupported
London/IBNS: Record-setting British Army officer and polar explorer Harpreet Chandi — better known as “Polar Preet” — told the audience at the Indi Setu Thought-Leadership Summit in London last month that she plans to become the first woman to travel solo and unsupported to the North Pole.
The session, hosted by summit architect Dr. Amit Ghose, saw Chandi share her ambitions and preparation in a candid conversation. “For me, it’s about testing limits and breaking barriers,” she said.
"I plan to become the first woman to travel solo and unsupported to the North Pole from Canada—a journey of nearly 500 miles across drifting sea ice, open water, and freezing temperatures that can drop to minus 50 degrees," she said.
"I want to become a Guinness icon in 2025," she said, sharing her secret in surviving in difficult weather conditions and her polar diets.
The British Army officer who has already conquered the South Pole wants to take a pause and focus on her next big expedition.
Dr Ghose, Consultant Urologist and Founding Director of the Global Collaboration Forum (GCF), emphasised collective support for the expedition, announcing that a fundraising event in Kolkata would back the challenge.
“She represents the spirit of India — we must stand by her,” he said.
Meet Polar Preet
Chandi, a former British Army physiotherapist and captain, rose to global prominence in January 2022 when she became the first woman of colour to complete a solo trek to the South Pole.
In 2023 she broke the record for the longest solo unsupported one-way polar ski expedition — covering 1,484.5 km (922 miles) in 70 days and 16 hours.
Now 36, Chandi plans to begin her next expedition in March 2025 (weather-permitting) from Canada’s Ellesmere Island. She acknowledges the odds are steep: “There’s probably a 10 per cent chance — or maybe 5% — I can make it,” one report quoted her as saying.
Polar Preet in conversation with Dr. Amit Ghose at the Indi Setu Summit in London. Photo: Organisers
Born in Derby to a Sikh Punjabi family, Chandi was the first in her family to earn a university degree (in physiotherapy, 2012) before joining the British Army.
She has served in Nepal, Kenya and South Sudan and later turned her endurance training into polar exploration and ultra-marathons.
Her mantra: “If a Punjabi girl from Derby can get to Antarctica, you can go and achieve anything.”
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