Canadian geophysicists in the North Pole, in May 2005. Adventure sports enthusiast Ajit Bajaj became the first Indian to ski to the North Pole. Bajaj completed his nine-day expedition from the Russian side of the Arctic with four skiers from the United States and one from Britain, his wife Shirley said. "He left India April 14 for Norway from where the team went to a Russian training camp and then they set off for the North Pole on skis," she said. "They would ski for 10 to 11 hours a day and finally at 4:15 am Indian time my husband called me on satellite telephone to announce the team had reached their destination on the North Pole." "It's a very proud moment as he becomes the first Indian to successfully withstand such an extreme endurance test and reach the North Pole," said Sherly, who operates an adventure sports club in India with her husband. Bajaj, meanwhile, told India's NDTV television by satellite phone that he had planted the Indian flag at the North Pole. "It was a very proud moment when I unfurled the tricolor, our national flag given to me by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma," he said. Bajaj, a downhill ski specialist, described the cold as "extreme". "There is about a metre of ice on the surface and the lowest temperature has been minus 35 degrees Centigrade but with the wind chill, it can go down to about minus 70-80C." "It's freezing up here," he added. In New Delhi, his wife sweltered in temperatures above 40C. (Agencies)

冒險運動愛好者阿吉特·巴賈杰成為第一位滑雪到達北極的印度人。 巴賈杰的妻子雪莉說，巴賈杰從俄羅斯境內的北極圈出發，完成了他9天的探險。同行的滑雪者中有四個美國人和一個英國人。 她說：“他4月14日離開印度，前往挪威。然后，探險隊從挪威出發，到達俄羅斯的訓練營，接著，他們開始滑雪向北極進軍。” “他們每天要滑10至11個小時，最終在印度時間的凌晨4時15分，我丈夫通過衛星電話告訴我隊伍已抵達北極目的地。” 雪莉說：“他成功經受住了這個耐力極限的考驗，成為第一個抵達北極的印度人，這真是令人自豪的時刻。”雪莉和丈夫巴賈杰在印度開了一個冒險運動俱樂部。 與此同時，巴賈杰通過衛星電話告訴印度NDTV電視臺，他將印度的國旗插在了北極。 他說：“在把外交部長阿南·夏爾馬交給我的三色國旗展開的那一刻，我感到十分驕傲。” 巴賈杰是個速降滑雪能手，他說北極“極其”寒冷。 “地表的冰厚度達到1米左右，最低溫度為零下35攝氏度，但是因為有風寒，溫度可降至零下70至80攝氏度左右。” 他還說：“這里簡直是個冰凍的世界。” 而遠在新德里，他的妻子卻飽受40多度高溫酷暑的折磨。 (中國日報網站編譯)