An international group of women test their limits in completing one of the last attempted expeditions to the North Pole.
As the Arctic polar ice cap melts, reaching the North Pole has become increasingly dangerous. Yet an expedition of ordinary women from the Arab World and the West strap on skis and haul heaving sledges toward true North, against all odds and polar advice. Award-winning filmmaker Holly Morris (The Babushkas of Chernobyl) captures it all, from frostbite and polar bear threats, to sexism and self-doubt in this intimate story of resilience, survival and global citizenry - on what may be the last-ever expedition to the top of the world.—Melissa Fondakowski, Powderkeg Studios
Against all odds and polar advice, a Muslim chaplain, a shy French biologist, a defiant Qatari princess and eight other women from the Arab World and the West attempt to ski across the melting Arctic sea ice to the North Pole. Director Holly Morris and her crew capture the struggle of these audacious explorers, led by veteran polar explorer Felicity Aston, as they navigate everything from frostbite to sexism and self-doubt in an intimate story of resilience, survival and global citizenry in what may be the last-ever over ice expedition to the Pole. But learning to navigate and survive in a polar environment wasn't the only obstacle. This team skied the same icy terrain as the rarified community of predominantly white male polar explorers and scientists. At many points in the journey, their "place at the table" was in question. Representing the nations of Slovenia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, France, and the U.K., the team worked through profound differences in language, religion, communication and culture to achieve a singular, common goal. In the end, four team members, including Sheikha Asma Al Thani of Qatar, became the first ever from their nations to ski to the North Pole.
Our first stop was the Arctic outpost of Longyearbyen on Norway's Svalbard Archipelago, the northernmost community in the world. There we waited for a Russian team to build Ice Station Barneo - an epic undertaking delayed nearly three weeks in the wake of two recent helicopter crashes that grounded all aviation. When go-time finally came, we flew to Barneo to fuel up, and then in a MI-8 helicopter that dropped us and our sledges, laden with hundreds of pounds of gear, at 2 AM, into -39°F temperatures at roughly 89 degrees North. About 100 KM from the North Pole. And then, we skied.
