71-yr-old Naihati climber embarks on South Pole expedition after North Pole adventure
Times of India | 13 November 2024
123 Kolkata: A 71-year-old from Naihati has embarked on an expedition to the South Pole deep inside Antartica a year after he managed to reach the North Pole. If he succeeds, Karuna Prasad Mitra, an avid climber, will be one of the oldest to reach the two poles, where temperatures can dip to -30°C in summer and wind speed go up to 64 kmph, making it extremely challenging for even the fittest.
Mitra, who went to the North Pole in Feb 2023, left for Mumbai on Tuesday to catch a flight to Ethiopia and from there to Brazil. He is accompanied by another Naihati resident, 50-year-old Partha Ghosh. Together, they will fly to Ushuaia, Argentina, from where they will take a ship to the Antarctic Peninsula.
"The hard work starts after the ship stops. We will have to travel some more by small boats. These areas have floating icebergs and are a challenge to explorers. Finally, we will have to reach near Union Glacier," said Mitra. The trek on high ice sheets will start while they are around 60 nautical miles or 111 km away from the southern-most point. "Explorers use boots and sledges to traverse through these areas in sub-zero temperature and windy conditions. We need to acclimatise here to get adjusted to the temperature," Mitra added.
The toughest stretch for the Naihati duo will be a two-day trek through ice to reach Amundsen-Scott station deep inside Antarctica. "We plan to camp there for a night and push to the furthest point, the geographic South Pole where 360 lines of longitudes meet. We will have to carry our luggage in sleds tied to our waist," Mitra said.
The septuagenarian, who has been climbing since 1982, has been part of more than 45 expeditions. He climbed Mount Elbrus in 2016, Mount Kosciuszko in 2017 and Mount Kilimanjaro in 2019, all after turning a senior citizen. In 2023, he was part of a North Pole expedition team. But they had to stop just short of the northernmost point due to bad weather. "I work out each day to keep fit. However, for expeditions into the harshest of climate, acclimatisation is essential," he said.
Mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta, who reached the South Pole in 2018, said trekking to the South Pole would be a daunting task at the age of 70. "Apart from physical strength, it requires a different mindset," he said.