Emirati sets out to conquer South Pole in record bid
AL AHBABI AIMS TO BECOME YOUNGEST ARAB TO JOURNEY ACROSS BOTH POLES
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After becoming the youngest Arab to trek to the North Pole last May, Abdullah Al Ahbabi, 26, is aiming to repeat that feat, only this time he plans to do it at the South Pole.
Al Ahbabi started his journey yesterday as he flew off to Chile from where he will take a chartered flight along with nine other team members to Antarctica on December 18. The team will then begin their 11-day trek on December 20.
“I’ve been preparing for this since May, I’ve done a lot of physical training as well as training at Ski Dubai to get my body prepared for this adventure,” Al Ahbabi said.
“Even though I have trekked across the North Pole, being at the South Pole is going to be much different — this time the weather is going to be even colder. At the North Pole it was minus 40 degrees Celsius whereas at the South Pole the temperature will be minus 50 degrees Celsius. I’m also going to be skiing at an altitude of 11,000 feet instead of being at sea level like last time,” he added, explaining the new challenges he is set to face.
Fighting the elements
“I will have to ensure I don’t get frostbite and that I am well covered up and protected. Also being at a higher elevation is going to make it more challenging for my stamina and breathing,” he said.
And if that wasn’t hard enough, Al Ahbabi will have to trek 130 kilometres in those conditions while pulling his own equipment weighing 45 kilos.
“This will be unassisted, which means I have to pull all of my equipment by a sled weighing 45 kilos as I am trekking for 10 to 12 hours a day,” he said.
Al Ahbabi said he is highly ■ motivated for the journey and hopes his adventure can send a positive message to other youth in the Arab world.
“I’m very excited for this journey and my goal is to show the young people in our region that we can do anything if we put our minds to it. Achievements are not only reserved for those with experience, I want to prove that even young people can make records.
“It was such a personal inspiration for me as well to have met His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, after I returned from the North Pole. He gave me words of encouragement and told me to keep challenging myself, and that’s what I plan on doing with this new adventure,” he added.
Al Ahbabi said that he will plant both the UAE flag and the Year of Zayed flag at the South Pole when he completes his journey.