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)

冒险运动爱好者阿吉特·巴贾杰成为第一位滑雪到达北极的印度人。 巴贾杰的妻子雪莉说，巴贾杰从俄罗斯境内的北极圈出发，完成了他9天的探险。同行的滑雪者中有四个美国人和一个英国人。 她说：“他4月14日离开印度，前往挪威。然后，探险队从挪威出发，到达俄罗斯的训练营，接着，他们开始滑雪向北极进军。” “他们每天要滑10至11个小时，最终在印度时间的凌晨4时15分，我丈夫通过卫星电话告诉我队伍已抵达北极目的地。” 雪莉说：“他成功经受住了这个耐力极限的考验，成为第一个抵达北极的印度人，这真是令人自豪的时刻。”雪莉和丈夫巴贾杰在印度开了一个冒险运动俱乐部。 与此同时，巴贾杰通过卫星电话告诉印度NDTV电视台，他将印度的国旗插在了北极。 他说：“在把外交部长阿南·夏尔马交给我的三色国旗展开的那一刻，我感到十分骄傲。” 巴贾杰是个速降滑雪能手，他说北极“极其”寒冷。 “地表的冰厚度达到1米左右，最低温度为零下35摄氏度，但是因为有风寒，温度可降至零下70至80摄氏度左右。” 他还说：“这里简直是个冰冻的世界。” 而远在新德里，他的妻子却饱受40多度高温酷暑的折磨。 (中国日报网站编译)