Teen skis her way into a world record

New Delhi: Braving temperatures that went as low as minus 45 degrees Celsius (minus 49 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 days, 17-year-old Deeya Suzannah Bajaj is the youngest person in the world to ski her way across Greenland.

Covering 550km from Kangerlussuaq on the west coast of Greenland, she skied to Isertoq on the east coast via the celebrated Dye II station, an abandoned Cold War relic. "I trained for two months before the expedition and concentrated mainly on my stamina and did a bit of weight training," she said.

Deeya went skiing in Gulmarg, Kashmir, as well to brush up on her skiing skills.

"Though downhill skiing is very different from cross-country skiing, the Gulmarg stint helped me on the downhill bits, as the trans Greenland Expedition entailed mainly cross country skiing," she explained.

The Bajaj family are in it together. Deeya's parents Shirly Thomas and Ajeet Bajaj run a company Snow Leopard Adventures.

Ajeet is also the first Indian to have skied to both the North Pole and the South Pole. So it is no wonder his daughters, Deeya and 13-year-old Meghna, are both into adventure sports.

Gulf News spoke with the world record holder, who is also a black belt in Taekwondo.

GULF NEWS: What led you into skiing and sports when girls your age are generally not serious about such activities?

Deeya Suzannah Bajaj: Influenced by our father, a leading adventure sports person, Meghna and I have been exposed to outdoor sports from a very young age and are passionate about swimming, kayaking and trekking.

Recently, she and I did an adventure course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, and an advanced course for scuba diving. We are now certified PADI advanced divers.

My father has been on a number of expeditions and when he was invited for the Greenland expedition, I asked him if I could go along. Though initially hesitant, he relented.

Did your father's presence make things easier for you? Or did you feel you had much to prove, as expectations may have been rising?

Yes, his presence made it much easier. He was very supportive and made it very clear that I had nothing to prove to him.

The fact that I was attempting the expedition was good enough for him. But, of course, that just made me want to try that much harder to make sure I was successful in my attempt to cross the Greenlandic Ice cap.

He pointed that these kinds of expeditions needed a lot of mental strength.

Though he was around to ensure that I was physically safe, I had to be mentally strong to handle long days of physical exertion and tiredness. He also advised that every movement had to be deliberate and one could not afford to be careless at any point because the terrain is unforgiving and many a time you have to rely on your own energy reserves.

Being the youngest member of the team, what made you nervous?

I think the thought of seeing nothing but white snow for the next 20 days got me a little nervous, because the idea was so alien. But much to my surprise I got used to it within a few days.

In the beginning, I was also worried I would slow everyone down, but as I got into the flow of things I felt better.

It was hard skiing for eight hours daily and at the start of the expedition I remember being extremely tired. But once I got into the rhythm of things and learnt to conserve my energy, it was enjoyable.

The biggest challenge for me, though, was the cold. Despite our very good gear, made specifically for these kind of weather conditions, if we stood still outside our tents even for a second, the fingers and toes would freeze. So one needed to be very careful and move constantly to keep the circulation of blood going.

The wind was another challenge. Sometimes it would blow at 30km/h and actually knock me down while skiing.

Was there a time during the expedition when you nearly gave up?

One day when it was extremely cold and windy and tough to ski, I nearly wanted to give up. But then, such situations test your mental strength and I soon gathered myself. I did not want to be the weak link in the team and I got going.

Which have been the most interesting and memorable moments of the expedition?

Around half way through the expedition, we reached Dye II station, an abandoned military base — a part of the American early warning system for nuclear missiles during the Cold War. There are three of these in Greenland. We went inside to explore one after setting up camp. It was a huge building — very creepy and dark inside.

The Americans had left their supplies and furnishings about 60 years ago and those were still there — practically untouched. We went right up to the radar, which was built to detect the nuclear missile.

What does the term ‘faith can move mountains' mean to you?

It means that if you follow your dream, you can make a difference to others' lives. I had the desire to start a girls' wing in the orphanage that my parents were supporting in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

The orphanage, looking after boys [suffering from] leprosy did not have any girl residents. I linked my expedition to this dream and requested family and friends to pledge a certain amount of money for every kilometre I skied.

And I am happy that Shri Ram School, where I have been studying, also helped me in this endeavour. We managed to collect about Rs500,000 [Dh41,059] and have already launched the girls wing at the orphanage.

With your kind of mindset, anything is achievable. What's next on the agenda?

It's college admission. [The] expedition was the fun part and now it's time to go back to academics.

I am preparing for my ‘predicted grade exams'. Since I have decided to go abroad for further studies, these scores will decide my future course.

Early initiation into adventure sports

• Deeya Suzannah Bajaj was born to mother Shirly Thomas and father Ajeet Bajaj on March 9, 1994 in New Delhi.
• Studying in Class 12 in Shri Ram School, Gurgaon.
• Distinction in Adventure course from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi — 2007.
• Sea Kayaking expedition to Greenland — 2008.
• Cross country skiing expedition across Greenland — 2011.
• Advanced PADI certified scuba diver — 2011.