 90° NorthMy trip to the top of the World Azam Chowdhury
I can feel the excitement is building up inside me. I am sure it is going to be the most exciting moment of the trip. Less than 400 people each year are lucky enough to get this opportunity. Thinking I am one of them, made me very proud. All day we were waiting for that moment to reach our final destination. There was a competition about who can predict the exact time of arrival at 90° N. As sea ice constantly changes its thickness, on top of that arctic fog is another natural phenomenon. The ship’s captain personally took control of the navigation zigzagging through the pack ice. As there is no fixed speed at which an icebreaker can break pack ice, it was very difficult to predict what time the ship will reach North Pole. At 10 a.m. in the morning I predicted we will reach North Pole at 8:30 p.m. But around 3:30 p.m. our ship encountered very thick ice. As a result the captain had to stop the ship for 4 hours to prepare the ship to break through the thicker ice. We passed through the thick ice without any major drama, except this time we felt like we were inside a giant rock crusher. The ship was rolling from side to side and up and down. The dining room was in a real mess. Then our expedition leader announced that we have encountered very thick and hard ice and advised us to hang on to the railing when walking around the ship. Then at 11:45 pm the expedition leader announced that we were very close to the North Pole. We all jumped up from our beds, quickly put on warm clothes and went to the bow deck. It was very windy and cold. With the excitement of reaching the North Pole, the wind and cold didn’t bother us at all. We were anxiously waiting for that wonderful moment.    GPS Reading showing 90 deg North The exact point of 90° N was in the middle of a pressure ridge. As a result the captain was trying hard to manoeuver the ship to the exact point. But thick ice kept pushing our ship slightly away from the 90°N. To get to the exact point the captain was backing the ship 400/500 m and kept trying to get to the exact 90° North. It was such an exciting moment. After a few more tries finally exactly at 45 minutes past midnight, 25 July 2012 the captain blow the ships loud horn which indicated that we were at 90°N point. We were all waiting on the front deck for this moment. Everybody was yelling and shouting, doing high 5 with the person next to him. What a moment that was, knowing I am one of those few lucky ones who managed to reach 90° N (top of the world).  Bangladeshi flag raised on the North Pole It was really an unforgettable moment thinking I was now standing on top of the world. When we were celebrating our achievement, our expedition leader gave us a bit of bad news that due to the thickness of the sea ice and unstable nature of the pressure ridge at 90°N, it was too dangerous to walk around there and our ship was not be able to drop anchor there. The captain was going to look for a suitable place to drop anchor around 90° N. We were slightly disappointed but considering the safety of the expedition team members we didn’t mind that at all. The icebreaker carries two 700 tons anchors and the ice has to be thick and strong enough to carry that load. Finally the captain found a suitable ice shelf not very far from 90° N, strong enough to drop the anchor and flat enough so that all the expedition team members can land on the ice, walk around and have a BBQ party. We spent almost all day at 90°N. As tradition goes, the ships crew made a large hole on the ice so that some crazy enough people could go for a skinny dip in the icy cold water of the North Pole. I was tempted to have a go, but since I left Dhaka, my sinus was playing up and I had constant runny nose. Thinking of the future activities I decided not to try the plunge. The captain warned us that according to the measurements, the seawater is extremely cold, so it would not be a good idea to have a skinny dip in that icy cold water. Some of the vital organs of the body might get frozen. So the people, planning to have a skinny dip got the message and decided to wear at least under garments.  Praying before plunging in Icy Cold Water There were about ten people who did the plunge. Except two persons, no one could stay more than 30 seconds in the water and after that they were pulled out of the water by the ships crews on standby. In the afternoon around 4 p.m. we set sail south on our way back to Murmansk via Franz Joseph Lands. Before we left the North Pole, our expedition leader dropped a Time Capsule to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean in which we were told to put our business card or any message we liked to put. As I didn’t have my business card, I found my daughter’s business card, wrote my name on the back, and put that in the Time Capsule. Who knows, may be after 500 years someone will recover that time capsule from the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and would know, Nazmul Chowdhury was here on July 25, 2012 and he did not have his business card with him, so he wrote his name on the back of his daughter, Anita Chowdhury’s business card instead.  Putting the business cards in the Time Capsule On our way back from the North Pole, the expedition leader Jan announced that we were going back through Franz Joseph Lands and, weather permitting, we were trying to transfer everyone on to the Table Top Mountain by helicopter. We would also be able to see some beautiful sea birds nesting on the rock ledge near Franz Joseph Lands. We were really very excited. When it was my turn to board the helicopter, one of the jokers in the group said “don’t worry Naz, if the chopper crushed in that icy cold water you will survive only 3 minutes, then it will be all over. You wouldn’t feel a thing. I turned around and told him who said I was worried, in fact that was what I wanted – a quick death. He laughed. Jan was right, the view from the top of the Table Top Mountain was spectacular, absolutely breathtaking. In the evening, our expedition leader organized an auction night to raise money for Polar Research. I decided to bet for three items. The captain’s hat, which he donated to the cause, Navigation chart of our trip to the North Pole and if both failed I would go for the Russian made ceramic polar bear. I missed the captain’s hat for merely €50 Euro. Then I started my bet for the navigation chart. I was doing ok up to 200 Euro. I thought I have reached my limit and now was time sit back and watch. Then a betting war started between two Swedish couples. Both couples were determined to get that navigation chart. Very soon betting reached €10,000 Euro. I was glad I stopped betting after 200 Euros. Expedition leader was a very clever auctioneer, giving both couples free vodka while they were betting. Within10 minutes betting reached €15,000 Euros. We all thought there was no way they would be crazy enough to pay higher than €15,000 Euros for that chart. But after few more vodka they just kept going. The entire room was full of excitement. Everyone was waiting to see who will be the ultimate winner of that chart. The way they were betting it was very hard to predict. When they reached €20,000 Euros everybody thought betting was finished. But surprisingly, both couples wanted to keep going. By that time even I was feeling thirsty. When they reached €25,000 Euros, finally other couple said “ok you can have it”. After that successful auction we all had a free drink that night. €25,000 for an old Navigation Chart? Wow. Next morning I asked Jan (the expedition leader) about those couples. He said they both were millionaires from Sweden and none of them wanted to lose. After arriving back to Murmansk, we were given the whole morning to go and look around Murmansk city. Some of the group members decided to go for shopping in the city center. I decided to go and see some of the memorials and first nuclear ice breaker Lenin which is now a museum. Nuclear Powered icebreaker Lenin, The world's first nuclear powered surface ship, now rests in the docks of Murmansk and has been turned into a museum. It also features as a showcase for the Russian nuclear fleet. Ice Breaker Lenin was commissioned in 1959 and after 30 years of service Lenin was de-commissioned in 1989. Alyosha Statue - known as Alyosha to locals, this 30-meter-tall statue of a soldier overlooks the city and was built in 1974 to commemorate the Soviet defense of the Arctic during World War II. In the afternoon, we were taken straight back to Murmansk Airport for our flight back to Helsinki. Our Finnair chartered flight arrived exactly on time to pick us up and after another memorable trip of my life, I said good bye to Murmansk and headed towards home via Helsinki and London. 
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Home Page Published on: 15-Sep-2014 
