Niyog is all set for the adventure of a lifetime. This 26-year-old adventure traveller from Punalur in Kollam has just got through an online poll that will make him the first Indian to take part in Fjällräven Polar, an expedition across the Arctic set to be held in April 2018.

Fjällräven Polar is a dream expedition of adventure travellers across the world. It is an annual expedition organised by the Swedish company Fjällräven since 1997. The participants will have to travel 300 km at minus 30 degrees Celsius through the Arctic wilderness in Norway and Sweden on sleighs pulled by eight Siberian Husky dogs.

As only around 20 aspirants get the chance to take part in the expedition, and with thousands of adventurers across the world aspiring for it, the competition is quite tough. Entries are invited from adventurers in 10 wide categories of countries, most of which are for people residing in the Arctic belt. Indians get to participate in the poll under the category ‘World’.

Only one person from each of the 10 categories is selected in the online poll. The rest are nominated by a jury. After physical tests and intense training to survive in the Arctic for almost a month, the team of 20 sets out for the expedition.

This year’s entries started pouring in from November 16. Niyog registered only on December 1, with bare minimum expectations. But his friends and followers took over the campaign requesting people to vote for him.

Within four days, Niyog emerged as the top competitor in all categories. When the polls concluded on Thursday, he scored 51,078 votes, around 10,000 more than his nearest competitor.

Niyog is used to travels and adventure since childhood. He had travelled solo to different parts of the Himalayas and believes it has conditioned him for adverse climatic conditions. He was in news just a few months ago for his nomadic journey across the country as a penniless hitch-hiker.

Niyog is excited about the polar expedition that starts on April 8 from Norway, yet a bit apprehensive. “More than the temperature, the sleighs thrill me. Managing the sleigh and the dogs is quite hard. Besides, we have to look out for thin ice, which only a trained eye can notice,” he told The Hindu.

Having won the poll, it’s now preparation time for Niyog.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Aabha Raveendran / Kozhikode – December 16th, 2017