Chipping a tooth in the Arctic

We know itrsquos a great interview when responses to our list of questions for an article wersquore writing leads to freewheeling conversation peppered with tangential comments Or when your phone bill keeps rising Thatrsquos what happened when we spoke with Alamjit Singh Sekhon mdash what should have been a 30minute interview got stretched to 90 minutes and we werenrsquot done Gurgaon resident Alamjit Singh Sekhon hoisted the Indian flag in the the Arctic as part of a reality show PicsHusain Akbar Sekhon has done everything from climbing up a waterfall cycling through snow surviving in the deceptive barrenness of the Arctic kayaking in bonechilling waters to dogsledding He even lost a tooth in the bargain for godrsquos sake All for the glory of pitching the Indian flag in an uninhabited terrain of the North Pole ldquoAnd for an unparalleled experience that helps discover new limits and potential within yourdquo adds the 32 yearold Are you hooked yet Sekhon was the winner of Mission Arctic an adventurebased reality show that was recently broadcast on National Geographic Channel Eight shortlisted contestants tested their guts in the northern region of our country after which two of the final contestants headed to the Arctic to battle in the final rounds ldquoI have always dreamt about visiting the North Pole I read a lot and many of my childhood heroes were the ones who have explored this terrainrdquo says the Gurgaonbased resident who works as a senior brand manager with one of the largest food brands in the country From heavyduty auditions over the phone and in Gurgaon to battling seven other participants in the preliminary round in Kunzum Pass mdash the gateway to Spiti Valley mdash to finally competing against Delhibased Chirayu Sood it was hardly smooth sailing for him ldquoOne of our tasks in the prelims included kayaking in an icycold river I was the first one to go and my kayak overturned My face hit some boulders and I lost a tooth At that point you are in shock But I kept telling myself to concentrate on the task at hand The kayaking was followed by having to climb up a rope ladder Since your hands are already numb from the cold waters going up each rung of the ladder feels like a crushing pulluprdquo But Sekhon made it These activities also prepared the top two for the harsh landscape of the Arctic Hoisting the flag says Sekhon was a culmination of a journey that proved to be a lifechanging experience After changing four flights the team reached Tromso in Norway from where they proceeded to Kaperdalen a farm on the small island of Tromsoya in the county of Troms 350 kms north of the Arctic Circle in Mayu00a0ldquoWhen we first caught sight of this region we were taken aback There is a moment when you feel that no matter what the future holds your dreams do come truerdquo he tells us as we close our eyes and imagine what it would be like to be in the northernmost part of the world The activities in the Land of the Midnight Sun were similar but only that much harsher thanks to the topography So after a survival test in the snowy regions of Spiti the duo had another survival task in the Arctic ldquoThe Samis who are the original inhabitants of this region had given us tips on how we can survive Sekhon battled it out with seven other participants in the preliminary round in Kunzum Pass mdash the gateway to Spiti Valley One of the tasks was building a shelter by shovelling through the snowrdquo Other tasks included kayaking in the choppy waters of the sea to get to a lighthouse followed by the final task of dog sled harnessing and racing ldquoSince you have to make your own sled by choosing the right Siberian huskies and harnessing them these are much more than menial tasks that test your physical endurance levelsrdquo Sekhonrsquos competitor beat him to this task but his easy win in the previous tasks ensured him the top honour of climbing to a high point in the area the following day and hoisting the Indian flag deep in the snow His 6ft stature meant that he often sunk to waistlevel snow ldquoItrsquos amazing that these incidents were shot on camera but the memories I carry will stay with me foreverrdquo he says ldquoAnd hoisting the flag was a culmination of a journey that proved to be a lifechanging experiencerdquo Just do it gt Be adequately prepared for where you are going and research on the kind of clothing you will require If you have underpacked you might be too cold to enjoy your trip and if you have overpacked you might end up carrying too much stuff around gt You need to have a certain degree of fitness If you go to the Arctic you will definitely want to walk around a little and this is not too easy to do Work on your fitness levels so you can take what nature throws at you gt You must definitely know how to build a fire and a shelter by digging a hole in the snow If you get stuck somewhere this is what will save you gt You might be tempted to stay put once you get here but I suggest you keep moving to warm up your body gt You wouldnrsquot want to miss sea kayaking and dogsledding Though we didnrsquot catch the northern lights you might want to schedule your trip keeping this spectacular phenomenon in mind adds Sekhonu00a0