One final challenge for woman in love with icy wastes

The trip marked the start of a 15-year love affair with the Poles which has led the Bradford-born adventurer across the icy wastes of the Arctic and Antarctica four times.

Now she is seeking to become the first woman to walk solo to the North Pole.

The expedition will involve Ms Daniels – a former bank worker – hauling a 200 pound sledge up to 700 miles across the ice from Canada to the Pole. She plans to begin her trip in 2013.

Now Ms Daniels wants to have another go at the solo North Pole ice challenge which eluded her in 2005, and expects changes in the Arctic Ocean to make it even more difficult than before.

“The ice has changed dramatically with a lot more open water. Now you cannot get to the Pole without swimming,” she said.

“And the ice is more dynamic as there is a lot more room for it to move – so it drifts a lot faster, pushing you backwards from the Pole.

“But I am not going to take any risks and will not go into dangerous areas.”

A bright orange survival suit will insulate her from the cold during paddles across open sea between the ice.

She will be re-supplied twice with air drops – to save time, and because changes in the Polar ice means there are fewer areas for aircraft to land.

If Ms Daniels succeeds in reaching the Pole it will be her fourth polar record.

And the mother of four, now from Whimple, Devon, pledged: “This is my last big expedition and if I achieve it that will be everything I want to do.”

Her 17-year-old triplets, Rachel, Lucy and Joseph, were just three years old when she embarked on her first North Police trip.

“Now they are really excited and interested in what I do. In fact Lucy is keen to go the North Pole herself,” said Ms Daniels, who also has eight-year-old Sarah with partner of ten years Tom O’Connor.

For Ms Daniels, 47, it is a case of unfinished business after her first solo 700-mile North Pole attempt, starting from Russia, was suddenly called off in 2005.

“After 21 days on the ice the Russians removed the permits from every expedition,” she said.

Her first polar trip was in 1997 when she was picked for the first leg of the McVities Polar Penguin Relay despite having no outdoor experience and facing competition from hundreds of athletes to take part. The expedition involved five teams of four women, all walking to the top of the world.

Three years later she and four other women spent Christmas on the ice, mid-way through the M and G South Pole Expedition, which became the first UK all-female team to reach the South Pole on foot – a 60 day trek of 700 miles.

Besides the extreme cold, crevasses were a constant danger and the team had to be on permanent lookout for the hidden dangers beneath the snow. One huge crevasse took the team more than two hours to cross.

Despite being away from their family and friends, the team celebrated on December 25 in style with a phone call to Prince Charles, the expedition patron. And far away from the ubiquitous firework displays that accompanied the dawn of the new millennium around the world, the women saw in the new year with extra chocolate and a Mars Bar each.

In 2002 Ms Daniels chose a new mode of transport for her exploits – skis. She and Caroline Hamilton marched 500 miles from Canada to the North Pole – becoming the first women to ski to both Poles, and the first female team to reach the North Pole after completing the whole journey.

But the journey was far from smooth, with temperatures as low as minus 50C and severe storms that meant the women were unable to put their tent up. They were forced to huddle under tent material for three days, with little food or water.

A third team member, Pom Oliver, was forced to leave the ice after 47 days because of frostbite and wet gangrene.

This left Ms Daniels and Ms Hamilton with more than 300 miles to cover in 30 days and they skied for more than 15 hours each day, with little sleep in between.

Both fell into the ocean and had to swim across open expanses of icy water but their hard work paid off and they reached the Pole in June of that year.

Ms Daniels also wants to create an educational package to raise awareness of the plight of the region, and raise funds for charity. She is currently seeking sponsorship for the £250,000 expedition.