Adventure sports enthusiast Ajit Bajaj became the first Indian to ski to the North Pole.

Bajaj completed his nine-day expedition from the Russian side of the Arctic with four skiers from the United States and one from Britain, his wife Shirley said.

"He left India April 14 for Norway from where the team went to a Russian training camp and then they set off for the North Pole on skis," she said.

"They would ski for 10 to 11 hours a day and finally at 4:15 am Indian time my husband called me on satellite telephone to announce the team had reached their destination on the North Pole."

"It's a very proud moment as he becomes the first Indian to successfully withstand such an extreme endurance test and reach the North Pole," said Sherly, who operates an adventure sports club in India with her husband.

Bajaj, meanwhile, told India's NDTV television by satellite phone that he had planted the Indian flag at the North Pole.

"It was a very proud moment when I unfurled the tricolor, our national flag given to me by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma," he said.

Bajaj, a downhill ski specialist, described the cold as "extreme".

"There is about a metre of ice on the surface and the lowest temperature has been minus 35 degrees Centigrade but with the wind chill, it can go down to about minus 70-80C."

"It's freezing up here," he added.

In New Delhi, his wife sweltered in temperatures above 40C.
(Agencies)