Female skier is first Cypriot to reach North Pole

Cypriot Stephanie Solomonides is among 11 women who went on a weeklong journey to the North Pole, and she has a message for Cypriots and the entire world.

Seven female skiers from Europe and four from the Middle East covered a distance of 50 miles, with women from Cyprus, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar becoming the first representatives of their countries to set foot on the top of the world.

Cypriot Stephanie Solomonides, a Vice President at JP Morgan in London, was also the first woman from her country that visited the South Pole a few years ago, and now she is the only Cypriot to have visited both Poles.

“Being in the history books is pretty cool, I have to admit,” she said in an impromptu interview with Ruptly TV, where she also sent a message to Cypriots and the entire world.

“If we look hard enough, I think we all realise that we are all the same. And everything that we assume is a boundary or an obstacle is actually something that can be overcome. We should look to overcome things that we find difficult or things that we find challenging, and I think it will make us all better people and more understanding and more tolerant of each other,” she said.

As for Cypriots specifically, “all I have to say, being in the snow and being in the cold isn’t that bad,” she added.

Solomonides also thanked British explorer Felicity Aston for including her in the team.

Aston, a well known polar adventurer, said the women across different cultures are going to share their story and try to inspire young children to reach beyond their expectations that others have of them.