What I learned from five days in the Arctic - Andrew Kelly, Security Manager
Recently I swapped the energy of The Convention Centre Dublin (The CCD) for something very different: the vast, frozen silence of the Arctic.
Over five days, our small team travelled across three Arctic countries on backcountry skis, hauling all our equipment behind us in pulks. We dragged everything we needed for the journey across the snow by sheer effort. All of our food, shelter, clothing and safety gear! There was no support vehicle. There were no shortcuts. And there was no shelter beyond what we carried.
From the moment we set out, the Arctic made its presence felt. Temperatures dropped as low as –30°C, so cold that every small task required focus. You learn very quickly that exposed skin freezes – fast, water bottles turn to ice and even attempting simple things like adjusting a binding or opening a pack become slow, deliberate movements in thick gloves.
Every day began in darkness and cold. We woke up inside ice-covered tents and melted snow for water. We packed our camp away and clipped our pulks onto our harnesses before stepping back onto the snow. This is when the real work began.
For those of you who don’t know, pulling a fully loaded 50kg pulk across Arctic terrain is relentless! Every incline pulls back at you. The cold drains your energy faster than expected. Soft snow, that may look beautiful, is a beast that drags at the pulk. But it’s the landscape that will stop you in your tracks! It’s offers up to you endless white horizons, huge Arctic skies and a deep and eerie silence that makes you feel very, very small, yet incredibly present.
Somewhere along the route we crossed three different country borders in five days. These borders are invisible lines across the snow, but they marked real milestones for us, with each one showing us the progress we’d made – step by step, kilometre by kilometre.
What made the journey even more remarkable was the strength of the team. Among us was a 16-year-old team member who showed resilience throughout the expedition that was way beyond her years. She approached every kilometre with determination and grit. To see that level of resilience demonstrated in such extreme conditions was genuinely inspiring for me.
People often ask about the physical challenge of an expedition like this. And believe me, it is a physically tough, but it is just as much about the mental challenges, having the right mindset and working as a team. Preparation is everything. When conditions change or fatigue sets in, your ability to move forward and to succeed depends on communication, trust and the ability to adapt as a team.
Out in the vastness of the Arctic, those lessons felt very familiar. Back in Dublin, at The CCD, my role involves helping deliver national and international events where thousands of details must come together seamlessly. While the Arctic and a world-class convention centre may seem like vastly different environments, the fundamentals are surprisingly similar.
Preparation matters. Clear communication matters. Success depends on the strength of the team.
On the ice, if something goes wrong, the team solves it together. At work, delivering international conferences and events requires the same mindset. A different environment? For sure. Same principles? Absolutely. Plan carefully, support each other, and keep moving forward.
This was a magical experience for me and one that reminded me what we can accomplish with preparation, resilience and teamwork. I see now, looking back, that the lessons I learned pulling a pulk across the Arctic will stay with me long after I’ve returned.