Former Northamptonshire head girl's campaign to join 300km Arctic dogsledding adventure

Katie Rimmer, who was born in Northampton and raised in Daventry, is bidding for a place in the Fjällräven Polar and needs to secure as many votes as possible before the December 13 deadline.

The challenge sees a group of 20 people from around the world test their limits in freezing Scandinavian temperatures for a week.

"The premise is that anyone can survive extreme conditions with the right equipment and training," said former Northampton High School head girl Katie.

"I love a big adventure or challenge."

The event is organised by Swedish company Fjällräven, which specialises in outdoor equipment and clothing.

If Katie makes it through, either by getting the most votes in Benelux and the UK or being accepted by a jury, she will join the expedition on a sled pulled along by six Alaskan and Siberian huskies.

The participants are given basic training before setting off into the wilderness and will have to cook for themselves and the dogs and set up camp in the Arctic tundra.

Temperatures could drop to -30C but Katie says she's not fazed by the freezing conditions.

"I'm generally fine in cold weather. It doesn't bother me and I like skiing," said 26-year-old Katie, a legal assistant at Universal Records in London.

"I'm trekking to Everest base camp in March."

Katie will give back if she's selected by raising money for Help Refugees, which isn't a stipulation of entry but a personal choice of her's.

She's passionate about the plight of displaced people after a visit to Calais earlier this year.

"There are still thousands of people living in the woods in northern France.

"Because I have seen it first-hand it really hit home how tough that situation is at the minute."

Katie's campaign page can be found here.