With a map of the Arctic Circle spread out on her dining room table, Ali Kershaw's mission to one of the bleakest parts of the world looks daunting.

Temperatures will plummet to - 40C on the 200-mile trek while Ali and her team face an ever present threat of polar bear attacks and falling through broken ice – all this while dragging a sledge weighing around 70kgs.

But if successful, Ali's expedition to the Arctic Pole, ominously known as the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility, will be the first in polar history to reach this point.

Speaking before embarking on her four-week basic polar training in Svalbard, Norway, where she will learn navigation techniques, emergency procedures and endure cold water immersion drills, Ali said the realisation of the task had not yet sunk in.

"It's a bit surreal at the moment. It hasn't really hit home – I don't think it will actually sink in until I'm there," she said.

But the 31-year-old, who has a degree in law and biochemistry, has been making the most of the recent snowfall and trying out her specialist equipment before leaving for Norway on Monday.

She said: "The snow fall before Christmas suddenly got me all excited. I did a bit of training over at Reigate Heath dragging tyres in the snow but I was a bit concerned about twisting my ankle in the recent snow so I haven't been doing as much."

Ali will form part of a 28-strong team of novice explorers taking part in the Ice Warrior expedition next month.

The team, split into four groups, will set off from Ottawa, Canada, and between them trek around 750 miles across the Arctic Ocean to reach the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility – the farthest point from any coastline.

The group, led by experienced explorer Jim McNeill, will gather information about the condition of the snow and ice to enable scientists to establish the extent of climate change.

But Ali said she was not looking forward to the cold. "I'm rubbish in the cold," she confessed.

After completing the expedition, Ali plans to spend two weeks in Resolute Bay, one of the most northerly Inuit hamlets, learning about their culture.

The London-based patent attorney said: "I don't want to just trample over their backyard and then go home."

She also wants to track her favourite mammal, polar bears.

"I have a real fear of a polar bear attack at night," she said. "It's the only mammal that actually hunts humans."

Among one of the many challenges she faces, wading through freezing cold slushy ice is one of the most daunting.

The determined explorer, who lives with her boyfriend Charlie Lee in York Road, Reigate, is used to travelling having spent time in South Africa during her university gap year and in Saudi Arabia.

She explained: "My mum, dad and brother are all in the Royal Air Force so I've lived abroad most of my life."

Following her Norwegian training, Ali returns on Tuesday February 9, for three weeks before setting off on her adventure.

If all goes according to plan, Ali should reach the pole on her 32nd birthday – March 29.

Ali has managed to find £20,000 of the £25,000 total for the expedition through sponsors, which include Lucozade Energy, Discover Unearthed and ParkCameras.