This week, he begins his journey as part of a team of three to conquer the ice cap, and he is determined to succeed.

He was recently quoted as saying: “When an individual is so committed to his goal that he is willing to stake his very existence on it, then nothing can stop him from achieving it.”

Dragging 50kg of equipment on sledge including food, water and tent, Al Busaidi is walking 650km over frozen sea in temperatures regularly nudging  minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Preparations for the expedition have been ongoing for eight months and Nabil has been training hard.

“Fitness endurance and aerobic training is a daily routine now,” he says. “Every day starts with running up stairs, or swimming, or on the cross-country ski machine.”

Al Busaidi plans to plant the Omani flag at the North Pole.