The Arctic Angels will begin their race in April

The trio, known as the Arctic Angels, will have to walk 290 miles across Canada's Northwest Territories unaided - dragging three 80-kilo sledges.

Philippa Thompson, 31; Clare Kavanagh, 30, both from Poole and 30-year-old Jocie Robertson from Bristol hope to raise �10,000 for the RNLI during the trek to the magnetic North Pole.

If they succeed, they will become the first all-female team to complete the Polar Challenge race against 10 other teams from all over the world.

It would be amazing to become the first female team to race to the North Pole. It is an awesome challenge. Philippa Thompson

The women have been training for more than a year for the trek, which begins on 6 April at Polaris Mine in Canada, and will continue with their gruelling schedule over the festive season.

Ms Thompson, a marketing manager for the RNLI, said: "We are going walking in Wales over Christmas and will spend New Year walking and camping along the West Highland Way in Scotland."

Although the trio are friends, they admit they need to get used to working as a team in extreme conditions.

Polar bears

"We have been going to the gym every day to build our core strength and to get used to the monotony of an exercise," Ms Thompson said.

"We have been pulling tyres along the beach using a harness and we will spend a week training in Norway in March."

The team will also undergo training to shoot at any polar bear that gets too close during their trip.

They will live on dehydrated food and will have to consume at least 6,500 calories a day to have enough energy to pull the sleds.

Ms Thompson said: "It would be amazing to become the first female team to race to the North Pole. It is an awesome challenge."