Editing North Pole (section)

==Exploration==
{{See also|Arctic exploration|Farthest North|List of Arctic expeditions|List of firsts in the Geographic North Pole}}

===Pre-1900===
[[File:Mercator north pole 1595.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Gerardus Mercator]]'s map of the North Pole from 1595]]
[[File:C.G. Zorgdragers Bloeyende opkomst der aloude en hedendaagsche Groenlandsche visschery - no-nb digibok 2014010724007-V1.jpg|thumb|C.G. Zorgdragers map of the North Pole from 1720]]
As early as the 16th century, many prominent people correctly believed that the North Pole was in a sea, which in the 19th century was called the [[Polynya]] or [[Open Polar Sea]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Wright, John K. |journal=Geographical Review|volume=43|issue=3|date=July 1953|pages=338–365 |title=The Open Polar Sea|doi=10.2307/211752|jstor=211752|bibcode=1953GeoRv..43..338W }}</ref> It was therefore hoped that passage could be found through ice floes at favorable times of the year. Several expeditions set out to find the way, generally with whaling ships, already commonly used in the cold northern latitudes.

One of the earliest expeditions to set out with the explicit intention of reaching the North Pole was that of British naval officer [[William Parry (explorer)|William Edward Parry]], who in 1827 reached latitude 82°45′ North. In 1871, the [[Polaris expedition|''Polaris'' expedition]], a U.S. attempt on the Pole led by [[Charles Francis Hall]], ended in disaster. Another British [[Royal Navy]] attempt to get to the pole, part of the [[British Arctic Expedition]], by Commander [[Albert Hastings Markham|Albert H. Markham]] reached a then-record 83°20'26" North in May 1876 before turning back. An 1879–1881 expedition commanded by [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] officer [[George W. De Long]] ended tragically when their ship, the {{USS|Jeannette|1878|6}}, was crushed by ice. Over half the crew, including De&nbsp;Long, were lost.

[[File:Nansen-fram.jpg|thumb|left|Nansen's ship ''Fram'' in the Arctic ice]]
In April 1895, the Norwegian explorers [[Fridtjof Nansen]] and [[Hjalmar Johansen]] struck out for the Pole on skis after leaving Nansen's icebound ship ''[[Fram (ship)|Fram]]''. The pair reached latitude 86°14′ North before they abandoned the attempt and turned southwards, eventually reaching [[Franz Josef Land]].

In 1897, Swedish engineer [[Salomon August Andrée]] and two companions tried to reach the North Pole in the hydrogen balloon ''Örnen'' ("Eagle"), but came down {{convert|300|km|abbr=on}} north of [[Kvitøya]], the northeasternmost part of the [[Svalbard]] archipelago. They trekked to Kvitøya but died there three months after their crash.  In 1930 the remains of [[S. A. Andrée's Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897|this expedition]] were found by the Norwegian [[Bratvaag Expedition]].

The Italian explorer [[Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi|Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi]] and Captain [[Umberto Cagni]] of the [[Regia Marina|Italian Royal Navy]] ({{lang|it|Regia Marina}}) sailed the converted whaler ''[[Jason (ship)|Stella Polare]]'' ("Pole Star") from Norway in 1899. On 11 March 1900, Cagni led a party over the ice and reached latitude 86° 34’ on 25 April, setting a new record by beating Nansen's result of 1895 by {{convert|35|to|40|km|abbr=on}}. Cagni barely managed to return to the camp, remaining there until 23 June. On 16 August, the ''Stella Polare'' left [[Rudolf Island]] heading south and the expedition returned to Norway.

===1900–1940===
[[File:Peary Sledge Party and Flags at the Pole.jpg|thumb|Peary's sledge party at what they claimed was the North Pole, 1909. From left: Ooqueah, Ootah, Henson, Egingwah, and Seeglo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/pearyfrontis.html|title=At the North Pole, 6–7 April 1909: Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web|publisher=Heritage.nf.ca|access-date=16 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522020627/http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/pearyfrontis.html|archive-date=22 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>]]
The U.S. explorer [[Frederick Cook]] claimed to have reached the North Pole on 21 April 1908 with two [[Inuit]] men, Ahwelah and Etukishook, but he was unable to produce convincing proof and his claim is not widely accepted.<ref>{{cite book | first=Robert | last=Bryce | title=Cook and Peary: the Polar Controversy Resolved | publisher=Stackpole | year=1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Henderson | first=B. | year=2005 | title=True North | publisher=W W Norton & Company | isbn=0-393-32738-8}}</ref>

The conquest of the North Pole was for many years credited to U.S. Navy engineer [[Robert Peary]], who claimed to have reached the Pole on 6 April 1909, accompanied by [[Matthew Henson]] and four Inuit men, Ootah, Seeglo, Egingwah, and Ooqueah. However, Peary's claim remains highly disputed and controversial. Those who accompanied Peary on the final stage of the journey were not trained in navigation, and thus could not independently confirm his navigational work, which some claim to have been particularly sloppy as he approached the Pole.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

[[File:PuckMagazine13Oct1909.jpg|thumb|Although heavily disputed by modern historians, Peary & his team were given credit for the discovery of the North Pole by the contemporary press.]]

The distances and speeds that Peary claimed to have achieved once the last support party turned back seem incredible to many people, almost three times that which he had accomplished up to that point. Peary's account of a journey to the Pole and back while traveling along the direct line&nbsp;– the only strategy that is consistent with the time constraints that he was facing&nbsp;– is contradicted by Henson's account of tortuous detours to avoid [[Pressure ridge (ice)|pressure ridge]]s and [[Lead (sea ice)|open lead]]s.

The  British explorer [[Wally Herbert]], initially a supporter of Peary, researched Peary's records in 1989 and found that there were significant discrepancies in the explorer's navigational records. He concluded that Peary had not reached the Pole.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-wally-herbert-453324.html |title=Sir Wally Herbert |work=The Independent |date=16 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224045237/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-wally-herbert-453324.html |archive-date=24 December 2008 }}</ref> Support for Peary came again in 2005, however, when British explorer [[Tom Avery]] and four companions recreated the outward portion of Peary's journey with replica wooden sleds and [[Canadian Eskimo Dog]] teams, reaching the North Pole in 36 days, 22 hours&nbsp;– nearly five hours faster than Peary. However, Avery's fastest 5-day march was {{convert|90|nmi|km}}, significantly short of the {{convert|135|nmi|km}} claimed by Peary. Avery writes on his web site that "The admiration and respect which I hold for Robert Peary, Matthew Henson and the four Inuit men who ventured North in 1909, has grown enormously since we set out from [[Cape Columbia]]. Having now seen for myself how he travelled across the pack ice, I am more convinced than ever that Peary did indeed discover the North Pole."<ref>[http://www.tomavery.net/gallery_np2005.php Tom Avery website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122113921/http://www.tomavery.net/gallery_np2005.php |date=22 January 2015 }}. Retrieved May 2007</ref>

The first claimed flight over the Pole was made on 9 May 1926 by U.S. naval officer [[Richard E. Byrd]] and pilot [[Floyd Bennett]] in a [[Fokker F.VII|Fokker tri-motor]] aircraft. Although verified at the time by a committee of the [[National Geographic Society]], this claim has since been undermined<ref>[http://library.osu.edu/sites/archives/polar/flight/controversy.php The North Pole Flight of Richard E. Byrd: An Overview of the Controversy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013144532/http://library.osu.edu/sites/archives/polar/flight/controversy.php |date=13 October 2007 }}, Byrd Polar Research Center of the Ohio State University. See also [http://www.dioi.org/vols/wa0.pdf ''DIO''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214012122/http://www.dioi.org/vols/wa0.pdf |date=14 February 2012 }} Vol. 10 [2000] (refereed both at University of Cambridge and by the ''DIO'' board), which reveals errors of grade school arithmetic in the Byrd-defenses of W.Molett (pp. 55 & 98) and consultant J. Portney (pp. 73–75), neither of whom attempts to explain Byrd's surgical censoring of his original June report, or his and the National Geographic's hiding of said report for decades. Similarly, Avery's chimeral try at replicating the Peary 1909 trip via 2005 ice, may divert from but cannot explain Peary's data-blanks, data-alterations, nor why he, when reading his diary to Congress on 7 January 1911, understandably [http://www.dioi.org/cot.htm#wpst deleted] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124070852/http://www.dioi.org/cot.htm#wpst |date=24 January 2018 }} (only) its sole attempt at explaining (crudely and inadequately) his steering: "setting course by moon, our shadows etc". See ''The Washington Post'' 20 April 1989. Compare diary 2 April 1909 to p. 302 of the Peary Hearings: complete verbatim copy at 1916 ''Congressional Record'' Vol. 53, Appendix pp. 293–327.</ref> by the 1996 revelation that Byrd's long-hidden diary's solar [[sextant]] data (which the NGS never checked) consistently contradict his June 1926 report's parallel data by over {{Convert|100|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/09/did-byrd-reach-pole-his-diary-hints-no.html Did Byrd Reach Pole? His Diary Hints 'No'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113223332/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/09/did-byrd-reach-pole-his-diary-hints-no.html |date=13 November 2013 }}. ''The New York Times''. (9 May 1996). Retrieved 2012-07-04.</ref> The secret report's alleged en-route solar sextant data were inadvertently so impossibly overprecise that he excised all these alleged raw solar observations out of the version of the report finally sent to geographical societies five months later (while the original version was hidden for 70 years), a realization first published in 2000 by the [[University of Cambridge]] after scrupulous refereeing.<ref>D. Rawlins ''[[Polar Record]]'' (Scott Polar Research Institute) vol. 36 pp. 25–50. SPRI's preface: the paper "is considered to be of such significance to the community that it has been published here despite an expanded version being published this same month in ''DIO''." Both versions (p. 38 and 59, respectively) note that while Byrd's New York ticker-tape parade and his National Geographic Society gold medal presentation were on 23 June 1926, the NGS exam of his later-hidden original report was from early 23 June through late 28 June (six days, mistakenly cited as "five consecutive days" in the report), a chronology so revealing that the September ''National Geographic'' pp. 384–385 stripped out the dates (only) from the NGS' own report, which was published uncensored (thanks to the Secretary of the Navy) at ''The New York Times'' 30 June, p. 5.</ref>

The first consistent, verified, and scientifically convincing attainment of the Pole was on 12 May 1926, by Norwegian explorer [[Roald Amundsen]] and his U.S. sponsor [[Lincoln Ellsworth]] from the [[airship]] ''[[Norge (airship)|Norge]]''.<ref>Tierney, John. (7 September 2009) [http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/who-was-first-at-the-north-pole/ Who Was First at the North Pole?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102233931/http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/who-was-first-at-the-north-pole/ |date=2 November 2014 }}. Tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-07-04.</ref> ''Norge'', though Norwegian-owned, was designed and piloted by the Italian [[Umberto Nobile]]. The flight started from [[Svalbard]] in Norway, and crossed the Arctic Ocean to Alaska. Nobile, with several scientists and crew from the ''Norge'', overflew the Pole a second time on 24 May 1928, in the airship ''[[Airship Italia|Italia]]''. The ''Italia'' crashed on its return from the Pole, with the loss of half the crew.

[[:ru:Беспосадочный перелёт Москва — Северный полюс — Ванкувер|Another transpolar flight]] was accomplished in a [[Tupolev ANT-25]] airplane with a crew of [[Valery Chkalov]], [[Georgy Baydukov]] and [[Alexander Vasilyevich Belyakov|Alexander Belyakov]], who flew over the North Pole on 19 June 1937, during their direct flight from the Soviet Union to the USA without any stopover.

=== Ice station ===
In May 1937 the world's first [[Drifting ice station|North Pole ice station]], [[North Pole-1]], was established by Soviet scientists 20 kilometres (13&nbsp;mi) from the North Pole after the ever first landing of four heavy and one light aircraft onto the ice at the North Pole. The expedition members — oceanographer [[Pyotr Shirshov]], meteorologist [[Yevgeny Konstantinovich Fyodorov|Yevgeny Fyodorov]], radio operator [[Ernst Krenkel]], and the leader [[Ivan Papanin]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=66677|title=North Pole Drifting Stations (1930s–1980s)|access-date=8 January 2012|publisher=[[Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]]|date=17 August 2011|archive-date=2 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502171337/http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=66677|url-status=live}}</ref> — conducted scientific research at the station for the next nine months. By 19 February 1938, when the group was picked up by the ice breakers ''[[Icebreaker Taymyr|Taimyr]]'' and ''Murman'', their station had drifted 2850&nbsp;km to the eastern coast of Greenland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.science20.com/chatter_box/arctic_heroes_2_north_pole_1|title=Arctic Heroes #2 – North Pole 1|access-date=8 January 2012|last=Lockerby|first=Patrick|date=15 July 2010|archive-date=31 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031003519/http://www.science20.com/chatter_box/arctic_heroes_2_north_pole_1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/russiansinthearc006180mbp|title=The Russians in the Arctic|access-date=8 January 2012|last=Armstrong|first=Terence|year=2011|isbn=978-1-245-58209-4|publisher=Nabu Press}}</ref>

===1940–2000===
In May 1945 an [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]] of the ''Aries'' expedition became the first [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] aircraft to overfly the North Geographic and North Magnetic Poles. The plane was piloted by David Cecil McKinley of the [[Royal Air Force]]. It carried an 11-man crew, with Kenneth C. Maclure of the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] in charge of all scientific observations. In 2006, Maclure was honoured with a spot in [[Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame]].<ref>Halliday, Hugh A. (January/February 2004) [https://web.archive.org/web/20071025111929/http://www.legionmagazine.com/features/canadianmilitaryhistory/04-01.asp The Aries Flights Of 1945], ''Legion Magazine''</ref>

Discounting Peary's disputed claim, the first men to set foot at the North Pole were a Soviet party<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYdBH4dOOM4C&pg=PA7|title=Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia |last=Mills |first=William James |year=2003 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-422-0 |access-date=9 January 2012}}</ref> including geophysicists Mikhail Ostrekin and Pavel Senko, oceanographers Mikhail Somov and Pavel Gordienko,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/chronograph/910/ |title=Советские граждане были доставлены на точку Северного полюса, где, образно говоря, проходит земная ось |access-date=8 January 2012 |publisher=[[Vokrug sveta|Вокруг Света]] |archive-date=23 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423070325/http://vokrugsveta.ru/chronograph/910/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and other scientists and flight crew (24 people in total)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/resources/infosheets/21.html |title=Concise chronology of approach to the poles |date=February 2001 |publisher=[[Scott Polar Research Institute]] (SPRI) |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=16 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516042713/http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/resources/infosheets/21.html |url-status=live }}</ref> of [[Aleksandr Kuznetsov (explorer)|Aleksandr Kuznetsov]]'s ''Sever-2'' expedition (March–May 1948).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aari.nw.ru/resources/d0014/vve/#v48 |title=Высокоширотная воздушная экспедиция "Север-2" (1948 г.) |date=2005–2008 |publisher=[[Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute|ФГБУ "Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт"]] (ФГБУ "ААНИИ") |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203114959/http://www.aari.nw.ru/resources/d0014/vve/#v48 |archive-date=3 February 2010 }}</ref> It was organized by the [[Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1592 | title=Черевичный Иван Иванович | publisher=Патриотический интернет проект "Герои Страны" | access-date=12 January 2012 | author=Уфаркин, Николай Васильевич | archive-date=2 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202132003/http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1592 | url-status=live }}</ref> The party flew on three planes (pilots Ivan Cherevichnyy, Vitaly Maslennikov and Ilya Kotov) from [[Kotelny Island]] to the North Pole and landed there at 4:44pm ([[Moscow Time]], [[UTC+04:00]]) on 23 April 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://readr.ru/dmitriy-loginov-velikiy-polyarniy-vodovorot-prosipaetsya.html |title=Великий полярный водоворот просыпается |last=Loginov |first=Dmitri |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111194459/http://readr.ru/dmitriy-loginov-velikiy-polyarniy-vodovorot-prosipaetsya.html |archive-date=11 November 2013 }}</ref> They established a temporary camp and for the next two days conducted scientific observations. On 26 April the expedition flew back to the continent.

Next year, on 9 May 1949<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skypole.ru/about/volovitch_e.htm |title=Volovich Vitaly Georgievich |publisher=Polar World |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218040102/http://www.skypole.ru/about/volovitch_e.htm |archive-date=18 December 2008 }}</ref> two other Soviet scientists (Vitali Volovich and Andrei Medvedev)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdfai.org/PDF/The%20Cold%20War%20in%20the%20Arctic.pdf |title=The Cold War in the Arctic |date=29 July 2010 |last=Barlow |first=John Matthew |publisher=[[Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute]] (CDFAI) |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605124121/http://www.cdfai.org/PDF/The%20Cold%20War%20in%20the%20Arctic.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2013 }}</ref> became the first people to parachute onto the North Pole.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/pathfinders/Arctic%20Aerial%20Exploration.htm |title=Arctic Aerial Exploration |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818100636/http://century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/pathfinders/Arctic%20Aerial%20Exploration.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> They jumped from a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]], registered CCCP H-369.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1211994 |title=Десантников отправят на Северный полюс |journal=Коммерсантъ |date=29 July 2009 |last=Safronov |first=Ivan Jr. |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119195818/http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1211994 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 3 May 1952, [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] Lieutenant Colonel [[Joseph O. Fletcher]] and Lieutenant [[William Pershing Benedict]], along with scientist [[Albert P. Crary]], landed a modified [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] at the North Pole. Some Western sources considered this to be the first landing at the Pole<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070607155556/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/user/fact_may.htm Aviation History Facts], U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission</ref> until the Soviet landings became widely known.

[[File:USS Skate (SSN-578) surfaced in Arctic - 1959.jpg|thumb|[[USS Skate (SSN-578)|USS ''Skate'']] at drift station Alpha, 1958]]
The United States Navy submarine ''[[USS Nautilus (SSN-571)|USS Nautilus]]'' (SSN-571) crossed the North Pole on 3 August 1958. On 17 March 1959 ''[[USS Skate (SSN-578)|USS Skate]]'' (SSN-578) surfaced at the Pole, breaking through the ice above it, becoming the first naval vessel to do so.<ref>Jensen, Joel [http://militaryhonors.sid-hill.us/history/skate.htm FIRST SUBMARINE TO SURFACE AT THE NORTH POLE] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408065040/http://militaryhonors.sid-hill.us/history/skate.htm |date=8 April 2022 }}. militaryhonors.sid-hill.us</ref>

The first confirmed surface conquest of the North Pole was accomplished by [[Ralph Plaisted]], Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl and Jean Luc Bombardier, who traveled over the ice by [[snowmobile]] and arrived on 19 April 1968. The United States Air Force independently confirmed their position.

On 6 April 1969 [[Wally Herbert]] and companions Allan Gill, [[Roy Koerner]] and Kenneth Hedges of the British Trans-Arctic Expedition became the first men to reach the North Pole on foot (albeit with the aid of [[Sled dog|dog teams]] and [[airdrop]]s). They continued on to complete the first surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean&nbsp;– and by its longest axis, [[Barrow, Alaska]], to [[Svalbard]]&nbsp;– a feat that has never been repeated.<ref>Jenny Booth (13 June 2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110523132909/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1927969.ece 'Greatest polar explorer' Sir Wally Herbert dies], ''The Times''.</ref><ref name=guardianobit>Bob Headland (15 June 2007). [https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,2103675,00.html Sir Wally Herbert], ''The Guardian''.</ref> Because of suggestions (later proven false) of Plaisted's use of air transport, some sources classify Herbert's expedition as the first confirmed to reach the North Pole over the ice surface by any means.<ref name=guardianobit/><ref>[http://www.northpolewomen.com/History.htm Polar History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811095520/http://www.northpolewomen.com/History.htm |date=11 August 2007 }}. northpolewomen.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref> In the 1980s Plaisted's pilots [[Welland Phipps|Weldy Phipps]] and Ken Lee signed affidavits asserting that no such airlift was provided.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ramstad, C.J. |author2=Pickering, Keith |name-list-style=amp |title=First to the Pole|year=2011|publisher=North Star Press|isbn=978-0-87839-446-3}}</ref> It is also said that Herbert was the first person to reach the [[pole of inaccessibility]].<ref>[http://www.polarworld.co.uk/sirwally_history.htm Sir Wally Herbert] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426044517/http://www.polarworld.co.uk/sirwally_history.htm |date=26 April 2012 }}. Polarworld.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref>

[[File:RIAN archive 186141 Nuclear icebreaker Arktika.jpg|thumb|Soviet icebreaker [[Arktika (1972 nuclear icebreaker)|''Arktika'']], the first [[surface ship]] to reach the North Pole, 1977]]
On 17 August 1977 the Soviet [[nuclear-powered icebreaker]] ''[[Arktika (1972 nuclear icebreaker)|Arktika]]'' completed the first surface vessel journey to the North Pole.

In 1982 [[Ranulph Fiennes]] and [[Charles R. Burton]] became the first people to cross the Arctic Ocean in a single season. They departed from Cape Crozier, [[Ellesmere Island]], on 17 February 1982 and arrived at the geographic North Pole on 10 April 1982. They travelled on foot and snowmobile. From the Pole, they travelled towards Svalbard but, due to the unstable nature of the ice, ended their crossing at the ice edge after drifting south on an ice floe for 99 days. They were eventually able to walk to their expedition ship ''MV Benjamin Bowring'' and boarded it on 4 August 1982 at position 80:31N 00:59W. As a result of this journey, which formed a section of the three-year [[Transglobe Expedition]] 1979–1982, Fiennes and Burton became the first people to complete a circumnavigation of the world via both North and South Poles, by surface travel alone.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dimery |first1=Rob |title=1982: First Surface Circumnavigation via both Geographical Poles |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/60at60/2015/8/1982-first-surface-circumnavigation-via-both-geographical-poles-392920 |website=[[Guinness World Records]] |date=18 August 2015 |access-date=18 October 2022 |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018193003/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/60at60/2015/8/1982-first-surface-circumnavigation-via-both-geographical-poles-392920 |url-status=live }}</ref> This achievement remains unchallenged to this day.  The expedition crew included a [[Jack Russell Terrier]] named [[Bothie (dog)|Bothie]] who became the first dog to visit both poles.<ref name="latimes">{{cite web |title=Made 50,000-Mile Journey With Expedition : Bothie, the Only Dog to Visit Both Poles |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-06-mn-6925-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=6 January 1985 |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015063455/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-06-mn-6925-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1985 [[Sir Edmund Hillary]] (the first man to stand on the summit of Mount Everest) and [[Neil Armstrong]] (the first man to stand on the moon) landed at the North Pole in a small twin-engined ski plane.<ref>Bruhns, Sarah (27 August 2013) [http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/neil-armstrong-and-sir-edmund-hillarys-trip-to-the-north-pole When Neil Armstrong and Edmund Hillary Took a Trip to the North Pole] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512111015/http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/neil-armstrong-and-sir-edmund-hillarys-trip-to-the-north-pole |date=12 May 2016 }}. atlasobscura.com. Retrieved 9 September 2013.</ref> Hillary thus became the first man to stand at both poles and on the summit of Everest.

In 1986 [[Will Steger]], with seven teammates, became the first to be confirmed as reaching the Pole by dogsled and without resupply.

[[USS Gurnard (SSN-662)|USS ''Gurnard'' (SSN-662)]] operated in the Arctic Ocean under the polar ice cap from September to November 1984 in company with one of her sister ships, the attack submarine [[USS Pintado (SSN-672)|USS ''Pintado'' (SSN-672)]]. On 12 November 1984 ''Gurnard'' and ''Pintado'' became the third pair of submarines to surface together at the North Pole. In March 1990, ''Gurnard'' deployed to the Arctic region during exercise Ice Ex '90 and completed only the fourth winter submerged transit of the Bering and Seas. ''Gurnard'' surfaced at the North Pole on 18 April, in the company of the [[USS Seahorse (SSN-669)|USS ''Seahorse'' (SSN-669)]].{{Citation needed|reason=no source here or on Gurnard's wiki page|date=May 2018}}

On 6 May 1986 [[USS Archerfish (SSN-678)|USS ''Archerfish'' (SSN 678)]], [[USS Ray (SSN-653)|USS ''Ray'' (SSN 653)]] and [[USS Hawkbill (SSN-666)|USS ''Hawkbill'' (SSN-666)]] surfaced at the North Pole, the first tri-submarine surfacing at the North Pole.

On 21 April 1987 [[Shinji Kazama]] of Japan became the first person to reach the North Pole on a [[motorcycle]].<ref name="Kazama 1">{{cite web|url=http://www.adventurestats.com/tables/nsmainnew.htm|title=North and South Pole successful|date=16 June 2004|publisher=ExplorersWeb Inc|access-date=10 December 2012|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084614/http://www.adventurestats.com/tables/nsmainnew.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="Kazama 2">{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/e92d963b8b0826cb9349a21074fffecf|title=Japanese Is First to Reach North Pole by Motorcycle|work=[[Associated Press]]|date=21 April 1987|access-date=10 December 2012|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107052822/https://apnews.com/e92d963b8b0826cb9349a21074fffecf|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 18 May 1987 [[USS Billfish (SSN-676)|USS ''Billfish'' (SSN 676)]], [[USS Sea Devil (SSN-664)|USS ''Sea Devil'' (SSN 664)]] and [[HMS Superb (S109)|HMS ''Superb'' (S 109)]] surfaced at the North Pole, the first international surfacing at the North Pole.

In 1988 a team of 13 (9 Soviets, 4 Canadians) [[Soviet-Canadian 1988 Polar Bridge Expedition|skied across the arctic]] from Siberia to northern Canada. One of the Canadians, [[Richard Weber (explorer)|Richard Weber]], became the first person to reach the Pole from both sides of the Arctic Ocean.

[[File:Arctic World 05.jpg|thumb|Participants of the first German North Pole expedition 1990 from [[University of Giessen]]]] [[File:Arctic World.jpg|thumb|The German North Pole expedition 1990, Ski-Doo for local research on [[pack-ice]]]]
On April 16, 1990, a German-Swiss expedition led by a team of the [[University of Giessen]] reached the Geographic North Pole for studies on pollution of [[pack ice]], snow and air. Samples taken were analyzed in cooperation with the [[Geological Survey of Canada]] and the [[Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research]]. Further stops for sample collections were on multi-year [[sea ice]] at 86°N, at [[Cape Columbia]] and [[Ward Hunt Island]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schmitt|first=Elisabeth|date=7 June 1990|title=Eisige Ruhe – grandios, überwältigend und bedrohlich (Bericht über Nordpol-Expedition)|trans-title=Icy calm – grandiose, overwhelming and threatening (report on North Pole expedition)|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Pole_expedition_1990.pdf|language=German|journal=JLU Uni-Forum|volume=1990|issue=3|pages=7|doi=|access-date=|archive-date=20 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120234456/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Pole_expedition_1990.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 4 May 1990 [[Børge Ousland]] and [[Erling Kagge]] became the first explorers ever to reach the North Pole unsupported, after a 58-day ski trek from Ellesmere Island in Canada, a distance of 800&nbsp;km.<ref>[http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-1000/first-people-to-reach-the-north-pole/ First people to reach the north pole] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128152333/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-1000/first-people-to-reach-the-north-pole/ |date=28 January 2012 }}. Guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref>

On 7 September 1991 the German research vessel [[RV Polarstern|''Polarstern'']] and the Swedish [[icebreaker]] [[Oden (1988 icebreaker)|''Oden'']] reached the North Pole as the first conventional powered vessels.<ref>Fütterer, D. et al. (1992) [https://dx.doi.org/10013/epic.10107.d001 "The Expedition ARK-VIII/3 of RV Polarstern in 1991"], Reports on Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, '''107''',  {{hdl|10013/epic.10107.d001}}</ref> Both scientific parties and crew took oceanographic and geological samples and had a common [[tug of war]] and a [[association football|football]] game on an ice floe. ''Polarstern'' again reached the pole exactly 10 years later,<ref>Thiede, J. et al. (2002) [https://dx.doi.org/10013/epic.10426.d001 "POLARSTERN ARKTIS XVII/2 Cruise Report: AMORE 2001 (Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Expedition)"], Reports on Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, '''421''', {{hdl|10013/epic.10426.d001}}</ref> with the [[USCGC Healy (WAGB-20)|''Healy'']].

In 1998, 1999, and 2000, [[Lada Niva]] Marshs (special very large wheeled versions made by BRONTO, Lada/Vaz's experimental product division) were driven to the North Pole.<ref>[http://www.ladaniva.co.uk/baxter/resources/LadaOddities.htm "Lada Oddities"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061114/http://www.ladaniva.co.uk/baxter/resources/LadaOddities.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}. ''ladaniva.co.uk''.</ref><ref>Rosloot, Hans "Amphihans". [http://www.amphibiousvehicle.net/amphi/Va_Vz.html "The Amphiclopedia Vi to Wa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402122238/http://www.amphibiousvehicle.net/amphi/Va_Vz.html |date=2 April 2015 }}. ''amphibiousvehicle.net''.</ref> The 1998 expedition was dropped by parachute and completed the track to the North Pole. The 2000 expedition departed from a Russian research base around 114&nbsp;km from the Pole and claimed an average speed of 20–15&nbsp;km/h in an average temperature of −30&nbsp;°C.

===21st century===
[[File:Chralotte Northpole.jpg|thumb|[[USS Charlotte (SSN-766)|USS ''Charlotte'']] at the North Pole in 2005]]
Commercial airliner flights on the [[polar route]]s may pass within viewing distance of the North Pole.  For example, a flight from [[Chicago]] to [[Beijing]] may come close as latitude 89° N, though because of prevailing winds return journeys go over the [[Bering Strait]].  In recent years journeys to the North Pole by air (landing by helicopter or on a runway prepared on the ice) or by icebreaker have become relatively routine, and are even available to small groups of tourists through [[Adventure travel|adventure holiday]] companies. Parachute jumps have frequently been made onto the North Pole in recent years. The temporary seasonal Russian camp of [[Barneo]] has been established by air a short distance from the Pole annually since 2002, and caters for scientific researchers as well as tourist parties. Trips from the camp to the Pole itself may be arranged overland or by helicopter.

The first attempt at [[Scuba diving|underwater]] exploration of the North Pole was made on 22 April 1998 by Russian firefighter and diver Andrei Rozhkov with the support of the Diving Club of [[Moscow State University]], but ended in fatality. The next attempted dive at the North Pole was organized the next year by the same diving club, and ended in success on 24 April 1999. The divers were Michael Wolff (Austria), Brett Cormick (UK), and Bob Wass (USA).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.divernetxtra.com/technol/0200northpole.htm |last=Cormick |first=Brett |title=Diving the top of the world |date=February 2000 |publisher=Diver |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324132821/http://www.divernetxtra.com/technol/0200northpole.htm |archive-date=24 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 2005 the United States Navy submarine [[USS Charlotte (SSN-766)|USS ''Charlotte'']] (SSN-766) surfaced through {{convert|155|cm|abbr=on}} of ice at the North Pole and spent 18 hours there.<ref>Ozeck, Dave (12 January 2005)  [https://web.archive.org/web/20081201130555/http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=21223 USS Charlotte Achieves Milestone During Under-Ice Transit]. news.navy.mil.</ref>

In July 2007 British endurance swimmer [[Lewis Gordon Pugh]] completed a {{convert|1|km|abbr=on}} swim at the North Pole. His feat, undertaken to highlight the [[effects of global warming]], took place in clear water that had opened up between the ice floes.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6899612.stm Swimmer rises to Arctic challenge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522090543/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6899612.stm |date=22 May 2009 }}, BBC news (15 July 2007).</ref> His later attempt to paddle a [[kayak]] to the North Pole in late 2008, following the erroneous prediction of clear water to the Pole, was stymied when his expedition found itself stuck in thick ice after only three days. The expedition was then abandoned.

By September 2007 the North Pole had been visited 66 times by different surface ships: 54 times by Soviet and Russian icebreakers, 4 times by Swedish ''Oden'', 3 times by German [[RV Polarstern|''Polarstern'']], 3 times by [[USCGC Healy (WAGB-20)|USCGC ''Healy'']] and [[USCGC Polar Sea|USCGC ''Polar Sea'']], and once by [[CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent|CCGS ''Louis S. St-Laurent'']] and by Swedish ''[[Vidar Viking]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rg.ru/2007/09/19/arktika-shelf.html |title=Вчера и сегодня мы – первые. А завтра? |date=19 September 2007 |last=Банько |first=Юрий |newspaper=[[Rossiyskaya Gazeta|Российская газета]] |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119082205/http://www.rg.ru/2007/09/19/arktika-shelf.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====2007 descent to the North Pole seabed====
{{Main|Arktika 2007}}
[[File:Mir front.jpg|thumb|Russian [[MIR (submersible)|MIR submersible]], one of the two vehicles that were used in [[Arktika 2007|the first ever manned descent to the seabed under the North Pole]]]]
On 2 August 2007 a Russian scientific expedition [[Arktika 2007]] made the first ever manned descent to the ocean floor at the North Pole, to a depth of {{convert|4.3|km|abbr=on}}, as part of the research programme in support of Russia's [[Territorial claims in the Arctic#2001 Russian claim|2001 extended continental shelf claim]] to a large swathe of the Arctic Ocean floor. The descent took place in two [[MIR (submersible)|MIR submersible]]s and was led by Soviet and Russian polar explorer [[Artur Chilingarov]]. In a symbolic act of visitation, the [[Flag of Russia|Russian flag]] was placed on the ocean floor exactly at the Pole.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20081221152823/http://www.aari.nw.ru/docs/press_release/20070709_fedorov.html «Академик Федоров» – выходит из порта Санкт-Петербург в экспедицию «Арктика-2007»]. Press release of the [[AARI]] (9 July 2007).</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6927395.stm Russia plants flag under N Pole] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013154713/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6927395.stm |date=13 October 2007 }}, BBC News (2 August 2007).</ref><ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://news.ntv.ru/114406/video/ News video of the Russian descent at the North Pole] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223093114/http://news.ntv.ru/114406/video/ |date=23 December 2008 }}</ref>

The expedition was the latest in a series of efforts intended to give Russia a dominant influence in the [[Arctic]] according to ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref>[http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/russias-north-pole-obsession/ Russia’s North Pole Obsession] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013160922/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/russias-north-pole-obsession/ |date=13 October 2007 }}, The New York Times (2 August 2007).</ref>

====MLAE 2009 Expedition====
In 2009 the Russian [[MLAE-2009|Marine Live-Ice Automobile Expedition (MLAE-2009)]] with [[Vasily Elagin]] as a leader and a team of Afanasy Makovnev, Vladimir Obikhod, Alexey Shkrabkin, Sergey Larin, Alexey Ushakov and Nikolay Nikulshin reached the North Pole on two custom-built 6 x 6 low-pressure-tire ATVs. The vehicles, Yemelya-1 and Yemelya-2, were designed by Vasily Elagin, a Russian mountain climber, explorer and engineer. They reached the North Pole on 26 April 2009, 17:30 (Moscow time). The expedition was partly supported by Russian State Aviation. The Russian Book of Records recognized it as the first successful vehicle trip from land to the Geographical North Pole.

====MLAE 2013 Expedition====
[[File:ML130310.JPG|thumb|Yemelya, an all terrain Russian amphibious vehicle]]
On 1 March 2013 the Russian Marine Live-Ice Automobile Expedition (MLAE 2013) with Vasily Elagin as a leader, and a team of Afanasy Makovnev, Vladimir Obikhod, Alexey Shkrabkin, Andrey Vankov, Sergey Isayev and Nikolay Kozlov on two custom-built 6 x 6 low-pressure-tire ATVs—Yemelya-3 and Yemelya-4—started from Golomyanny Island (the [[Severnaya Zemlya]] Archipelago) to the North Pole across drifting ice of the Arctic Ocean. The vehicles reached the Pole on 6 April and then continued to the Canadian coast. The coast was reached on 30 April 2013 (83°08N, 075°59W [[Ward Hunt Island]]), and on 5 May 2013 the expedition finished in [[Resolute Bay]], NU. The way between the Russian borderland (Machtovyi Island of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago, 80°15N, 097°27E) and the Canadian coast (Ward Hunt Island, 83°08N, 075°59W) took 55 days; it was ~2300&nbsp;km across drifting ice and about 4000&nbsp;km in total. The expedition was totally self-dependent and used no external supplies. The expedition was supported by the [[Russian Geographical Society]].<ref name="yemelya.ru">[http://www.yemelya.ru/diary2013_en.php?lnk=2013 "Diary of MLAE-2013"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023150915/http://www.yemelya.ru/diary2013_en.php?lnk=2013 |date=23 October 2013 }}. ''yemelya.ru''.</ref>