Pioneering
polar tour operator Adventure Associates announces 2005
North Pole expeditions aboard the world's most powerful icebreaker,
Russia's Yamal.
In
September 1909, US polar adventurer Frederick
A Cook announced to the world that he and two Eskimo companions
had just returned from the North Pole after a journey of nearly
two years. His bold claims were immediately met with derision
by another US veteran of the ice, Robert
E. Peary, who counter-claimed his own expedition was the first,
reaching the pole on April 6, 1909 . Now, almost one hundred years
on, both men's claims raise serious doubts, despite vigorous debates
supporting both efforts.
In
truth, any claim about a journey to the North Pole during this
era must be doubtful because of the elusive nature of the objective
and the inherent inaccuracies of the instruments of the time.
William
Mills, the keeper of collections at the Scott Polar Research Institute
(SPRI), author of Exploring polar frontiers:
a historical encyclopedia (San Diego and Oxford: ABC-Clio,
2003) and a regular polar traveller himself, notes;
"Neither
Cook's nor Peary's claim has been conclusively disproved, and
both claimants have their defenders, but insofar as an informed
consensus can be identified it would be against both claims. Commander
Richard Byrd's claim to have made the first aircraft flight to
the Pole on 9 May 1926 is similarly controversial and recent evidence
suggests that in fact he turned back about 100 miles south of
the Pole, though again he too has his defenders. If Cook, Peary,
nor Byrd is to be believed, the first to see the Pole were those
travelling with Roald Amundsen aboard the airship Norge on 12
May 1926. However it was the Soviet's 1948 aircraft landing that
is generally considered to be the closest to the exact geographic
goal."
In
the decades after WWII, numerous "firsts" were achieved,
most notably the motorised and dog-sled achievements of the 1960s,
however the most sensational "northing" occurred on
August 17 1977 when the Soviet icebreaker Arktika became
the first surface vessel to reach the pole.
Today,
the Arktika's sister ship, Yamal, makes annual sorties
to the exact location of the geographic North Pole thanks to modern
satellite navigation. Expeditioners aboard the vessel can even
authenticate their achievement with a certificate and immediately
silence any dinner party detractors.
The
75,000 horsepower Yamal sails from Helsinki to the North Pole via Franz Josef Land
on two voyages during 2005. Departing July 1 and 14 respectively,
cruise prices start at US$16,450 per person. As both 2004 journeys
were a sell-out, intending passengers should promptly contact:
In
September 1909, US polar adventurer 
Today,
the Arktika's sister ship, Yamal, makes annual sorties
to the exact location of the geographic North Pole thanks to modern
satellite navigation. Expeditioners aboard the vessel can even
authenticate their achievement with a certificate and immediately
silence any dinner party detractors.