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Exploration of the High Arctic and Journeys to the North Pole

Date Leader Notes
1894 Walter Wellman He was an American journalist who attempted a polar expedition over the ice from Spitsbergen with dog sledges and an aluminum boat.
1896-97 Salomon August Andree First proposed in 1879 by Commander John P. Cheyne R.N. Andree, a Swedish engineer, attempted to fly to the North Pole in a balloon from Danskoya. The 1896 attempt was aborted by unfavourable wind current directions.  11/07/1897 he and two crew sailed away leaving no trace until in 1930 a Norwegian expedition to Franz Josef Land found the remains of the three men and Andree's diary. This was the first air flight over the Arctic.
1898 Walter Wellman Using a Norwegian vessel he tried a polar assault from Franz Josef Land with a Norwegian crew. He was injured at Rudolf Island and was forced back.
1898 HRH Lieutenant Luigi Amedeo di Savoy, Duke of Abruzzi He led a Royal Italian Navy Expedition in the converted whaler Sella Polare (ex-Jason). Captain Umberto Cagni reached a record Northing of *6 degrees 34minutes in 1900 surpassing Nares' record of 1895.
1906-09 Walter Wellman Wellman departed from Danes Island, Spitzbergen in the airship America. When Wellman heard of Peary's success he decided to try to cross the Atlantic instead.
1908 Frederick Cook (and a crew of 2) He traveled by dog sledge with two companions and claimed to have reached the North Pole on 21/04/1908. This claim is not now generally accepted.
1909 R.E. Peary USN (and a crew of 5) He made a dash for the North Pole from Ellesmere Island. He claimed to have reached the North Pole on 06/04/1909 with five companions but this claim is now very much in dispute.
1968 Ralph Plaisted (and a crew of 3) A joint Canadian/US team. He traveled by motorized sledge and arrived at the North Pole with three companions on 19/04/1968. This was confirmed by over-flying aircraft. The team was evacuated by aircraft.
1969 Wally Herbert (and a crew of 3) Herbert traveled by dog sledge with three companions from Point Barrow AK to Spitsbergen.
1971 Guido Monzino (and a crew of 19) He traveled with nineteen companions by dog sledge to the North Pole. This feat was confirmed by overflying aircraft. They stopped at the US ice drift station T-3 on the return journey.
1977 Arktika (Nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker) On 17/08/1977 she reached the North Pole traveling through the ice on the surface. (This vessel was later renamed as the Leonid Brezhnev).
1978 Naomi Uemura He traveled alone by dog sledge to the North Pole from Ellesmere Island. Bad weather forced an aircraft evacuation on the return journey. He was dropped off at Cape Morris Jesup on the north coast of Greenland   and sledged the island's length.
1979 Dmitry Shparo (and a crew of 6) He traveled on skis with six companions, via Soviet ice drift station SP-24. This was confirmed by aircraft.
1982 Ragnar Thorseth (leader); Trygve Berge (photographer); Joern E. Fortun (technician); and Canadian Inuit from Resolute Bay. It started from Eureka on Ellesmere Island in March 1982, with 3 Bombardier skidoos with 34hp engines, and 6 sledges. Ekakasak Amagoalik. The expedition had support by Canadian Twin Otters landing on skies, and the Norwegian Air Force dropping supplies in parachutes. The expedition left Eureka the 4th March and arrived 90 degrees North the 29th April.
1986 Will Steger (and a crew of 5) He traveled with five companions by dog sledge to the North Pole. This was confirmed by aircraft. The party included Anne Bancroft, the first woman to reach the North Pole.
1986 Jean-Louis Etienne He traveled on skis alone to the North Pole. He was supplied from the air every ten days. This was confirmed by radio triangulation.
1987 Shinji Kazamas He traveled in a solo expedition on a 200cc Yamaha motorcycle to the North Pole.
1987 Sibir (Nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker) In 05/1987 she reached the North Pole traveling through the ice on the surface.
1988 Dmitry Shparo (and a crew of 12) He traveled with twelve companions from Novaya Zemlya to Ellesmere Island via the North Pole in a joint Soviet-Canadian expedition. Confirmed by aircraft.
1989 Robert Swan (and a crew of 7) He traveled to the North Pole with seven companions on skis.
1990 Erling Kagge (and a crew of 2) He traveled to the North Pole with two companions on skis in an unsupported expedition. One member withdrew after injuries and the equiment and food was taken out with him by air.
1991 Russian icebreaker Sovetskiy Soyuz She traveled on the surface carrying 100 tourists to the North Pole.
1994 CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent & USCGC Polar Sea The USCGC Polar Sea became the first U.S. surface vessel to reach the North Pole on 22 August 1994.  She sailed in concert with the CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent, first Canadian vessel to reach the North Pole.
1994 Borge Ousland He made a solo unsupported journey from Cape Arktichesky on Nova Zemlya pulling a sledge. He reached the pole on 22/04/1994.
1995 Richard Weber & Mikhail Malakho A Canadian-Russian expedition to the North Pole and return completely unsupported, hauling sledges.
1995 Wojtek Moskal & Marek Kaminski The "Pole to the Pole Expedition" unsupported expedition.
2000 Rune Gjeldnes & Larsen A Norwegian expedition crossing the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole from CapeArktichesky on Nova Zemlya to Canada.
2001 Borge Ousland He made an expedition crossing the Arctic Ocean via the north Pole from CapeArkticheskyon Nova Zemlya to Canada in an unsupported expedition. At the North Pole he encountered a party of tourists. He wore a special suit that allowed him to swim across open water leads in the ice. He received a replacement sledge which some say invalidates his claim of being "unsupported".

To quote from this article please cite:

MacFarlane, John M. (2012) Exploration of the High Arctic and Journeys to the North Pole. Nauticapedia.ca 2012. http://nauticapedia.ca/Articles/North_Pole.php

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