Explorers reach Antarctica’s Pole of Inaccessibility on foot

A team of British and Canadian explorers endured seven weeks of howling winds and subzero temperatures to become the first expedition to reach the geographic center of Antarctica on foot.

A team of British and Canadian explorers endured seven weeks of howling winds and subzero temperatures to become the first expedition to reach the geographic center of Antarctica on foot.

Dragging 120-kilogram sleds, the team travelled more than 1,700 kilometers on foot or by kite ski to reach Antarctica’s Pole of Inaccessibility—the furthest point from any ocean—on Jan 19, according to a statement posted on the expedition’s Web site.

Located more than 3,725 meters above sea level, the Pole of Inaccessibility was first visited in 1958 by Soviet explorers who reached the remote outpost in convoy of snow vehicles.

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The team—led by Canadian Paul Landry—said it was surprised to find a bust of Vladimir Lenin erected by the Soviets nearly half a century ago still standing amid the ice. “We noticed a black dot on the horizon—as we got closer an outline of (the) bust started to appear—we could not believe it,” the team said in a brief statement posted on Jan 19.

The Pole of Inaccessibility lies some 870 km northeast of the South Pole. It was first reached by Soviet explorers on Dec 14, 1958, and was used briefly as a meteorological research base.

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