All-Woman Team Calls Off Attempt to Reach North Pole

OSLO — Three Frenchwomen and a Canadian attempting to become the first all-woman group to conquer the North Pole have given up after making no progress due to moving ice, expedition leaders said today.

In radio messages broadcast to their base, the women said their position was exactly the same as when they started the 670-mile trek a month ago. “We’ll soon have to ask for parking permits,” one said.

The women had intended to ski to the pole, but drifting pack ice meant that the six miles they skied every day was wiped out as they drifted backward.