Using Only Sextant, Explorers 1.7 Miles From Polar Goal
Six explorers trekking across the Arctic ice cap with only a sextant to guide them were only 1.7 miles from the North Pole early today.
Jim Gasperini, radio operator at the base camp of the Steger International Polar Expedition in Resolute Bay, Northwest Territories, said he received a transmission at 2:30 a.m. PDT from a satellite monitoring their progress showing the explorers were at 89 degrees, 58.3 minutes north latitude, or 1.7 miles from the Soviet side of the pole.
The expedition, which is re-creating Robert E. Peary’s 1909 conquest of the pole, began its 500-mile journey from the tip of Canada almost two months ago.
The satellite transmitter is the team’s only concession to modern times. Expedition leader Will Steger of Ely, Minn., has said he wanted to reach the pole unassisted, but not at the cost of lives.
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