Norwegian Reaches North Pole Alone
He pulled a 265-pound sled on skis. He braved polar bears and temperatures of 40 below zero. And after 52 days, Borge Ousland became the first person to reach the North Pole alone and unaided.
The 31-year-old Norwegian adventurer sent a pre-coded message--”Expedition ended, want pickup”--via satellite Friday, indicating his 620-mile journey was completed.
Others have gone to the North Pole alone, but always with the help of dog sleds or supplies brought in from the outside.
“I have been very hungry. I’m looking most forward to eating lasagna and having a shower,” Ousland told Reuters news agency by radio from his tent on the North Pole.
Ousland, who built up fat reserves by drinking a glass of olive oil for breakfast every day for a year before setting off on his icy slog from Siberia, has not changed clothes or washed during the trip.
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