Exploring The North Pole: South African, Norwegian Complete Arduous Journey For Climate Change Research

An epic and arduous journey across the North Pole recently came to a successful end. Mike Horn of South Africa and Borge Ousland of Norway completed a journey of 1,800 kilometers, or 1,120 miles, across the Arctic Ocean at around midnight on Sunday.

In an Instagram post, the duo confirmed that they had reached the Arctic research vessel, “Lance,” which was due to pick them up and mark the end of their massive trek.

Horn and Ousland had been traveling across drifting ice for the last several months.

Recently, it seemed as though delays would bring a disappointing end to the expedition, as the team was set to run out of food. However, the team was met by two Norwegians, Bengt Rotmo and Aleksander Gamme, with extra provisions. Rotmo and Gamme were present when the duo successfully completed their journey.

The team is currently resting aboard the Lance. The vessel is set to connect them with another ship, the “Pangaea,” which will return them to the Norwegian archipelago, Svalbard.

Horn and Ousland began their trek on Sept. 23 on the Alaskan side of the North Pole and initially planned to reach their destination sometime in mid-November. Their progress was sometimes impeded when the ice they were staying on would drift backward overnight. At one point in the journey, Horn fell through the thin, early winter ice into the frigid Arctic water, causing frostbite on his nose and hands.

Part of the reason for Horn and Ousland making the expedition was to collect data on ice melt for climate change research.

Due to extreme weather changes, the two explorers faced temperatures that ranged from -40 degrees Fahrenheit to 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit.