Tonight, the Pole

Published on 24.04.2007 - The Arctic Arc

Alain and Dixie at the North Pole

After 53 days of exertion, the Hubert Dansercoer duo reached the North Pole tonight. A first big victory.

Dixie Dansercoer and Alain Hubert will thus have needed 54 days to reach the goal of their first stage, the North Pole. And, as though it were part of the celebration, the Arctic honored them yesterday with the first day of beautiful weather since their departure: a bright sunshine and a clear blue sky. "It was terrific," explained Alain Hubert, "to see the sea ice lit up as such by the sun rays. Furthermore, since the temperatures have really risen over the past few days, we spent a truly memorable day. The ice, for its part, was also a whole lot better: all the leads were frozen, which allowed us to progress, without tiring ourselves out, 22 km in nine and a half hours..."

Of course, many polar explorers have already rallied the North Pole from Cape Arktichewski. Nonetheless, to succeed this trek is still a real achievement. And, as we look back upon the weather conditions the men have had to face these past fifty days, we can but congratulate them for having succeeded the first stage of The Arctic Arc.

Today, the two men have decided to set camp at the Pole, without allowing for a single day's rest being that the journey is still long; they, indeed, still have over 3200 km to go.