Ralph Plaisted

Ralph Plaisted made the first confirmed trek to the Geographic North Pole over the sea ice in 1968.

Starting his trek from Nunchuk Bay, northern Greenland, on March 7, 1968, in minus 60 degree weather, Plaisted's expedition, using snowmobiles as the primary means of transportation, arrived exactly at the North Pole in a total elapsed time of 43 days, 2 hours and 30 minutes. His position was verified by a U.S. Air Force plane several hours later. Given the doubts surrounding the North pole conquest claims of Robert Peary and Frederick Cook, Ralph Plaisted's April 19, 1968 record is now part of history as the first fully confirmed successful surface conquest of the North Pole.