Fastest surface journey to the North Pole
- Who
- Tom Avery, Matty McNair, Andrew Gerber, George Wells, Hugh Dale-Harris
- What
- 36/22/11 day(s):hour(s):minute(s)
- Where
- North Pole,
- When
- 26 April 2005
An expedition consisting of Tom Avery (UK), Matty McNair (Canada), Andrew Gerber (South Africa), George Wells (UK), Hugh Dale-Harris (Canada) and a team of 16 husky dogs reached the North Pole in 36 days 22 hr 11 min from 21 March to 26 April 2005. They left from Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island in Arctic Canada and were attempting to recreate as closely as possible the disputed 1909 expedition of American explorer Robert Peary. Like Peary they had four resupplies along the way.
Peary's expedition took just 37 days, and despite taking place nearly 100 years ago has never been beaten, causing some to doubt that he even reached the North Pole (although he is now widely accepted to be the first person to have reached the Pole). This expedition was an attempt to prove that his journey was possible.