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Canadian Richard Weber and Russian Misha Malakhov have become the first modern era explorers to travel to the North Pole and back without sled dogs or outside support.
Korean Team Makes Single Season Arctic Crossing
A team of five South Koreans, led by Heo Young'Ho, have completed a single-season crossing of the Arctic Ocean on foot and skis.
IAP Team Nears Completion of Arctic Ocean Crossing
The International Arctic Project, led by Will Steger of Minnesota, is nearing the coastline of Canada after three months crossing the Arctic Ocean. The now six- member international team is expected to reach Canada's Ward Hunt Island between July 2 and 6, completing its single season crossing of the Arctic Ocean by air, dog sled and canoe-sled.
MOTHER AND CHILD CONQUER MCKINLEY
Merrick Johnston, 12, has reportedly become the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Mt. McKinley (20,320 ft.), the highest peak in North America.
AMPUTEE SETS ALTITUDE RECORD ON EVEREST
On May 26, Tom Whittaker, a 46-year-old college lecturer and climber who lost his right foot in a car accident in 1979, reportedly achieved an altitude record for amputees when he reached 27,888 feet (8,500 meters) on Mount Everest's rocky North Ridge.
After reaching the summit of Mount Everest (29,028 ft.) May 13, British mountaineer Alison Jane Hargreaves reportedly began her ascent of K2 (28,251 ft.) in Pakistan in early June.
McKinley Death Toll Reaches Six
One climber in a Taiwanese expedition died on Alaska's Mt. McKinley after high winds and white-out conditions struck the group in early June.
Dutch Climber Injured
A climber on the 1995 Dutch K2 Expedition reportedly suffered a broken left arm, broken left cheekbone and nerve damage in his face after being hit by a large falling rock. The accident happened at 20,950 feet, as the group was on its way to establish Camp II.
Antarctic Online
Designers of Internet programs including MayaQuest and the International Arctic Project are launching an interactive Internet program for schools this fall which focuses on the continent of Antarctica.
"Blue Ice," produced by TBT International of St. Paul, Minn., and Student Ocean Challenge, will be an interactive Web site that shows teachers how to use data from NASA, the NSF, the Polar Science Center, and the Byrd Polar Research Center in the classroom.