Solo accross the pole, together to preserve the Arctic

 

The Fram left Norway the 25th July 1893 and entered the pack West of the New Siberian Islands.  Against the opinion of polar experts of his time, and as Nansen had predicted, the ship specifically built with a round hull was pushed above the ice pack by the pressure of the ice instead of being crushed.  After drifting for 18 months, the explorer, aware that the ship would not reach the North Pole, left the boat,  with a companion and  three dog-sleds loaded with supplies and kayaks. Soon progression became exhausting and the two men had to turn back. However they had achieved a record latitude of 86° 14’ N.

 

After five months of an incredible journey, the two adventurers reached land on Franz Joseph Archipelago.  They spent the winter in a stone hut, living on bear meat, before resuming their progression southward. By luck, they met an English expedition which took them back to their homeland. One week later, the Fram ended its drift off Spitsberg and was back in Norway in 1896, three years after its departure.

 

Nansen then started a career as a diplomat and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.