Sir Wally Herbert Dies At 72 - May Have Been First To Reach N. Pole w/o Motorized Transport - AFP

[hatrack]

Sir Wally Herbert, who some argue is the first explorer to have reached the North Pole without motorised transport, has died at the age of 72, a family friend said Wednesday.

Herbert died Tuesday in Raigmore hospital in Inverness, Scotland, where he had been admitted a week earlier suffering from diabetes and heart trouble, the friend told the Scottish Press Association.

Following an epic 16-month trek across the frozen Arctic Ocean with three companions and a pack of 40 dogs, Herbert reached the North Pole on April 6, 1969. The team, which had spent years planning the expedition, covered 3,800-miles from Alaska to Spitsbergen in Norway.

Then prime minister Harold Wilson hailed the "feat of endurance and courage which ranks with any in polar history." Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip called it "among the greatest triumphs of human skill and endurance." Record books show that American Robert Peary was the first to reach 90 degrees North on April 6, 1909, but explorers Pen Hadow and Robin Hanbury Tenison have argued that Peary missed his mark.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/070613145143.ooflt9n1.html

[1620rock]

1. There has been a lot of documented research done to establish

the validity of Peary's claims to have reached the pole on April 6th 1909. The research indicates that Peary (and Matthew Henson) did indeed reach 90 degrees north on that expedition.
This in no way lessons the achievement of Mr.Herbert.
Thanks for the post.