Gerald R Pitzl

True North: Victory in the Race to the Pole Gerald R Pitzl

The Plaisted Polar Expedition of 1968 was the first indisputable attainment of the North Pole over the Arctic Ocean ice surface from a point of land. The journey took forty-four days of struggle, delays, intense cold, windstorms, and the uncommon determination of dedicated expedition members to achieve the goal. Part 1 of the book covers the daily activities of the ice party as they progressed ever so slowly northward and of the support team at the base camp, working to ensure the necessary logistical tasks to keep the ice party moving. Part 2 shines a light on the navigational practices of Peary in his 1909 quest to reach the North Pole, a claim that even the National Geographic Society, his solid supporter for 111 years, now concluded he did not achieve. His navigation failed him. This became abundantly clear in the analysis.