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A Dark Journey to the North Pole

This Sunday, two of the world's top solo explorers will attempt to do what no one has ever done: travel 620 miles on an unsupported mission to the North Pole in the total darkness of Arctic winter.

On foot.

No one has reached the North Pole during the brutal months of eternal night with no airdrops of food and no pre-arranged rest stops.

Borge Ousland of Norway and Mike Horn of South Africa will depart Cape Arktichesky in Western Siberia, and will make their way to the pole in 10-mile stretches per day. The men, who have been to the North Pole before, will be dragging more than 300 pounds each of food, fuel, and supplies on sleds. And they won't have the help of dogs either.

Horn, 39, and Ousland, 43, join us by phone from Norilsk, Siberia, to discuss their upcoming journey.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Michele Norris
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