North Pole Dawn

Goal of the "North Pole Dawn"-Expedition

The Arctic was the goal of many expeditions in the 19^th century. One of the most important of that time was the “Lady-Franklin-Bay” Expedition under the leadership of First Lieutenant Adolphus Washington Greely (1844-1935) and  which ended dramatically.

Arved Fuchs sets out on the tracks of the Polar explorer who was one of the founders of the National Geographic Society. Due to the receding pack ice, it is possible – though under great difficulty – to reach the destinations  and the remains of Greely’s unsuccessful expedition. The progressive changes in climate make it possible now to reach regions which were, due to the pack ice, mostly unaccessible years ago.

The ice maps of last year show that the Northwest and also the Northeast Passages were completely free of ice in September, 2008. The ice off the north-west coast of Greenland is constantly receding as well. The “Dagmar Aaen” will therefore attempt to sail as far north as possible in order to reach the historical sites of the Greely Expedition. Given extremely favourable conditions, the expedition expects to cross the 78^th parallel and follow the receding ice.

Tragedy in the Pack Ice – The Greely Expedition from 1881-84

The goal of the expedition, which started on July 8^th, 1881 under the leadership of Adolphus Greely, was the establishment of a permanent Polar station in Lady Franklin Bay on Ellesmere Island. Numerous scientific observations on magnetism, climate and the tides were planned. With this expedition, Greely opened up a new chapter in Polar exploration. Nations involved in exploration at that time were more interested in national prestige than in a race to the North Pole. Greely’s expedition can be seen, from a present view point, as the foundation of modern exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic and the officer, born in Newburyport, inevitably as one of the founders of this exploration.

In 1881, the USA took part, with the Greely expedition, in the first International Polar Year – a joint exploration project. The research went on most effectively, different tragical circumstances, however, led to a catastrophe.

Greely reached Lady Franklin Bay on August 11^th, 1881 with the “Proteus” and a team of 25 members. The ship was unloaded and “Fort Conger”, a shack made of pre-fabricated parts was built, serving as a base station. This marked the beginning of modern exploration. The upkeep of a station, which was manned all year round with the purpose of continually collecting scientific data, was a first at that time. Greely lead his team at Fort Conger with severe discipline, had, however, no experience in travelling the Arctic regions. Prior to this expedition, Greely had changed after the war from lieutenant in the cavalry to the communications corps of the US army.

Part II: Tragedy at Cape Sabine