Trek to verify North Pole claim

Five men led by a noted British explorer are attempting to recreate the 1909 expedition of American explorer Robert E. Peary, who claimed to have reached the North Pole in a record 37 days.

The current expedition is led by British explorer Tom Avery.  He and his group aim to check the veracity of Peary's claim by seeing whether his 37-day time for the 475-mile trek, starting out from from Cape Columbia in the Inuit territory of Canada, is achievable.  The team planned to leave last night (NZ time).

In 2000 a Canadian team reached the Pole in 43 days. Avery and his companions will use Inuit dogs and custom-built wooden sledges, just as Peary did.

Peary enjoyed fine weather conditions for his journey, which obviously contributed to his remarkable speed.