North to the Pole

by Will Steger, Paul Schurke

A first-person account of the 1986 dogsled expedition to the North Pole, the first to reach the North Pole without resupply since Robert E. Peary in 1909.

Genres: Nonfiction, Survival, Travel, Adventure, Memoir, Biography

339 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1987

Reviews

[Punk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non-Fiction. In 1986, seven men, one woman, forty-nine sled dogs, and three tons of supplies set out for the North Pole. The goal of the Steger International Polar Expedition was to reach the Pole on dog sled without any resupply from the air. They made it to the Pole, though on route two members had to be airlifted out, as well as around twenty-one dogs and a number of supplies (to lighten the load); some members of the expedition referred to this as a "reverse resupply" and questioned whether it invalidated their goal. They wanted to duplicate, as much as possible, Robert E. Peary's 1909 drive to the Pole, but Peary still had to get himself and his people back to land after the attempt, which Steger did not. The entire expedition was airlifted out a day after they reached the Pole, so they weren't carrying the supplies needed to sustain a trip home.

The book is written in first person Will Steger and covers all the major points of interest in any polar narrative: It's cold, the dogs get into the food, someone falls in a lead, the gas stoves leak, how to poop when it's -60F. It's easy enough to read, though Steger doesn't have much charisma, and the way he writes his teammates doesn't make them any more interesting. I couldn't tell them apart, but he doesn't really ask you to, so it all works out.

The majority of the book is just a polar narrative; Steger isn't that invested in the Peary question one way or another, but based on their mileage, he concludes it's possible that Peary did make the time he claimed. However, according to Wally Herbert in The Noose of Laurels, there are some discrepancies in the miles reported by the Steger Expedition: "Their average mileage over their last five marches was not, as he states, thirty-four miles, but twenty-five statute miles, or 21.7 nautical miles. Steger is evidently referring to his route miles (the distance he actually travelled) and is giving that 'average' in statute miles." The reason Sir Wally's getting so riled up about statute miles is that Peary (and pretty much everybody else) used nautical miles to measure distance on the ice. Nautical miles are handy because a minute of latitude is almost exactly 60 nautical miles, making them just a bit longer than statute miles, which means you can't compare nautical miles and statute miles straight across, kids. You have to convert first, and it looks like Steger didn't do that. So what he thought was an average of thirty-four (statue) miles a day, was really closer to 18 nautical miles, and nowhere near Peary's reported best average of almost 31 nautical miles a day. Herbert finishes by saying, "It is very clear from this that the performance of Steger's party, admirable though it was, can in no way be regarded as a vindication of Peary's claimed speeds or distances." (262-3) Herbert also disagrees with Steger's claim that sastrugi are universally helpful for navigational purposes, but now I'm just boring you.

Three stars. Interesting, but not all that engaging. More a story about the trip than the people—or history—behind it, and so doesn't have much heart. Plenty of stuff about ice and cold, though. Has some animal harm.

[Allison DeKrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brrrr! 🥶 I want to go camping now! The endurance these people have! Love how truthful the retelling of this story is. I am now interested in finding documentaries or other articles about this expedition! ❄️🥶

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the day-by-day accounting of the first unassisted expedition to the North Pole by eight intrepid adventurers. Seven men and one woman, assisted by teams of sled dogs, and surviving on only what they carried with them set off from the top of Canada and arrived at the pole 56 days later. They did not accept any assistance, even down to an extra cup of tea, or one piece of technical data that would assist them on their journey. This was a physical struggle to be sure, but also a mental and spiritual one, and makes for a fascinating read...preferably while snuggled in a good reading chair, your own cup of tea at hand.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have lived in the arctic for a while, so could relate to some of this, but glad I was not a part of the expidition!

[lex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think some types of media do a better job at telling a story than others. In the case of North to the Pole, I didn't feel the book did much that wasn't done just as well or better than the documentary (https://youtu.be/4ya5cKtjt3M?feature=...). Although I was initially excited to read about the ice structures, temperatures, and how the expedition was managing to keep themselves and their dogs alive in the arctic, I felt this book really suffered from the lack of visuals (something the documentary provided). Although this book had the benefit of describing the emotional state of Will Steger and co, I still didn't feel immersed in it. Perhaps this can be blamed on my personal flaws as a reader or perhaps on Steger's rationalization and explanation of emotions. I wish I could have been privy to more of the real-time tensions and feelings of the crew, rather than having it described to me in a way that was well-replicated in the documentary via interviews.

[Steve Wardlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my! If ever a book could make a reader feel what it must be like to undertake such an ambitious expedition under the most daunting conditions, this is the one. Not just the extreme cold but also the strenuous physical exertion, the mental and social strain, the logistical challenges, working with the dogs and so on. Highly recommend it.

[John Haggerty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this 28 years ago and lost the book with very little left to read. I never repurchased but found an old beat up copy at the VA Hospital and finished the last ten chapters.

What a pleasant surprise as I had forgotten the book and losing the book on trip overseas!

[Meg Watson]

Super exciting book on dog-sledding.

[CG · Rating 4 out of 5]

So we’ll written that I felt the cold.

[Sue Danskin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why did they do this?

[Siffy Torkildson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great adventure!

[Eric Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelley found this at a used book store and it was signed by Will Steger and Paul Schurke. A cool bonus.

[Patrick O'Connell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes the greatest hardship is monotony. I walked away from this book not wondering how I could ever possibly bear the depth of the hardships they faced, but rather the repetitiveness of those hardships. And that is also the only reason I gave it three stars, not four. It is not a thriller, but it was definitely engaging enough that I did just that, try to put myself in their place, and that definitely made it worth the read.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, worthy read, which I felt obligated to look into, owning a pair of the author's brand boots, and the author being from the region I currently live in. m enjoyed: the group's raves and criticisms about clothing, tents, food. The hardships they faced on small changes to the above are astounding.

I'm always extreeeeemely cautious when a non-writer writes a book about an experience (such as here). The style wasn't terrible though. I am also interested in the arbitrariness of being the 'first to' do an expedition in some obscurely different way than previous explorers who did the same route - it is such a funny self-imposed hardship.

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tired of leaving reviews. It's just a good book. Especially fun to realize the leaders are from Minnesota and trained in places I've actually visited. That doesn't happen too often with adventure autobiographies.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite polar adventure books.

[Margaret]

Interesting journal of the hardships endured by a modern-day team when they re-create the trip to the North Pole originally taken by Robert Peary in 1909.

[Deanna Risser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated, but an interesting read.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coudn't put it down. Amazing tale of endurance and survival.