16-year old polar explorer and environmentalist Parker Liautaud completed his last degree expedition to the North Pole yesterday and in a stunningly quick time. He was accompanied to 90ºN by his guide Doug Stoup, who was with Parker last year when the duo endured terrible weather conditions and came up 15 miles short of their goal.
It took Parker and Doug just 4 days 2 hrs and 27 minutes to cover the 112km (69.5 mile) journey from his their drop-off point on the ice to the Geographic North Pole at the top of the world. That put them at their destination a week ahead of schedule, which was already a challenging pace considering they were delayed for three days awaiting the opening of the Barneo Ice Station.
While on his mission to the North Pole, Parker also collected data on the thickness of the snow pack along their route. Each day, he took 100 measurements, and the data will be handed off to the University of Alberta, where it will be used to aid in the study of how climate change is impacting the health of our polar regions. The collection of that data adheres works in tandem with Parker's goal of spreading the word about climate change and how it is affecting our planet.
A hearty congratulations are in order to both Parker and Dough on a job well done. Not only did they reach the Pole in a very fast time, they also managed to meet the goals of their expedition along the way as well. Excellent work!