Explorer tries to settle debate on whether Peary reached North Pole first

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2004

LONDON (AFP) — An explorer plans in March to lead an expedition designed to settle a century-old debate over whether the American explorer Robert Peary was the first to reach the North Pole, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Explorer Tom Avery, 28, a member of a team that became the fastest to reach the South Pole on foot two years ago, plans to retrace Perry's footsteps to the North Pole in 1909, the Telegraph said.

Peary claimed that he led his team to the Pole in only 38 days, arriving there on April 6, but there is thin evidence for the feat and doubts remain despite backing from the National Geographic Society and the US Congress.

The fact that he was 54 has also fueled doubts that a man of his age could travel so fast through such harsh conditions.

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