Ralph Plaisted facts for kids
Ralph Summers Plaisted (born September 30, 1927 – died September 8, 2008) was an American explorer. He is famous for leading the first team to travel across the ice to the North Pole using snowmobiles. With his friends Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl, and Jean-Luc Bombardier, he reached the North Pole on April 19, 1968. This was the first time anyone had definitely reached the Pole by traveling over the ice.
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Who Was Ralph Plaisted?
Ralph Plaisted grew up in Bruno, Minnesota. He left high school but became a very successful insurance salesman. He loved being outdoors and exploring.
In the early 1960s, Ralph was one of the first people in Minnesota to own a Ski-Doo snowmobile. These machines were a new invention from Canada. Ralph loved his snowmobile and became a big fan and promoter of them. In 1965, he drove his snowmobile 250 miles (about 400 km) in one day! This was seen as the first really long snowmobile trip.
Planning the North Pole Adventure
Ralph Plaisted and his friend Art Aufderheide came up with the exciting idea of reaching the North Pole by snowmobile. They started planning this big trip in 1966, hoping to go the next year. Gordon Mikkelson also helped with the snowmobiles and setting up their base camp.
The team needed special clothes to stay warm in the Arctic. They even tested their gear by sleeping on a frozen lake in northern Minnesota!
Their first try was in April and May of 1967. They got as far as 83° 20' latitude, but bad storms and open water stopped them. Even though they didn't make it that time, their journey was shown in a CBS-TV documentary called To the Top of the World. Famous reporter Charles Kuralt traveled with them.
Reaching the North Pole
Ralph Plaisted didn't give up! He returned for another try in March 1968. His team started their journey on March 9 from Ward Hunt Island in Canada. This island is close to where another famous explorer, Robert Peary, started his own trip many years before.
The team traveled about 412 miles (663 km) across the ice. They used a special tool called a sextant to figure out where they were going. Airplanes called DeHavilland Twin Otters dropped off fuel and supplies to them along the way.
The explorers spent 43 days and 11 hours traveling over the ice. They finally reached their last camp on the evening of April 19. Their navigator, Jerry Pitzl, took hourly sextant readings for two days to make sure they knew their exact spot.
On the morning of April 20, they traveled a little less than 4 miles (6.4 km) more to account for the ice moving. They then used a handheld radio to signal a United States Air Force plane. At 10:30 am Eastern Daylight Time, the plane flew overhead and confirmed that the team was exactly at the North Pole! After this amazing achievement, the team was flown out.
Why This Journey Was Special
For a long time, there were questions about whether explorers like Robert Peary and Frederick Cook truly reached the North Pole first. Ralph Plaisted's journey, known as the Plaisted Polar Expedition, is seen as the first time someone definitely reached the North Pole by traveling over the ice. Pilots Welland Phipps and Ken Lee signed papers saying that the expedition did not travel any distance by air. This confirmed their amazing surface journey.
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