The Northern Pole of Inaccessibility, in the Arctic, is one of the original Eight Poles.

The Northern Pole of Inaccessibility is defined as the point in the Arctic Ocean that is the farthest from any coastline. Unlike the continental poles of inaccessibility, this one does not rest on land but lies amid the drifting pack ice of the central Arctic Basin, which makes it difficult to get to.

• Latitude: 85°48’N
• Longitude: 176°9’E
• Distance from land: 1008 km/626 miles

The closest coasts are those of Henrietta Island in the De Long group, Cape Arctic on Severnaya Zemlya, and Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. The Arctic Pole is around 662 kilometres (411 miles) south of the Geographic North Pole.

Because the sea ice is always in motion, the pole itself is never a permanent or fixed spot on the ice surface which makes the coordinates particularly difficult to visit. However, there is an error margin given in the definitive calculations of ±1 km. In other words, if you can navigate to 85°48′N, 176°09′E ± (0°00′32″ lat, 0°07′41″ lon), you’re within the 1 km error margin of the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility.

[Note: You’ll see some sites give the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility coordinates as 85°48′N, 176°09′W; with the letter W for ‘West’ being a common transcription error. The peer-reviewed Polar Record by Rees et al. specifically states E for ‘East’.]

History of the Arctic Pole of Inaccessibility

The Northern PIA was originally thought to be at 84°3′N 174°51′W. Nobody knows for sure where these coordinates came from. Perhaps they were calculated by Vilhjalmur Stefansson, or perhaps by the aviator Sir Hubert Wilkins who first attempted to fly across the Arctic in 1927.

Reaching this location has proven far more difficult than simply walking to a set of coordinates. The constantly shifting ice, extreme cold, and sheer remoteness mean that very few expeditions have ever attempted to stand at this pole.

Sir Wally Herbert came close to being the first to this pole in 1968 by dogsled, bt failed due to the ice pack movements. Then a Russian expedition including Dmitry Shparo said they skied thruogh the pole one arctic night, but offered no other proof.

In 2005, explorer Jim McNeill asked scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the Scott Polar Research Institute to update the position of the pole using modern GPS and satellite data. The revised location (coordinates above) was later published in Polar Record in 2013 by Gareth Rees (Scott Polar Research Institute), Robert Headland (SPRI), Ted Scambos (NSIDC), and Terry Haran (NSIDC).

McNeill set out the following year (2006) to be the first to reach it while also gathering sea-ice data for NASA, but the expedition was forced to turn back. He tried again in 2010 with his Ice Warrior team, only to be beaten once more by the poor state of the drifting ice.

Other explorers, such as the Norwegian Børge Ousland, have also approached the area, but the shifting ice and logistical challenges have ensured that the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility remains one of the least-visited and most elusive points on Earth.

Finally, on the On 12 September 2024, the French Icebreaker ship, Le Commandant Charcot, became the first ship to definitively reach the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility.

Getting to the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility

My first attempt at the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility was in April 2019. It was chosen as my first pole because, at that time, it had not been officially visited. Sadly it was to stay that way.

The ‘standard’ way of geting onto the ice and to make an attempt at the regular North Pole was to fly from Svlabard to a landing strip prepared on the ice called Barneo. Each year Barneo would be in a different location, requiring a 2 km section of ice that hadn’t melted for at least two years.

The runway would be prepared by Russian contractors who dropped in with their machinery by parachute. Unfortunately, the aircraft used for reaching the ice were Ukrainian Antonov An-74 aircraft. Zelensky had just been elected and tensions between the two countries were escalating. The Russians raised their flag at Barneo and refused Ukrainian aircraft into ‘their’ airspace.

As a result, we spent nearly two weeks in Longyearbyen fully prepped up to go to the ice and pull our pulks to the Pole. All dressed-up and nowhere to go.

Covid 19 soon followed and then the Ukraine-Russia war, so that traditional route was all but abandoned.

In the meantime, I visited Point Nemo on the Hanse Explorer and discussed with the captain the possibility of icebreakers (which were getting ever-stronger) cutting through the sea-ice (which is getting weaker each year through climate change) all the way to the Northern PIA.

Imagine my surprise when I was then sent an image of the Commandant Charcot crew celebrating being the first to record a visit to the pole!

Anyway, it might not be as adventurous as some of my other Pole of Inaccessibility expeditions, but beggars can’t be choosers, so I discussed the possibility of a re-visit with Ponant, the ship’s owners, and they were happy to accommodate the little side-trip again from their ‘two poles’ cruise (geographic and magnetic poles).

That journey is currently under way!

Date Visited: 2025
Weather: -XX° Celsius/-YY° Fahrenheit.
Coordinates Achieved: 
Distance from Pole: