Børge Ousland is a Norwegian polar explorer, photographer and writer. He made the first unassisted Antarctic

Antarctic

The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...

 solo crossing, finishing on 18 January 1997. He ventured to the South Pole

South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...

 on 8 December 2005. On 15 January 2006, he began a journey to the North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

, which he and Mike Horn

Mike Horn

Mike Horn is a South-African born Swiss explorer and adventurer. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa he currently resides in Château d'Oex, Switzerland.Mike Horn became famous in 2000 after completing a solo journey around the equator without motor transport...

successfully concluded on 23 March.
In September 2010, Ousland's team aboard "The Northern Passage" completed the circumnavigation of the North Pole http://www.barentsobserver.com/around-the-north-pole-in-less-than-three-months.4822563-16334.html. The Russian team aboard the "Peter I" achieved the same feat in that season. These were the first recorded instances of the circumnavigation of the North Pole without an icebreaker.