The North Pole has long been a place of imagination, mystery, and human obsession, captivating locals and explorers for thousands of years. In his DLD25 talk, renowned explorer Erling Kagge takes the audience on a journey through the history, myth, and significance of this northernmost of the world.
Located at the center of the Arctic Ocean, the North Pole has been covered in ice for 2.7 million years and remains a place of awe, he says. “When you ski up there, the ice is always singing.”
Kagge traces humanity’s fascination with the North Pole through history, from myths about Adam and Eve residing there in the Garden of Eden to ancient Egypt where, around 300 BC, a scientist named Eratosthenes established the concept of Earth’s poles.
In 1990, Kagge became the first person to reach the North Pole unsupported, without dogs, snowmobiles, or supply drops. “To get to the North Pole, you need to be obsessed”, he says. To have a meaningful life, “you have to make it more difficult than it has to be”, he adds. “It’s also about curiosity, it is about wonder – letting wonder be a very engine in your life.”
