Humans are known for their inherent curiosity, the desire to learn more about the world around them. In the past, man’s need to explore was as strong as his need to eat and breathe! Even now this is the case for many, who, even with very few places left to discover, now try to explore the world with conditions set upon them to further challenge themselves. We’ve heard of the disabled man who reached the top of Mount Everest, or the men who reached the South Pole only on skis. To many of us, this sounds absurd, but they are merely following the built-in call for travel and exploration that all humans have.
There are, however, men who set an example in the past, men who were undoubtedly the first people to unlock yet another place in this earth for everyone to see. Who are these men?
1. Roald Amundsen and his party were the first men to reach the South Pole, on December 14, 1911. He was 39 at the time. This man from Norway was obsessed with reaching the poles ever since he was a child, training his body just for the task. He was beaten to the race to the North Pole, but eventually became the first to reach the South. We could learn from him! Even after he was beaten, he did not falter and still went for the other goal.
2. Pavel Kononovich Sen’ko, Mikhail Michailovich Somov, Pavel Afanasyevich Geordiyenko and Mikhail Yemel’ Yanovich Ostrekin 
were the first men officially to have reached the North Pole. There are earlier claims of having reached it, which stopped Roald Amundsen’s trek, but this Soviet party is the earliest one with complete proof. Earlier claims were eventually proven to not have actually reached the pole. They got there using planes, but it was still dangerous as the conditions there did not favor flying that type of aircraft.
3. Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni are the two climbers to have reached the summit of K2, the world’s second tallest mountain. The Italians were heavily aided by their teammates, the two reached the summit on July 31, 1954. Efforts to reach the top started in 1892, but success only came much later. It was thanks to the previous expeditions that they were successful.
4. Ferdinand Magellan led the fleet that first circumnavigated the world, giving firsthand proof that the world is round, even though it is 
known already because of mathematics as early as the Greek times. Only one of his ships survived. Magellan was killed on April 17, 1521, in the Philippines, fighting the natives, before he could finish the journey. Juan Sebastian Elcano took over and eventually finished the trip. Magellan did not intend to sail around the world, it had simply turned out that way due to his exploration.
I didn’t mention Mount Everest since everyone knows that already. These people are indeed remarkable pioneers of their time, and led the way to future explorations. What do you think of these men?
Filed under: Travel, trivia | Tagged: exploration, explore, first, k2, magellan, north pole, record, south pole, Travel | 2 Comments »
1. Edwin Shackleton of the UK had ridden in 841 different types of aircraft by January 2007! He first rode one in 1943 and had gone on to ride planes, balloons, airships and helicopters. Wow! Most air travelers can’t claim to have ridden more than 100 types, and this guy is more than eight times of that!
Travel Nooks 