First non-motorized crossing of Antarctica
Quem
Jean-Louis Étienne, Will Steger
Resultado
first first
Onde
Antárctica ()
Quando

The first non-motorized crossing of Antarctica was achieved by the Trans‑Antarctica Expedition led by Will Steger (USA) and Jean-Louis Étienne (France) between 26 July 1989 and 3 March 1990. They covered a distance of 6,048 km (3,758 mi) on the 220-day dog-sled journey between Seal Nunataks on the Antarctic Peninsula to Mirny polar research base in Queen Mary Land, via the South Pole.


Also on the multinational expedition team was: Geoff Somers (UK), Viktor Boyarsky (Russia), Qin Dahe (China) and Keizo Funatsu (Japan).

The expedition's purpose was to bring international attention to the continent of Antarctica and the early signs of climate change. The expedition's goal was to advocate for an environmental protocol and continuation of the Antarctic Treaty that would open up for review in 1991. Following the expedition, the six team members visited their countries' leaders and lobbied for the environmental protocol and Antarctic mining ban that were currently under discussion as addenda to the Antarctic Treaty.

This record was confirmed by the Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme (PECS).