Released 03.04.25

The Conversation

In 1990, Erling Kagge, the Norwegian polar explorer, author and publisher, and his expedition partner, Børge Ousland, became the first people to ever reach the North Pole unsupported; three years later, Erling became the first person to reach the South Pole solo and unsupported. In this episode of Gone to Timbuktu, he talks about his new book, The North Pole: The History of an Obsession.

Erling starts out by describing four North Poles: geographic, magnetic, celestial and imaginative. ‘The greatest expedition…definitely the longest expedition, is when you go into your own mind, and try to understand’, he says. In Norway, there’s a term Erling describes as central to the explorer’s mindset: ‘eventyrlyst’ — ‘eventyr’ translates as ‘fairytale’ and ‘lyst’ as ‘lust’. It’s used to evoke how exploration is more than just a lust for adventure; it’s a horizonless longing for something beyond.

Norwegians take success very seriously, Erling says. He references a peculiarly British construct that feels very ‘exotic’ to Norwegians: ‘Somehow, the British came up with the term “heroic failure”; the idea that if you fail in a heroic way, it’s sometimes even better than succeeding.’

Erling is interested in the 400-odd years of polar exploration — both its successes and failures, of which there have been many. He tells harrowing stories of explorers who resorted to cannibalism, or were stuck sleeping next to dead bodies for months. It’s also history filled with romance, he maintains, filled with sweethearts’ letters and broken love affairs.

“The thing is, it’s difficult to walk to the North Pole. If it hadn’t been difficult, anyone could do it”, says Erling.

Episode photograph courtesy of Martin Hartley.