NY-ÅLESUND – 1000 KM LAST GATE TO NORTH POLE
NORTHERNMOST FUNCTIONAL SETTLEMENT & GLOBAL WARMING POLAR VILLAGE
Located 78° 55′ 26″ Nord, 11° 55′ 19″ Est, Ny-Ålesund scientific base is the northernmost functional settlement, home to the northernmost post officevillage of the world. Just 1200km separate Ny-Ålesund to North Pole. Behind these extreme geographic position, Ny-Ålesund has a main history in the quest of North Pole. This city was founded in 1917 as a mining city but history holds all series of air expeditions launched from Ny-Ålesund towards the North Pole.
Between 1925 and 1928, four attempts were made to reach the North Pole by air from Ny-Ålesund. One involved flying boats led by Roald Amundsen, Floyd Bennett and Richard E. Byrd made an attempt. Amundsen and Umberto Nobile’s airship Norge left Ny-Ålesund and traveled via the North Pole to Alaska. This is regarded as the first successful expedition to the North Pole. After two short skirmishes, Nobile’s airship Italia left Ny-Ålesund on 23 May 1928 to reach the North Pole, but crashed on the return.
Today Ny-Ålesund is a testament to the global warming. The glaicer Kronebreen (glacier crown) regress one kilometer in 3 years. Photos departures airships are blatant evidence of global warming. Even in summer it was possible to walk from the village to the glacier. The fjord, on whose shores is built Ny-Ålesund, has not completely freezes since 2007.