The original text comes from Nordic Chinese Station

Nordic ground transfer, Nordic travel, Nordic travel agency, Nordic ground transfer agency, Nordic aurora, Nordic chartered tour

WeChat public account "Global Ground Connection"

Fridtjof Nansen (Fridtjof Nansen, 1861-1930) is a national hero in the eyes of Norwegians. He was born near Oslo, Norway, in 1861, and later died in the place of his birth. As a politician, Nansen served as the head of the Norwegian delegation to the League of Nations after the end of World War I; as a philanthropist, he was the winner of the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize; as a litterateur, his His works are well-known in Norway; as a professor at the University of Christiania, an oceanographer and an Arctic explorer, he conducted four explorations of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans (1910-1914). Among them, there is a brief introduction to Frittjof Nansen. His extraordinary courage and glorious achievements in the Arctic exploration make Norwegians most proud. One day in November 1884, some newspapers in Norway published a report, which mainly related to the wreckage of the "Janet" found on the southwestern coast of Greenland. It was an American exploration ship that sank three years ago. Since it was not clear at the time whether the Arctic was a continent or an ocean, people could not help but wonder: What force allowed these wrecks to drift from North America on the other side of the Arctic to Northern Europe, which was more than 2,000 miles away? ? A meteorologist once boldly imagined that this was the result of an unidentified ocean current. Science is born of doubt and conjecture. It was the meteorologist's idea that inspired the young Norwegian scientist Nansen to have a strong desire to explore the truth. Based on this, Nansen deduced that there must be a route to the North Pole between Siberia and Greenland, perhaps it is the route of drift ice.

Taking risks for the benefit of learning and devoting oneself to science are the embodiment of the perseverance of scientists engaged in scientific research. Because of this, Nansen decided to drift by boat. He wanted to use the ocean currents for Arctic exploration. In order to prepare for the expedition, he first chose to conduct an acclimatization exercise in Greenland, skiing across Greenland and exploring the unknown interior. In this regard, many people believe that this is a reckless move to gain fame and reputation. A Norwegian humor newspaper ridiculed: "What a show! Nansen is going to do a ski show in Greenland. There are good seats in the crevices of the ice, so there is no need to buy tickets." Even the Norwegian ***, which has always supported Arctic exploration, this time At that time, he was also unimpressed with Nansen's expedition plan and refused to provide him with activity funds. However, Nansen was a man who was willing to sacrifice everything for the scientific cause he pursued. Therefore, he was very enthusiastic about adventure and did not give up completely because of the cold reception he encountered in Norway. Instead, he headed to Denmark, across the sea from Norway, to raise funds for the expedition, and received strong support from the Danish government and civil society as he wished. In the summer of 1888, Nansen and five assistants embarked on an amazing Arctic crossing expedition. After landing on the desolate east coast of Greenland, Nansen and his party traveled more than 400 miles on skis, which took more than two months. Before the onset of winter, they successfully passed through the ice cap covering most of the interior of Greenland, and finally arrived exhausted. The port of Goldhope on the west coast of Greenland. Greenland is the world's largest island, with an area of ??2.415 million square kilometers. However, 80% of the entire island is wrapped in thick ice, and there is no human trace all year round.

The expedition through Greenland was an unprecedented human feat created by Nansen. When Nansen returned to Norway the next spring, the Norwegians became proud of him and welcomed him as a hero. At this time, he lost no time in proposing an Arctic exploration plan to relevant Norwegian agencies. Nansen's action plan was to build a special expedition ship and let it drift northward with the ice on the frozen sea in northern Siberia, and then investigate the freezing Arctic region. Nansen estimated that the entire expedition would take about two to three years. Although many people had doubts about the expedition plan, the public trusted Nansen for his crossing of Greenland and had high hopes that this expedition would win Norway the honor of being the first to reach the North Pole. Backed by this sense of national honor, the expedition funds were successfully settled. The Norwegian government provided him with most of the funds needed, and public donations accounted for 1/3 of the total funds. Even King Oscar of Norway also Donated 20,000 crowns. After the funding problem was resolved, Nansen began to prepare for specific Arctic expeditions. The first thing that is needed is to build a special expedition ship that can withstand the pressure of ice, because when sailing in the Arctic Ocean, what the expedition ship is afraid of is not the severe cold and drifting ice, but the squeeze from the huge ice floes near the North Pole. These floating ice blocks drift along the current, rising or falling with the tide, sometimes freezing, sometimes separating, and squeezing each other, often making ships unable to defend themselves. The squeezed ships simply cannot withstand the terrible pressure. The American expedition ship "Janet" was surrounded by ice floes, unable to move, crushed into pieces, and sank into the sea.

Therefore, Nansen was convinced that the Arctic region was not land but an ocean. He hoped that if his expedition ship was trapped by ice floes, it would float upwards and be squeezed above the ice, and Not crushed to pieces.

With the help of a shipbuilding expert, Nansen designed and built a stubby but sturdy three-masted expedition ship "Forward" that was actually about 128 feet long. According to Nansen, when the "Forward" expedition ship encountered ice squeeze, it was able to break free upward like an eel instead of being crushed. When the expedition ship was launched on October 26, 1892, Nansen described it as follows: Its bow, stern, and keel were all streamlined so that ice could not control any part of the hull; It can accommodate 13 people and enough food and fuel for five years; and, in addition to the sails, it is also equipped with a steam engine as auxiliary power and a generator that can be driven by a turbine, hand crank or windmill for use in the Arctic winter. Arctic Adventure Tour - provided by Chinese Travel Agency, Norwegian Northern Lights Tour, Nordic Northern Lights Tour Group, adventure travel route from Norway to the Arctic

On June 24, 1893, "The journey of risking your life begins!" Nansen led two expedition teams composed of 13 members, boarded the "Forward" expedition ship, and began an expedition voyage to the Arctic. When the "Forward" sailed north along the Norwegian Sea, passing ships fired cannons or raised and lowered their flags to pay tribute to it; people on the shore also cheered for the expedition. At the end of July, the "Forward" bypassed the northernmost tip of "Wei" and sailed towards the vast Arctic Ocean. The further north it went, the more ice floes and the larger the ice blocks. The "Forward" bravely traveled through the ice floes. Soon, A long, slender and dense ice edge was vaguely visible on the sea level. Nansen made a prompt decision and directed the expedition ship to sail towards the ice edge. He wrote in his diary on September 24: “We were surrounded by thick ice. Thick ice blocks surrounded it, and there was melted ice slurry that could solidify quickly between the ice floes. The next day, he wrote: "We are getting frozen in the middle faster and faster." Winter is coming now. "At this time Frittjof Nansen introduced that there were no stormy waves around the "Forward" expedition ship, but endless and rugged ice fields. Everything became very monotonous, and the expedition team began to drift with the ice. Nansen wrote again: “To wish to return to a living way of life, to have to be still every day is really overwhelming to one’s soul. ,, this is not only the moment when Nansen initially gets his wish, but also the time when the risk of the expedition increases. These huge ice floes can squeeze and collide at any time, causing unpredictable consequences. As expected, this happened on October 9th. Suddenly there was a loud noise, and the ship's hull shook violently, as if there was an earthquake.

The ice layer cracked, and the ice blocks undulated as they squeezed each other, forming a strong squeezing force that hit the "Forward" expedition ship. However, under this extreme pressure, the "Forward" was not broken in the squeeze, but was lifted up in the pressure, just as Nansen envisioned, completely safe and sound. This kind of danger happened again and again, and Nansen and his party gradually became accustomed to it. Now, while following the ocean currents as they drift toward the North Pole, they find ways to pass the monotonous days. Some of the team members read all day long, some are immersed in writing, and some are busy hunting polar bears. Facing the beautiful scenery of the Arctic Ocean, Nansen was filled with emotion, and vividly described the aurora phenomenon with vivid language like a poet: "The Northern Lights shook their silvery veil under the sky, sometimes yellow, sometimes green. , and turned red again; sometimes it stretched, sometimes it shrank, and it changed endlessly; then it split into strips of silver-like pleats; the strips shone with waves, and then the light disappeared completely. A glimmer of light could be seen on the top, like a flame swaying in the sky, and then a golden light shot up from the horizon and gradually melted into the moonlight. At this time, people seemed to be able to hear the sigh of a departing ghost in the sky. A few erratic streaks of light remained, elusive as omens, dust shaken from the aurora borealis' glittering mantle. But now it began to grow again, and new flashes shot up into the sky. The never-ending game has begun again. There is always such silence, like a touching eternal symphony. "At the same time, various scientific investigations are gradually carried out. The expedition team mapped the "Forward" route, carefully measured the temperature, salinity, depth and ocean currents of the ocean, and dug samples from the seabed. They recorded weather data every four hours and made astronomical observations every other day. Arctic Adventure Tour - Norwegian Northern Lights Tour - Adventure Travel Route from Norway to the Arctic

Nansen originally thought that the depth of the Arctic Ocean was limited, but now he has laid down a sounding line about a thousand feet long without touching the bottom of the sea. , its depth can be imagined. He gradually realized that in such deep oceans, the actual ocean currents were much weaker than originally expected and that the wind had a greater influence. All this made the expedition team increasingly uneasy. This voyage was originally planned to take 2-5 years to complete, but now it seems that it is likely to take 7-9 years. During several months of exploration, the general direction of the "Forward" was toward the northwest, but the hull moved fast and slow, stopped and continued, and sometimes drifted in other directions with the current. This brings about another bigger trouble, that is, the drift of ice floes may cause the ship to deviate from the North Pole direction. When the next summer was coming to an end, Nansen, who was already uneasy, came up with a bolder plan: he would lead an assistant to leave the frozen "Forward" and use skis and dog sleds to go straight from the ice to the North Pole. Then return home via the islands scattered hundreds of miles south of the Arctic. Nansen wrote in his diary: "I would rather choose to fight and take risks, even if I am only given one day.

"He believes that this will not be more difficult than a trip across the Greenland ice cap. According to observations from the previous year, the ice surface is the flattest between February and March, which is most suitable for dog sledding, and by May the ice sheet begins to melt. Because of the ice floes, his progress was bound to be hindered, so he set the time for the operation to be from February to March. Nansen's expedition plan received everyone's support, and the team members invited him to participate in the adventure. Among them, he selected a man named Fu. Redrick Johnson's naval officer served as his assistant. On March 14, 1895, they set off on three dog sleds. At this time, the "Forward" was only 350 miles away from the North Pole, and the endless ice field was like a flat. The white marble planet gives people an indescribable feeling, and the surroundings are full of mysterious beauty. No ship has ever been so close to the North Pole. At first, the expedition was relatively smooth, and it was possible to advance about 14 miles in one day. Nansen estimated that it was about to be completed. But soon, they encountered countless erratic ice ridges. Not only did these ice ridges form endless mazes, which made the explorers dizzy, but the sleds often overturned when traveling on the ice ridges. Unable to move, their progress was more difficult. However, Nansen and Johansen moved forward bravely.

In April, Nansen surprisingly found that they did not seem to be approaching the North Pole. , still staying in the same place. Although they moved forward a few miles every day, at night, when they compared the constellations, they found that they were actually still where they were last night. After research, he figured out the reason. Like stepping on a huge turning mill, the speed of the ice drifting southward almost offset the speed of their advance to the north. For this reason, Nansen was worried and began to doubt whether they could reach the North Pole. He originally planned to use natural forces to complete it. However, the force of nature played a big joke on him during this exploration mission. On April 8, Nansen finally gave up his plan to continue heading north and spent the next morning on the ice field at 86°14 North. Turning south, they headed towards the Franz Josef Land (Franz Josef Land) Islands 400 miles away. From March 14th to April 8th, during this 26-day Arctic expedition, they traveled 124 miles. , there were only 224 miles left to reach the North Pole, but this record was unprecedented. However, what surprised Nansen was that they still had to fight the same ice every day. When dealing with ridges and ice fields, the mysterious beauty of the past has disappeared. He wrote: "When we see the ice field in front of us, it is like a maze of countless ice ridges, ice lanes and huge ice blocks. When we walked out, our hearts froze, thinking we saw countless huge waves that suddenly froze. Sometimes it seems that a creature without wings can no longer progress...but eventually it finds a way. "It can be seen that Arctic exploration is not only a test for human beings to conquer nature, but also a test of human beings' own psychology and will.

Return to Sohu to see more