To reach the North Pole is the pinnacle of Arctic expedition endeavors. Few people can say they stood at the one earthly spot where every direction is south. Crushing through the ice, admiring soaring seabirds and visiting Franz Josef Land, your voyage will be one that you won’t soon forget. The added excitement of helicopter excursions at the top of the world make this Expedition adventure a true once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Although there’s more than one definition of “the North Pole”, the most popularly accepted one is geographic: a fixed location in the northern hemisphere at the Earth’s axis of rotation, latitude 90°N (longitude not applicable). Unlike the South Pole, which is located on the continent of Antarctica, the geographic North Pole is covered by nothing but a sheet of shifting ice on the surface of the Arctic Ocean. There is thus no permanent habitation nor even an official marker for the position, as the ice moves from year to year. Although it was once an elusive goal that took the lives of many explorers, thanks to modern aviation and other technology, it is now the destination of commercial travel expeditions.
The North Pole can only be reached on expeditions specifically mounted for the purpose. Most travel primarily by air, sometimes with a component traversing the last leg of the journey on the ice. The other alternative is traveling by boat, on an ice-breaker cutting through the Arctic Ocean.
(http://wikitravel.org/en/North_Pole)
