Whilst most of Europe recently came to a standstill following the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, one man was still able to take to the skies despite that pesky ash cloud... French scientist Jean Louis Etienne has just completed the first solo hot air balloon flight over the Arctic, a crossing of 1,945 miles. 62-year old Etienne was set to land in Alaska, but bad weather near the North Pole forced him to change course and land in the tundra of eastern Siberia five days after taking off in Spitsbergen.
During his flight Etienne measured the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and the Earth's magnetic field. In 1986 the explorer became the first person to reach the North Pole alone, pulling a dog sled for 63 days, and in 2002 drifted for four months on the sea ice in the Polar Observer.
Whilst we are yet to offer hot-air balloon trips over the North Pole, you can get there in comfort on an epic ice-breaker voyage - book now for our July departure, limited spaces available!
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