<P> The US explorer Frederick Cook claimed to have reached the North Pole on 21 April 1908 with two Inuit men, Ahwelah and Etukishook, but he was unable to produce convincing proof and his claim is not widely accepted . </P> <P> The conquest of the North Pole was for many years credited to US Navy engineer Robert Peary, who claimed to have reached the Pole on 6 April 1909, accompanied by Matthew Henson and four Inuit men, Ootah, Seeglo, Egingwah, and Ooqueah . However, Peary's claim remains highly disputed and controversial . Those who accompanied Peary on the final stage of the journey were not trained in (Western) navigation, and thus could not independently confirm his navigational work, which some claim to have been particularly sloppy as he approached the Pole . </P> <P> The distances and speeds that Peary claimed to have achieved once the last support party turned back seem incredible to many people, almost three times that which he had accomplished up to that point . Peary's account of a journey to the Pole and back while traveling along the direct line--the only strategy that is consistent with the time constraints that he was facing--is contradicted by Henson's account of tortuous detours to avoid pressure ridges and open leads . </P> <P> The British explorer Wally Herbert, initially a supporter of Peary, researched Peary's records in 1989 and found that there were significant discrepancies in the explorer's navigational records . He concluded that Peary had not reached the Pole . Support for Peary came again in 2005, however, when British explorer Tom Avery and four companions recreated the outward portion of Peary's journey with replica wooden sleds and Canadian Eskimo Dog teams, reaching the North Pole in 36 days, 22 hours--nearly five hours faster than Peary . However, Avery's fastest 5 - day march was 90 nautical miles, significantly short of the 135 claimed by Peary . Avery writes on his web site that "The admiration and respect which I hold for Robert Peary, Matthew Henson and the four Inuit men who ventured North in 1909, has grown enormously since we set out from Cape Columbia . Having now seen for myself how he travelled across the pack ice, I am more convinced than ever that Peary did indeed discover the North Pole ." </P>

Where is the north pole and south pole located