In the past few centuries, just a few areas left on Earth eluded polar explorers.

These were the Arctic, the Antarctic, the Northeast, and Northwest passages.

Many of the world's greatest explorers would go on to make equally great attempts to explore and map these areas,

but for a time each of them remained unconquered.

This caused some to shift their attention to the massive frozen area around North Africa. and map these areas, but for a time each of them remained unconquered.

This caused some to shift their attention to the massive frozen area around Northern Greenland,

and expeditions began to be planned.

One of these expeditions would go on to endure some of the most prolonged and brutal

conditions in recorded history.

This is their story, and as such, viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Up until the mid-1800s, countries were determined to find a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific from the north, known as the Northwest Passage.

This proved to be more difficult than anticipated, and after multiple attempts to find one, the idea was sort of abandoned,

but the venture gave explorers a new taste for Arctic exploration and the idea of reaching the North Pole.

Not only that, the general public

fascination with the Arctic had reached all-time highs, and as if in response to this demand,

expeditions were then sent into the unknown reaches north of Greenland to explore the geographic

top of the world, and the United States wasn't about to sit idly by while other countries

attain this glory, so in 1881, Congress

passed the sundry civil bill. This devoted 25,000 to forming an expedition that would gather data

and record observations from the Arctic over a two-year period. By that summer, U.S. Army lieutenant

and civil war officer Adolphus Greeley was ordered to lead this ambitious and dangerous mission.

Adolphus Greeley was a native of Newbury, Massachusetts, and after enlisting in the Union Army,

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