A British explorer is on a mission to become the first person to visit all eight of the Earth's poles of inaccessibility. Chris Brown, a 61-year-old tech entrepreneur from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, began his quest in 2019 and has so far completed five of the continental poles.
Poles of inaccessibility (PIA) are the points on the map furthest from the sea in any direction, or in the case of oceanic poles, furthest from land. Brown successfully reached the Southern PIA in Antarctica earlier this year with his son Mika, after a failed attempt and being stranded for 28 days the previous year.
He also became the first person to reach the African PIA in December 2021 during a dangerous expedition to the Central African Republic, and has visited PIAs in North America, South America and Australia. Only Eurasia, the Arctic and the Oceanic PIAs remain.
Brown, who made headlines in June for being one of the first to place a deposit on the doomed Titan submersible trip, highlighted the varying risks. 'The danger in Africa was all man-made with us having to avoid bandits, corrupt police, evil warlords, The Russian Wagner Group and even ISIS. Whilst the danger in Antarctica was from the elements and terrain,' he said.
His next major expedition will be to the Oceanic PIA, Point Nemo in the Pacific Ocean, scheduled for March. Several attempts to reach the Arctic PIA have been thwarted by weather and the Russia-Ukraine war. Brown hopes to inspire young people to explore, saying small risks can be taken even close to home.
