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Af Af Poul Krarup 19-10 2008 - 19:47

Robert Peary's 1909 accomplishment of being the first man to reach the North Pole may have become standard fare for the modern adventurer, but for many an explorer it still stands out as one of the major firsts in world history.

That's why Greenland adventurer Ole Jørgen Hammeken found it surprising that there were no plans to celebrate Peary's conquering of the Pole by re-enacting the voyage. Now, he plans to do it himself – complete with sledge dog team.

Peary, together with companions Matthew Henson and sledge driver Uutaaq, set out with a team of dogs from Uummannaq, near Thule, in the early spring of 1909 and reached the pole on 6 April.

'I feel that Greenland should celebrate the 100th anniversary,' Hammeken says. 'There are a group of us in Uummannaq that are all ready to go.'

Hammeken and the others planning to make the journey are no strangers when it comes to blazing Arctic trails. Hammeken himself recently completed a circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean in an motor boat – a feat that stretched over eight summers. Others likely to accompany him on the trip are also veterans of his 'Global Warming Dogsled Expedition' – a journey over 500 km over Greenland's ice cap, intended as a way to draw people's attention to the effects of climate change.

One insurmountable hurdle for Hammeken, however, could be funding. He needs to raise over 2 million kroner in less than six months.

'I know we're moving a little late on this, but that's only because it wasn't until recently that it became clear to us that no-one else was going to do it,' he says.

He said possible sources of funding were the US National Geographic Society, the Discovery Channel or the Explorers Club - a hall of fame of the world's great adventurers that Hammeken was inducted into last year.

But when it comes right down to it, he hopes that the money can come from within Greeenland.

'I have no doubt that Greenland in some way or another will be able to hold its flag high – literally and figuratively – here as we close out the International Polar Year. It would be symbolic as we implement Self-rule, not to mention the international race to claim the Arctic.'