{"id":296800,"date":"2026-05-11T17:05:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/jean-louis-etienne-lindepassable-pole-nord\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T19:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:46:15","slug":"alone-to-the-north-pole-40-years-ago-jean-louis-etienne-solo-expedition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/alone-to-the-north-pole-40-years-ago-jean-louis-etienne-solo-expedition\/","title":{"rendered":"Alone to the North Pole: 40 Years Since Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne\u2019s Historic Feat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”1px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/alpine.quotes-02.png” title_text=”alpine.quotes-02″ align=”center” show_bottom_space_tablet=”” show_bottom_space_phone=”” show_bottom_space_last_edited=”on|phone” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ max_width=”50%” max_width_tablet=”” max_width_phone=”100%” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||-40px||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”0px||-40px||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”800px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font_size=”18px” hover_enabled=”0″ z_index_tablet=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

F<\/span>orty years ago, on May 11, 1986, Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne reached the geographic North Pole alone, after 63 days of walking and more than a thousand kilometers across the pack ice. Hauling his sled, pushing forward no matter what, through pressure ridges shaped by the wind, extreme cold \u2014 minus 52 degrees Celsius! \u2014 and the drift of the frozen Arctic Ocean. And then, at the end of this \u201cinner pole\u201d \u2014 his own phrase \u2014 becoming the first man to reach the North Pole solo.<\/p>\n

Four decades later, the story has kept something both very simple and very powerful: a human being and a fixed, obsessive idea \u2014 the North Pole. A mythical place, where men had been trying to set foot since the late 19th century, and Frederick Cook\u2019s attempt in 1908. What strikes us today is not only the feat itself. It is the silence surrounding it. No GPS. No satellite phone to send a voice message to the communications manager, let alone post a story. No weather map downloaded at the bivouac.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ max_width=”1200px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font_size=”18px” hover_enabled=”0″ z_index_tablet=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

In 1985, Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne attempted the Pole and failed after fifteen days. He returned in 1986. \u00c9tienne moved forward with the sun, his instruments and his experience. A rudimentary Argos beacon made it possible to track his position and confirm his arrival. A thin thread to the outside world. Almost nothing, compared with today\u2019s internet connection.<\/p>\n

Today, eight-thousanders climbers have barely returned to base camp before their photos are already blooming across social media. Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne\u2019s North Pole was an analog feat, from another era.<\/p>\n

Forty years later, adventure has not disappeared. It has changed bandwidth. At Everest Base Camp, there is internet access, videos, images arriving almost in real time, forecasts and weather routers.<\/p>\n

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French doctor and explorer Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”800px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=”#000000″ quote_icon_background_color=”#ffffff” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ body_font=”Oswald|700||on|||||” body_text_align=”center” body_text_color=”#000000″ body_font_size=”30″ use_background_color=”off” custom_margin=”26px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

63 days solo to the North Pole, without GPS or satellite phone. A feat.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ max_width=”1200px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font_size=”18px” hover_enabled=”0″ z_index_tablet=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

In Antarctica last winter, He\u00efdi Sevestre and Matthieu Tordeur were able to share their crossing with a regularity that would have seemed extraterrestrial in 1986. Isolation still exists. So does the cold. So does commitment. But it no longer means quite the same thing. Above all, it is no longer told in the same way. Other polar adventurers remain in a more discreet register, like Vincent Colliard during his 22-day speed record to the South Pole.<\/p>\n

Should we complain about that? Not necessarily. It would be easy to hand out good and bad marks from the comfort of our screens. Today\u2019s explorers are not less exposed to wind or crevasses because they can send a photo.<\/p>\n

But while the human being is more or less the same, the tools have changed. In 1986, you needed patience, endurance and, above all, you had to know how to use a sextant. In 2026, you can be tracked step by step \u2014 and, supreme irony, be doubted if you do not publish your GPX track. Money remains the lifeblood of adventure: as Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne himself points out, having had to raise the equivalent of \u20ac1.8 million for his boat Antarctica \u2014 later renamed Tara \u2014 \u201cfunding expeditions has always been complicated: in his time, Magellan took seven years to obtain the support of the Spanish Crown and carry out the first circumnavigation of the globe!\u201d<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rossignol_vercors_3-1.jpg” title_text=”rossignol_vercors_3 (1)” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font=”Merriweather|900|||||||” text_font_size=”16″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ border_style=”solid” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”800px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=”#000000″ quote_icon_background_color=”#ffffff” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ body_font=”Oswald|700||on|||||” body_text_align=”center” body_text_color=”#000000″ body_font_size=”30″ use_background_color=”off” custom_margin=”50px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Exploration is not only a matter of technology. It is, first and foremost, a way of believing in the impossible<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font_size=”18px” hover_enabled=”0″ z_index_tablet=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

The anniversary of Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne\u2019s achievement reminds us that exploration is not only a matter of technology. It is, first of all, a way of believing in the impossible, of living and breathing for a project.<\/p>\n

Before the North Pole, \u00c9tienne was an expedition doctor for twelve years, a mountaineer in Greenland and on Broad Peak, and a sailor with \u00c9ric Tabarly aboard Pen Duick VI. Later came Transantarctica, the immense crossing of the southern continent by dog sled, followed by other polar adventures. There was also Erebus, an expedition to the great Antarctic volcano, an open-air laboratory rising to 3,794 meters on Ross Island.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ max_width=”1200px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MONT_EREBUS.jpg” title_text=”MONT_EREBUS” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” max_height_tablet=”” max_height_phone=”” max_height_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font=”Merriweather|900|||||||” text_font_size=”16″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ border_style=”solid” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Erebus volcano, 3794 m.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font_size=”18px” hover_enabled=”0″ z_index_tablet=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

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So happy anniversary to Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne\u2019s North Pole. To this first solo journey that has not aged a bit. We can smile at what a polar arrival looks like today: geolocation, selfie, social media post, maybe even an Instagram live with mittens on. But we can also be glad that adventure now reaches more people, and documents itself better.<\/p>\n

On May 11, 1986, Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne reached a horizontal summit. An analog feat, closer to the pioneers of the poles than to today\u2019s expeditions. My childhood eyes still remember him: a smiling man under an enormous hood. Forty years later, he reminds us that, connected or not, the essential thing may still be this: to draw deeply enough from within oneself to return with something worth sharing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Forty years ago, on May 11, 1986, Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne reached the geographic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":296801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"[et_pb_section fb_built=\"1\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_margin_tablet=\"\" custom_margin_phone=\"\" custom_margin_last_edited=\"on|desktop\" custom_padding=\"1px||||false|false\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_row _builder_version=\"4.22.1\" _module_preset=\"default\" max_width=\"800px\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\" _builder_version=\"4.22.1\" _module_preset=\"default\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_image src=\"https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/alpine.quotes-02.png\" title_text=\"alpine.quotes-02\" align=\"center\" show_bottom_space_tablet=\"\" show_bottom_space_phone=\"\" show_bottom_space_last_edited=\"on|phone\" align_tablet=\"center\" align_phone=\"\" align_last_edited=\"on|desktop\" _builder_version=\"4.22.1\" max_width=\"50%\" max_width_tablet=\"\" max_width_phone=\"100%\" max_width_last_edited=\"on|desktop\" module_alignment=\"center\" custom_margin=\"||-40px||false|false\" custom_margin_tablet=\"\" custom_margin_phone=\"0px||-40px||false|false\" custom_margin_last_edited=\"on|phone\" custom_padding=\"0px||||false|false\" border_style=\"solid\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.22.1\" _module_preset=\"default\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\"4.16\" max_width=\"800px\" module_alignment=\"center\" custom_margin_tablet=\"\" custom_margin_phone=\"\" custom_margin_last_edited=\"on|phone\" use_custom_width=\"on\" custom_width_px=\"800px\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font_size=\"18px\" hover_enabled=\"0\" z_index_tablet=\"500\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" sticky_enabled=\"0\"]

[dropcap size=big]I[\/dropcap]l y a quarante ans, le 11 mai 1986, Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne atteignait le p\u00f4le Nord g\u00e9ographique en solitaire, apr\u00e8s 63 jours de marche et plus de mille kilom\u00e8tres sur la banquise. Tirer son tra\u00eeneau, avancer co\u00fbte que co\u00fbte, malgr\u00e9 les cr\u00eates de glace form\u00e9es par le vent, le froid extr\u00eame (moins cinquante deux degr\u00e9s celsius !), et les d\u00e9rives de l'oc\u00e9an Arctique gel\u00e9. Et puis, au bout de ce \u00ab p\u00f4le int\u00e9rieur<\/em> \u00bb (l'expression est de lui), devenir le premier homme \u00e0 rejoindre seul le p\u00f4le Nord.<\/p>\n

Une histoire qui a gard\u00e9, quatre d\u00e9cennies plus tard, quelque chose de tr\u00e8s simple et de tr\u00e8s fort : un humain et une id\u00e9e fixe, obsessionnelle, le p\u00f4le nord. Un lieu mythique, o\u00f9 l'homme a cherch\u00e9 \u00e0 poser le pied depuis la fin du XIX\u00e8me si\u00e8cle, et la tentative de Frederick Cook en 1908.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" width_tablet=\"\" width_phone=\"\" width_last_edited=\"on|phone\" max_width=\"600px\" max_width_tablet=\"\" max_width_phone=\"300px\" max_width_last_edited=\"on|phone\" module_alignment=\"center\" custom_padding=\"0px||0px|||\" use_custom_width=\"on\" custom_width_px=\"800\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font=\"||||||||\" text_font_size=\"18px\" link_font=\"||||||||\" link_text_color=\"#edb72f\" custom_padding=\"20px|20px|20px|20px|false|false\" header_3_font_size_tablet=\"\" header_3_font_size_phone=\"22px\" header_3_font_size_last_edited=\"on|phone\" border_width_all=\"1px\" border_color_all=\"#000000\" saved_tabs=\"all\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"]

Lire aussi<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Vincent Colliard, le p\u00f4le sud en 22 jours<\/a><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\"1_2,1_2\" use_custom_gutter=\"on\" _builder_version=\"4.24.2\" max_width=\"1200px\" module_alignment=\"center\" custom_margin_tablet=\"\" custom_margin_phone=\"\" custom_margin_last_edited=\"on|phone\" use_custom_width=\"on\" custom_width_px=\"800px\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_column type=\"1_2\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font_size=\"18px\" z_index_tablet=\"500\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"]

Ce qui frappe aujourd\u2019hui, ce n\u2019est pas seulement l'exploit. C\u2019est le silence qui l\u2019entoure alors. Pas de GPS. Pas de t\u00e9l\u00e9phone satellite pour envoyer un message vocal au charg\u00e9 de com', voire poster une story. Pas de carte m\u00e9t\u00e9o t\u00e9l\u00e9charg\u00e9e au bivouac.<\/p>\n

En 1985, Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne tente le p\u00f4le, \u00e9choue une premi\u00e8re fois au bout de quinze jours. Il y retourne en 1986. <\/span>Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne avance avec le soleil, ses instruments, son exp\u00e9rience. Une rudimentaire balise Argos permet de suivre sa position, et de valider l\u2019arriv\u00e9e. Un fil t\u00e9nu avec le monde. Presque rien, \u00e0 comparer de la connexion internet actuelle.<\/p>\n

Aujourd'hui, les huitmillistes sont \u00e0 peine rentr\u00e9s au camp de base que leurs photos fleurissent d\u00e9j\u00e0 sur les r\u00e9seaux. Le p\u00f4le nord de Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne est un exploit analogique, une autre \u00e9poque.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\"1_2\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_image src=\"https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/JEANLOUIS_ETIENNE.jpg\" title_text=\"JEANLOUIS_ETIENNE\" show_bottom_space=\"off\" align=\"center\" _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" _module_preset=\"default\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font=\"Merriweather|900|||||||\" text_font_size=\"16\" custom_margin=\"||||false|false\" border_style=\"solid\" saved_tabs=\"all\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"]

Le docteur Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne en 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\"4.16\" max_width=\"800px\" module_alignment=\"center\" custom_margin_tablet=\"\" custom_margin_phone=\"\" custom_margin_last_edited=\"on|phone\" use_custom_width=\"on\" custom_width_px=\"800px\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=\"#000000\" quote_icon_background_color=\"#ffffff\" _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" body_font=\"Oswald|700||on|||||\" body_text_align=\"center\" body_text_color=\"#000000\" body_font_size=\"30\" use_background_color=\"off\" custom_margin=\"26px||||false|false\" saved_tabs=\"all\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"]

Le p\u00f4le Nord seul, sans GPS ni t\u00e9l\u00e9phone satellite. Un exploit<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\"1_2,1_2\" use_custom_gutter=\"on\" _builder_version=\"4.24.2\" max_width=\"1200px\" module_alignment=\"center\" custom_margin_tablet=\"\" custom_margin_phone=\"\" custom_margin_last_edited=\"on|phone\" use_custom_width=\"on\" custom_width_px=\"800px\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_column type=\"1_2\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font_size=\"18px\" hover_enabled=\"0\" z_index_tablet=\"500\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" sticky_enabled=\"0\"]

Quarante ans plus tard, l\u2019aventure n\u2019a pas disparu. Elle a chang\u00e9 de bande passante. Au camp de base de l\u2019Everest, on trouve une connexion internet, des vid\u00e9os, des images qui arrivent quasiment en direct, des pr\u00e9visions et des routeurs m\u00e9t\u00e9o.<\/p>\n

En Antarctique, l'hiver dernier, He\u00efdi Sevestre et Matthieu Tordeur<\/a> ont pu partager leur travers\u00e9e avec une r\u00e9gularit\u00e9 qui aurait paru extraterrestre en 1986. L\u2019isolement existe toujours, le froid aussi, l\u2019engagement \u00e9galement. Mais il n'a plus tout \u00e0 fait la m\u00eame signification. Surtout, il ne se raconte plus de la m\u00eame mani\u00e8re. D'autres aventuriers polaires restent dans un registre plus discret, comme Vincent Colliard, lors de son record au p\u00f4le sud<\/a> en 22 jours.<\/p>\n

Faut-il s\u2019en plaindre ? Pas forc\u00e9ment. Il serait facile de distribuer les bons et les mauvais points depuis le confort de nos \u00e9crans. Les explorateurs d\u2019aujourd\u2019hui ne sont pas moins expos\u00e9s au vent ou aux crevasses parce qu\u2019ils peuvent transmettre une photo.<\/p>\n

Mais si l'humain est plus ou moins identique, les outils changent. En 1986, il fallait de la patience, de l\u2019endurance, et surtout savoir se servir d'un sextant. En 2026, on peut \u00eatre suivi \u00e0 la trace, et, supr\u00eame ironie, \u00eatre mis en doute quand on ne publie pas sa trace GPX.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\"1_2\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_image src=\"https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rossignol_vercors_3-1.jpg\" title_text=\"rossignol_vercors_3 (1)\" show_bottom_space=\"off\" align=\"center\" _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" _module_preset=\"default\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font=\"Merriweather|900|||||||\" text_font_size=\"16\" custom_margin=\"||||false|false\" hover_enabled=\"0\" border_style=\"solid\" saved_tabs=\"all\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" sticky_enabled=\"0\"]

Le livre de Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\"4.16\" max_width=\"800px\" module_alignment=\"center\" custom_margin_tablet=\"\" custom_margin_phone=\"\" custom_margin_last_edited=\"on|phone\" use_custom_width=\"on\" custom_width_px=\"800px\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=\"#000000\" quote_icon_background_color=\"#ffffff\" _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" body_font=\"Oswald|700||on|||||\" body_text_align=\"center\" body_text_color=\"#000000\" body_font_size=\"30\" use_background_color=\"off\" custom_margin=\"50px||||false|false\" saved_tabs=\"all\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"]

l\u2019exploration n\u2019est pas qu\u2019une affaire de technologie. C\u2019est d\u2019abord une mani\u00e8re de croire en l'impossible<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font_size=\"18px\" z_index_tablet=\"500\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"]

\n

L'argent reste toujours le nerf de l'aventure : comme le rappelle lui-m\u00eame Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne<\/a>, qui a d\u00fb trouver l'\u00e9quivalent 1.8 millions d'euros pour son bateau Antarctica (devenu Tara), \u00ab financer des exp\u00e9ditions a toujours \u00e9t\u00e9 compliqu\u00e9 : \u00e0 son \u00e9poque, Magellan a mis sept ans pour obtenir le soutien de la Couronne espagnole et faire le premier tour du monde !<\/em> \u00bb<\/span><\/p>\n

L\u2019anniversaire de l'exploit de Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne rappelle que l\u2019exploration n\u2019est pas qu\u2019une affaire de technologie. C\u2019est d\u2019abord une mani\u00e8re de croire en l'impossible, de vivre et de respirer pour un projet.<\/p>\n

Avant le p\u00f4le Nord, \u00c9tienne fut m\u00e9decin d\u2019exp\u00e9dition pendant douze ans, alpiniste au Groenland et au Broad Peak, navigateur avec \u00c9ric Tabarly sur Pen Duick VI<\/em>. Plus tard viendront la Transantarctica, immense travers\u00e9e du continent austral en tra\u00eeneaux \u00e0 chiens, puis d\u2019autres aventures polaires. Il y aura aussi l\u2019Erebus, une exp\u00e9dition sur le grand volcan d\u2019Antarctique, laboratoire \u00e0 ciel ouvert culminant \u00e0 3794 m\u00e8tres sur l'\u00eele de Ross.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\"1_2,1_2\" use_custom_gutter=\"on\" gutter_width=\"2\" _builder_version=\"4.24.2\" max_width=\"1200px\" module_alignment=\"center\" custom_margin_tablet=\"\" custom_margin_phone=\"\" custom_margin_last_edited=\"on|phone\" use_custom_width=\"on\" custom_width_px=\"800px\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][et_pb_column type=\"1_2\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_image src=\"https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MONT_EREBUS.jpg\" title_text=\"MONT_EREBUS\" show_bottom_space=\"off\" align=\"center\" _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" _module_preset=\"default\" max_height_tablet=\"\" max_height_phone=\"\" max_height_last_edited=\"on|desktop\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font=\"Merriweather|900|||||||\" text_font_size=\"16\" custom_margin=\"||||false|false\" border_style=\"solid\" saved_tabs=\"all\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"]

Le volcan Erebus, 3794 m, vu du ciel.\u00a0<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\"1_2\" _builder_version=\"4.16\" custom_padding=\"|||\" global_colors_info=\"{}\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.27.5\" text_font_size=\"18px\" z_index_tablet=\"500\" global_colors_info=\"{}\"]

Alors, joyeux anniversaire au p\u00f4le Nord de Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne. \u00c0 cette premi\u00e8re solitaire qui n\u2019a pas pris une ride. On peut sourire en voyant ce que donne aujourd\u2019hui une arriv\u00e9e au p\u00f4le : g\u00e9olocalisation, selfie, post sur les r\u00e9seaux, peut-\u00eatre m\u00eame un live Instagram avec les moufles. Mais on peut aussi se r\u00e9jouir que l\u2019aventure parle d\u00e9sormais \u00e0 plus de monde, qu\u2019elle documente mieux.<\/p>\n

Le 11 mai 1986, Jean-Louis \u00c9tienne a atteint un sommet horizontal. Un exploit analogique plus proche des pionniers des p\u00f4les que des exp\u00e9s actuelles. Mes yeux d'enfant s'en souviennent encore : un bonhomme souriant avec une \u00e9norme capuche ! Quarante ans plus tard, il nous rappelle que, connect\u00e9 ou non, l\u2019essentiel est peut-\u00eatre l\u00e0 : puiser assez loin en soi pour revenir avec quelque chose \u00e0 partager.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[85,16],"tags":[903,902,901],"class_list":["post-296800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-editorial","tag-arctic-ocean","tag-jean-louis-etienne","tag-north-pole"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296800"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":296807,"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296800\/revisions\/296807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpinemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}