Børge Ousland (born 31 May 1962) is a Norwegian polar explorer, photographer and writer. He started his career as a Norwegian Navy Special Forces Officer with Marinejegerkommandoen, and he also spent several years working as a deep sea diver for the oil industry in the North Sea. In 1994, he made the first solo and unsupported reach of the North Pole from cape Arktichevsky in Russia. As of 2016, that feat has never been successfully repeated. He made the first unassisted Antarctic solo crossing, between 15 November 1996 and 17 January 1997. The ski journey was made with kite assistance and also holds the record for the fastest unsupported journey to the South Pole taking just 34 days. On 22 January 2006, he began a journey to the North Pole, which he and Mike Horn successfully concluded on 23 March. In September 2010, Ousland's team aboard "The Northern Passage" completed the circumnavigation of the North Pole. The Russian team aboard the "Peter I" achieved the same feat in that season. These were the first recorded instances of the circumnavigation of the North Pole without an icebreaker. In December 2011 he traversed Antarctica to the South Pole for the centennial celebration of the first expedition to reach the Pole.