People: May 19, 1986

“As we six adventurers from different parts of the world stand where the lines of longitude of all countries meet, (we) believe this journey stands for hope.” Minneapolis Teacher Ann Bancroft, 30, tearfully read those words at the North Pole on May 3, marking the emotional end of the first dog-team expedition known to have reached the top of the world without resupply since Robert Peary did it in 1909. The $700,000, 1,000-mile, 55-day trek was grueling; along the way two members of the seven-man, one-woman expedition team had to be airlifted out because of injuries. “It was an exercise of the human spirit that the world needed to see,” said Co-Leader Will Steger, 41, who is already planning his next demonstration of human willpower: a 100- day, 2,500-mile dogsled trip across Antarctica.