Only 22 people (nine expeditions) have skied unsupported from northern Canada to the North Pole. No American has ever accomplished this feat. In 1909, two American polar explorers, Frederick Cook and Robert Peary both claimed to have led separate expeditions that were the first to reach the North Pole. The validity of Cook's and Peary's claims has been questioned and debates still rage today, 100 years later. However, the difficulty of reaching the North Pole on foot is not in doubt.