Now a British team is planning a journey of more than 1,000 , (km) (800 , (miles)) to be the first to reach the loneliest place on the ice. The Arctic can be an unforgiving place, especially at its most remote location. The Northern or Arctic Pole of Inaccessibility marks the place that is the hardest to reach. It's the point that is furthest from any speck of land, about 450 , (km) (280 , (miles)) from the geographic North Pole.It can be reached by passing across the thick layer of ice that covers an ocean up to 5,500 , (m) (16,400 , (ft)) deep on foot. Temperatures here can reach -50^circ (C) in winter and it's dark from October to March.Next year's expedition will be Jim McNeil's third attempt on the Pole. The explorer's first two expeditions did not quite go according to plan. A flesh eating bacterial infection kept him at base camp the first time. On the second attempt in 2006, he fell through the ice just before a storm hit. "The next three days were horrendous," he says. "The three-and-a-half meter high ice I was on was cracking continually so sleep became a real problem." McNeil had made it about 270 , (km) (168 , (miles)) north of the last landfall, but with the ground disintegrating around him, he was forced to call off the attempt.46. What do we know about the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility?

In the center of the Arctic Ocean there is a Pole that has yet to be conquered. Now a British team is planning a journey of more than $1,000 \, \text{km} (800 \, \text{miles})$ to be the first to reach the loneliest place on the ice. The Arctic can be an unforgiving place, especially at its most remote location. The Northern or Arctic Pole of Inaccessibility marks the place that is the hardest to reach. It's the point that is furthest from any speck of land, about $450 \, \text{km} (280 \, \text{miles})$ from the geographic North Pole.

It can be reached by passing across the thick layer of ice that covers an ocean up to $5,500 \, \text{m} (16,400 \, \text{ft})$ deep on foot. Temperatures here can reach $-50^{\circ} \text{C}$ in winter and it's dark from October to March.

Next year's expedition will be Jim McNeil's third attempt on the Pole. The explorer's first two expeditions did not quite go according to plan. A flesh eating bacterial infection kept him at base camp the first time. On the second attempt in 2006, he fell through the ice just before a storm hit. "The next three days were horrendous," he says. "The three-and-a-half meter high ice I was on was cracking continually so sleep became a real problem." McNeil had made it about $270 \, \text{km} (168 \, \text{miles})$ north of the last landfall, but with the ground disintegrating around him, he was forced to call off the attempt.

46. What do we know about the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility?
A. It is an unforgiving place.
B. It is $450 \, \text{km}$ high above the North Pole.
C. It is the loneliest place on the earth.
D. It is one of the hardest places to conquer.