INVERNESS, Scotland, June 13 (UPI) -- Wally Herbert, a British polar explorer who visited both ends of the Earth, has died at 72.
Herbert, who suffered from diabetes and heart disease, was hospitalized in Inverness near his home in the Scottish Highlands, The Times of London reported. He died Tuesday.
A stint as a surveyor with the Falklands Islands Dependencies Survey in Antarctica gave Herbert his start in 1954. In 1957, he was a member of the expedition that made the first crossing of the continent. During the next decade, he mapped 45,000 square miles of Antarctica, traveling on foot.
In April 1969, Herbert and three companions reached the North Pole by dogsled. They completed "the last great journey on Earth," crossing the Arctic Ocean in a 16-month trek that included a winter on the polar ice, The Times said.
In addition to a knighthood, awarded in 2000, Herbert received two Polar Medals. A mountain range and plateau in the Antarctic and a mountain in Svalbard bear his name.
Herbert was the author of nine books and also an accomplished painter.
