The Transglobe Expedition (leader Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Bt.), circumnavigated the world between September 1979 and 1982, keeping as close as possible to the Greenwich meridian. This involved journeys in both polar regions. During the expedition's southern phase (1979–81) two overwintering bases were established in Antarctica and a party of three crossed the icecap on snowmobiles, via the South Pole. During the northern phase (1981–83) two men traversed the Northwest Passage by boat on foot, sledging across Ellesmere Island to the settlement of Alert, where a party of three overwintered. Two then set out over the pack ice, crossing the North Pole and drifting with the floating ice toward Svalbard, to be picked up by the expedition ship.