North Pole Expedition Team on Climate Change Impacts in the Arctic Watch the video!

Will Steger Foundation, Canadian Consulate and Minnesota Historical Society Hosts Team Reunion Events in May Polar Time Capsule to be Unveiled

Twenty five years ago this May, a team including team members from Canada, New Zealand and Minnesotans Will Steger, Paul Schurke and Ann Bancroft, reached the North Pole after enduring 56 days and a thousand miles across fractured, shifting sea ice in temperatures that dipped below -70 degrees Fahrenheit. Their epic ski and dogsled trek with an 8-member, 49-dog crew was a deliberate throwback to the days of the early explorers that captured the imagination and riveted the attention of people around the world. Their accomplishment, the first confirmed trek to reach the Pole without resupply, was deemed by National Geographic "a landmark in polar exploration."

To commemorate this achievement during this anniversary year, the Will Steger Foundation together with the Canadian Consulate and Minnesota Historical Society, are hosting two public events at the Minnesota History Center. These include an "Expedition Family Day" 12-4 pm, Sunday, May 15 with team members, a sled dog and arctic clothing and equipment (open to the public with museum admission), and at 7 pm Tuesday May 17, a "Team Member Reunion" slide/film presentation (reservations required 651-259-3015 or tickets.mnhs.org). In addition to Will, Paul and Ann, team members attending the reunion include Richard Weber and Brent Boddy from Canada, Geoff Carroll from Alaska and Bob McKerrow from New Zealand.

In the early 1980s during the team's training and preparation, public intrigue mounted rapidly for this home-spun project which was based from a sod-roofed log "homestead" near Ely and supported initially by sales of buttons and t-shirts. Then, during their two-month traverse of the Arctic Ocean in spring 1986, television and newspaper updates from sketchy radio communiqués kept Minnesotans appraised of their progress – as well as their many setbacks which included Ann's plunge through thin ice, a tent fire triggered by a faulty stove, the devastating loss of a lead dog, a team breakdown over diminishing supplies and a malfunction of their sole navigation device just days from their goal.

Their ultimate success triggered a collective cheer across the state and resulted in a National Geographic cover story, a best-selling book and film both titled "North to the Pole," and commendations from President Reagan and the World Center for Exploration. Thousands greeted the team upon their return to Minnesota on a sunny spring day when the temperature was over 150 degrees warmer than most of their days spent on the Arctic Ocean. Hailed as a "triumph of the human spirit," their success reflected the conviction of Will's diary entry the day the journey began, "The faith that moves mountains would take us to the Pole."

The accolades were deeply gratifying for the team members. Now 25 years later, stories from this trip continue to be remembered and will be shared by team members at the upcoming Minnesota History Center anniversary events. They will also be unveiling the "Polar Time Capsule," a sealed container they left at the North Pole with mementos of their trip. They never expected to see it again, but against all odds it was found years later washed up on a beach in County Donegal by an Irish carpenter and is now on its way to Minnesota to be displayed at the May events (see story below).

THEIR CANINE COMPANIONS

Many of their other stories involve their sled dogs on whose herculean efforts the expedition depended. Their team mascot Zap, distinctive with one blue eye and one black, was remarkably personable and worked the crowds at pre-trip fundraising events.

As Paul recalled, "Folks would chant 'Zap to the Pole!' as he made his way up and down the aisles greeting everyone and as I attempted to give my speech. But I could just as well have been reading from the dictionary. No one would have noticed since Zap kept them completely engaged."

On one of the teams' fundraising trips to New York, US Air gave Zap his own first class airplane seat and hotel room. When the media spotted Will and Paul walking him in Times Square, a photo of Zap made the wire service titled "Publicity Hound Hits Broadway."  On the way to the Pole, Zap sported a red velvet cape emblazoned with a big gold "Z" that team members draped over him on cold nights to supplement his thin coat.

Another favorite was a dog named "Sam." A wild dog who had taken up residence at a radar station in the Canadian Arctic, he followed along with the team when they sledded past there on a 1985 training trip. Team member Richard made it his mission to befriend the timid animal and when, just for fun, he slipped him in harness, he found to the team's amazement that Sam was a voice-command lead dog, probably a long-lost member of a Yukon trapper's team. A year later Sam was on his way to the North Pole with the team and, in 1989, he was part of Will's South Pole expedition as well, thus making canine history as the one and only dog on expeditions to both ends of the earth.

Sadly, another one of the team's lead dogs, Critter, did not make it the Pole. He was the loyal companion of team member Bob Mantell and led Bob's team with power and precision. But Bob was one of two team member who sustained serious injury – frostbitten feet-- and was evacuated by airlift. (The other was Bob McKerrow whose ribs were broken when he got caught under a run-away sled.) Upon departing, Mantell opted to leave behind his dog team in hopes they would help the team, and a part of him, reach the Pole. But in Bob's absence, Critter immediately went into a slump and soon was so despondent that team members cradled him in a dogsled as his rigor faded. His death, the team surmised, resulted from a broken heart.

THE TOP OF THE WORLD

Burying Critter behind an ice block seemed the darkest moment of the journey, but more difficulties followed. After a month on the trail, an inventory revealed the team had used up well over half their supplies but had covered only a third of the distance. "Desperation Camp," as the scene was referred to in their diaries, brought some tears, some prayers and some heated arguments about their options. In the end, they opted to lighten their loads by jettisoning every ounce of gear not necessary for survival. Out went extra jackets, camera tripods, covers off diaries, handles off tooth brushes and several of their sleeping bags which now weighed over 50 pounds with accumulated ice and frost. For the remainder of the trip some slept snuggled two or three together in the remaining drier bags.

The lightened loads helped. Their pace quickened. They soon topped 20 miles a day and one day, traveling 'round the clock to make the most of clear weather, topped 40 miles. Momentum built so rapidly that they almost felt unstoppable. But just a few days from their destination their sextant, their only navigational device, malfunctioned and they were essentially lost at sea among millions of miles of drifting ice. With nerves frayed to near breaking point, team members disassembled the delicate scientific instrument with their only tool, a Swiss Army knife, and with incredible good fortune were able to get the sextant and their trip back on track.

Having departed Canada's northernmost shore on March 7 with three tons of supplies and equipment, they arrived at the Pole on May 1 with just a few pounds of food left. There they were rewarded with clear, calm weather and their one and only day above zero – a balmy eight degrees. A happy crew of six and happy, howling dogs posed for a team photo with the American flag, an iconic picture that later became a popular poster.

THE TIME CAPSULE

Their celebrations while awaiting the arrival of ski planes to airlift them home included the ceremonial tossing of a special plastic tube off into the sea ice. Dubbed the "Polar Time Capsule," it was a piece of plumbing pipe capped on both ends in which team members whimsically placed keepsakes including a Boy Scout scarf, a beaded Indian belt, a letter to Santa Claus from a school child and a small lace prayer circle. After the trip executives with DuPont Corporation, the expedition's main sponsor, hatched a plan to enhance international media coverage of the expedition. They announced a $5,000 reward for recovery of the time capsule. It was all meant 'tongue in cheek" and the media loved it. The story ran worldwide although no one expected anything to come of it.

But three years later a carpenter named Peader Gallagher was walking a beach near Dublin when he spotted an odd bit of flotsam. He took it home, cracked it open and found one identifiable item inside: a Polaroid picture the team had taken of themselves at the Pole that referenced "National Geographic." Perplexed but assuming his discovery might have some significance, he sent the photo to National Geographic in Washington D.C. Editors there were astonished to realize that, a year and a half after being deposited at the North Pole, the time capsule had been found. They alerted DuPont executives who in turn made plans to alert the man of the reward and surprise him with an all-expense-paid vacation to New York where they would issue him his check on live network vacation. But the surprise was theirs because when they called him with the big news, he refused the invitation to New York, insisting that a trip to the "Big Apple" wasn't his 'cup of tea.' He never did come but they sent him his check and the time capsule captured worldwide media attention again with the story of its unlikely recovery. The capsule, which survived a 2,100-mile ocean journey to reach Ireland, now resides at the Explorers Club in New York City and will be displayed at the May 15 and 17 Minnesota History Center events.

MAY REUNION EVENTS AT MINNESOTA HISTORY CENTER

The Sunday afternoon May 15 events at the Minnesota History Center (open to the public with museum admission) include family activities, games, and resource tables. Team members will be present with a sled dog as well as an actual sled, camp gear, clothing from the expedition and the "Polar Time Capsule." At the Tuesday evening May 17 program (reservations required), team members will share stories, slides and film footage from the expedition. Will will share also the latest updates on climate change. Ironically, the Arctic Ocean is being impacted by climate change more dramatically than any other region of the globe and, as he will explain, this has huge implications for the entire planet. On Wednesday, May 18, team members will attend a public luncheon reception in Ely, Minnesota, where the trek was based.

The team members who are reuniting from around the world for the May events and whom the public will have a chance to meet at the Minnesota History Center include:

• Will Steger, Ely & St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1989-90, he led the first dogsled traverse of Antarctica with a team of 7 from 7 countries, another milestone in his 45-year career of leading some of the most significant polar expeditions in history. He has become a formidable voice on the issue of climate change and a global environmental leader through his Will Steger Foundation. [www.willstegerfoundation.org]
• Paul Schurke, Ely, Minnesota. In 1989 he co-led the Bering Bridge Expedition from Siberia to Alaska, a journey that Presidents Bush and Gorbachev credited with hastening the opening of the US-Soviet border following the 40-year Cold War. He and his wife Sue operate Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge and founded Wintergreen Northern Wear, an outdoor apparel business based upon designs Sue developed for the 1986 North Pole trek. [www.dogsledding.com]
• Ann Bancroft, Scandia, Minnesota. In 2001 she (with colleague Liv Arnesen) skied to the South Pole, securing Ann's place in history as the first woman to trek to both ends of the earth. Her Ann Bancroft Foundation promotes the potential and achievements of women and girls. Ann is planning another expedition to Antarctica in 2012. [www.annbancroftfoundation.org]
• Geoff Carroll, Pt. Barrow, Alaska. A wildlife biologist living in the northernmost community of the U.S., Geoff is an expert on arctic ecosystems and sea ice and maintains a dog team to enjoy life on the land.
• Richard Weber, Alcove, Quebec. Canada's top polar explorer, he has lead over 50 arctic expeditions, in 1995, he completed the first and only trek from Canada to the North Pole and back with no outside assistance, and with his wife, Josee operates an eco-lodge on Lancaster Sound in the Canadian High Arctic. [www.weberarctic.com]
• Brent Boddy, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Granted the Order of Canada award for his polar endeavors, Brent continues his love of arctic adventuring in his retirement from overseeing public works for a native village in Canada's western arctic.
• Bob McKerrow, New Zealand. A mountain climber and polar explorer who was a member of one of his country's first teams to winter in Antarctica, he works with the International Red Cross. Since the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Bob has been coordinating relief efforts and public health projects in India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.
• Bob Mantell "Ironman Bob," as he was called for his dogged perseverance and legendary stamina on the 1986 expedition, is the one crew member among the eight who the team has not been able to locate to invite to the May reunion events.

On March 3, 1990, a team of six men from six different countries and their 42 sled dogs completed the first-ever dogsled crossing of the Antarctic continent. The 1990 International Trans-Antarctica Expedition, led by Minnesotan Will Steger, travelled 3,741 miles in seven months, enduring temperatures as low as -54F and winds as high as 100 mph. In early December 2010, the team will gather for the first time in 20 years to reflect on their journey and its impact, felt around the world by both lawmakers and school children.

We invite you to join us at these public events:

• Free public forum - Perspectives on Climate Change, featuring China team member and scientist, Dr. Qin Dahe and University of Minnesota's Associate Professor Elizabeth Wilson. Dr. Qin Dahe is a well-known glaciologist, climatologist and a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Sciences as well as the former Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration. Dr. Wilson spent 2009-2010 as a guest professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China researching energy and environmental policy issues. Details: Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Cowles Auditorium, December 10th, 7 pm. Click here for more details.

• Expedition Reunion Event - Team members representing France, UK, China, Japan, Russia and the US will share their stories and video clips from the expedition at a public event on Saturday, December 11th from 3-5 p.m. The event will be held at Anne Simley Theater at Hamline University, 1536 Hewitt Avenue, St. Paul. Tickets are available at The North Face Stores in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The tickets are free; a donation of $5 for students and $10 for adults is suggested. Click here for more details.

The landmark expedition could not be replicated today: not only have dogs been banned from Antarctica, but the Larsen A and B Ice Shelves, on which the team travelled for a month, no longer exist, its demise a major indication of the impacts of climate change.

The impacts the team has made on a global scale are monumental. Following the expedition, the team members met with the heads of state in France, China, Russia, Japan and the US, calling for the ratification of the 1961 Antarctic Treaty; the Treaty involves 39 countries that cooperatively manage Antarctica for scientific purposes only. The team and sled dog "Sam" met with President and Mrs. Bush at the White House on March 27, 1990. In 1991, the Treaty was ratified, protecting Antarctica from oil and mineral exploration and preserving it for science.

In 2007, team member Dr. Qin Dahe of China shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for his work on climate change. Dr. Qin's scientific contributions were largely based on the ice core samples he took across the entire Antarctic continent during the expedition.

Frenchman Jean-Louis Etienne and Minnesotan Will Steger both have committed themselves to raise awareness about climate change, informing citizens through expeditions and public speaking on how they can make a difference. Locally, Will Steger established the Will Steger Foundation to educate, inspire, and empower people to engage in climate change solutions. UK team member Geoff Somers has worked with numerous polar expeditions and lectured widely. Dr. Victor Boyarsky of Russia heads the Arctic and Antarctic Museum in St. Petersburg and has led numerous expeditions in the Arctic. Japanese team member Keizo Funatsu runs Silver Cloud Kennel in Alaska and has competed several times in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

As a result of the success of the expedition's adventure learning program, the Will Steger Foundation has incorporated the successes of this early online learning model into our nationally recognized climate change education programming. The courage, tenacity, perseverance and commitment to education that defined this expedition are core values of the Will Steger Foundation today.

"The Trans-Antarctica Expedition had a huge impact on my teaching style ," explains Louise Huffman, a teacher from Illinois, and past presenter at the Will Steger Foundation Summer Institute for Climate Change Education. "The expedition was truly interdisciplinary; students experienced the interplay between social studies, art, math and history. Also, I was inspired by working with the Antarctic scientists and was able to bring more energy to my teaching."

The educational program, which relied on the early computer networks of Prodigy, CompuServe, Minitel and Apple (as the internet was not yet available to the public), reached 25 million children worldwide. The team received letters, cards, handmade books and drawings from schools around the world, including rural communities in China and even the Australian Outback.

"Wherever I go," explained Will Steger, "I meet people who were affected by the expedition. Many of them followed the expedition in elementary school. Now that they are parents, they are teaching their children about global cooperation and the importance of working together to solve problems like climate change."

The expedition was the focus of four hour-long ABC-TV specials which won the station a National Sports Emmy Award. It was featured in the November 1990 issue of National Geographic Magazine. Jazz great Grover Washington wrote a song and dedicated his 1990 national concert tour to the expedition, called Protecting the Dream. Major sponsors Target Stores, The North Face and Gore-Tex launched an expedition exhibit in an 18-wheeled truck that travelled the country, providing armchair explorers a "vicarious" experience.

When the team reached the South Pole they shared this message with the world, still very relevant today:

"The 1990s will be a decade of global change, demanding a new way of thinking and renewed commitment to action. For the first time in history, there is hope for world peace, and yet the planet is threatened by an imminent environmental disaster. This generation must reverse the tide of destruction and strive to preserve the future. As we learned anew in crossing Antarctica, the only limit to achievement is the limit you place on your dreams. As you seek your own way in the world, look beyond personal gain to your responsibility as stewards of the Earth. Let your vision be guided by hope, your path be adventurous, and the power of your thought be directed toward the betterment of tomorrow." International Trans-Antarctica Expedition Team Statement

This post was written originally for Canadian Geographic magazine's blog

Copenhagen-- A giant orb glows in a major city square, while in another part of Copenhagen, new steel cages await unruly protestors. Denmark’s capital is prepped for the Monday’s kickoff to 12 days of United Nations climate negotiations.
On Sunday, I sat down with Amber Church, the national director for the Canadian Youth Climate coalition, to get her take on the Canadian negotiating team for the next two weeks.

The 28-year-old calls Canada a “lost lemming” in the global climate negotiations, which has even fallen behind the U.S. with its inaction.
“Right now Canada is not leading—it’s not even following very well because Environment Minister Jim Prentice’s line is ‘We can’t do anything until the U.S. does something,’” Church says. “To be perfectly honest, the U.S. is ahead of us and we’re not even following very well.”

Her advice for Canada in Copenhagen? “Canada should lead, follow or get out of the way,” Church says.

Church, who lives in Whitehorse, will be leading the Canadian youth delegation at the talks. The delegation is composed of a 35 activists from around the country, making up one of the largest youth delegations at the conference. This doesn’t count another 50 or so more Canadians who are attending with student delegations from universities such as the University of Toronto.

Church says the Canadian youth will lobby hard for strong reduction targets, holding the Conservative government’s negotiating team accountable for not supporting a climate bill earlier this year in the House of Commons, which called for certain emissions reductions.

“The Canadian public along with the House of Commons supports these targets and so we’d like to make sure our government is actually speaking for our people.”
With this goal in mind, Canadian youth will be meeting with a growing list of Canadian politicians while in Copenhagen, including Prentice, NDP leader Jack Layton, Green Party leader Elizabeth May, environment ministers from the territories, and Canada’s chief negotiator, Michael Martin.

A meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper is still in the works.

Church said these lobbying sessions with politicians will not be soft photo-ops, since the Canadian youth will be driving home their message, Church says.

“Canada needs to stop being obstructionist and Canada needs to come to the table and actually start participating,” Church said.

Check back soon for more developments on the Canadian youth delegation in Copenhagen.

Liana B. Baker, a former intern with the magazine, is Canadian Geographic climate policy correspondent in Copenhagen.

I hit the trail early this morning, trekking with my fellow Will Steger delegates to COY, the Conference of Youth. As we were walking, I noticed how many people bike in town. There is actually a separate lane for cyclists, and I’ve heard rumor that there are more bikes than in people in Copenhagen. Whether or not this is true, it’s a far cry from some of the places I biked through earlier this autumn.

Young people from all across the world gathered today for our first day of training in preparation for the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (COP-15) which begins on Monday.

The air was vibrant with the energy of a thousand young people, ready to call for a strong, fair, and legally binding treaty over the next couple of weeks. Today, I met with youth delegates from India, Sweden, Cameroon, Canada, Australia, Belgium, China, Japan, from all across the world. I ran into fellow 350 organizers from across the world, who were organizing events internationally while I was biking 350 miles around the state of Minnesota to talk to people about climate solutions.

Stay tuned for breaking news from behind the scenes at COP-15!

Until tomorrow,
Reed Aronow