Results tagged “South Pole” from Intelligent Travel Blog

Sarah McNair-Landry comes from a family of Arctic enthusiasts, born and raised on Canada's Baffin Island. At age 18, she became the youngest person ever to ski to the South Pole (with her brother, Eric, then 20). She and her mother, Matty, are the first Canadian women to reach the South Pole by ski. Since then, she's trekked across the Arctic Ocean and 1,430 miles of the Greenland Ice Cap (equivalent to the distance from Boston to Miami), among other expeditions. Now 22 and a National Geographic Young Explorers grantee, McNair-Landry spoke as part of Will Steger's Ellesmere Island team's presentation during National Geographic Live's "Heirs to the Arctic" event last month.

Before packing her bags for third next trip to Antarctica later this month, she made time to chat with IT about this winter's adventure, her interest in filmmaking, and her favorite warm-weather destination (Yes, she does have one). 

What have been some of your most notable and memorable expeditions? 

Three trips come to mind. The first is the unsupported kite-skiing expedition to the South Pole in 2004-05. It took us 52 days to haul bulks weighing over 230 pounds each, traveling almost 700 miles to the Pole. When we arrived, my brother and I became the youngest people ever to reach the Pole.

In 2006, a team of three others and I departed from Northern Russia, skiing and dog sledding toward the North Pole. Once we reached the pole, we continued on, hoping to complete a full crossing of the Arctic Ocean. Unfortunately, after 100 days on the polar ice, due to warm conditions and the ice breaking up, we were forced to abandon our goal of finishing in Northern Canada.

Last year, with my brother and a knowledgeable friend, I headed to Greenland to complete a 1,430-mile crossing of the ice cap, leaving from the southern tip near the village of Narsarsuaq and ending in one of the most northerly communities, Qaanaaq. We spent 45 days kite-skiing, cross-country skiing, and hiking. We managed to cover more than 250 miles by kite in a 24-hour period.

What is the preparation involved in all of this? In your lecture you mentioned your integral role in building the sleds used and creating a cohesive dog-sled team.

Living in a town of 7,000 people in Northern Canada, where the nearest city is a 3 1/2 hour-flight away, you learn how to do everything yourself. My parents always built their own dog sleds, and we've learned from them. For the Ellesmere expedition, Will Steger already had two dogsleds from previous trips, so we only had to build the third. The first task is to build the runners, the crosspieces, and handlebars out of wood. Once those are built, the sled gets lashed together with rope, making them flexible and easy to repair on the trail.
  
As far as training the dogs, it starts when they are born. As puppies we work them into the team, so that they grow up and get to know the rest of the dogs. It takes years to really train a good team, and since dogs are always retiring, and puppies are being joined to the team, the training is continuous.