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The fourth person ever to reach both Poles, Will Steger is known by many titles—educator, activist, photographer, and explorer. This former explorer-in-residence for National Geographic is a pioneer in his field, with a series of firsts in polar exploration to his credit.
In 1986 he made the first confirmed unsupported journey to the North Pole, leading a team of eight people with 50 sled dogs. Two years later he guided the longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history, a 1,600-mile (2,575-kilometer) south-north traverse of Greenland. In 1995, he led a 1,200-mile (1,900-kilometer) expedition between Russia and Ellesmere Island, Canada, via dogsleds and canoe sleds with a team of five educators and scientists. This sweeping project earned Steger the prestigious National Geographic John Oliver La Gorce Medal, awarded only 19 times since the founding of National Geographic in 1888. Steger joins Roald Amundson, Amelia Earhart, Admiral Robert Peary, and Jacques-Yves Cousteau in this honor.
In 2004, Steger led a five-month journey through the Northwest Territories in Canada.
Having testified before the U.S. Congress on polar and environmental issues, Steger has become a recognized authority on polar environmental concerns.
