2010 North Pole Blogs |
NP
Last Degree 1: Test Your Limits
NP
Last Degree 2
NP 3-Day
Ski Expedition
|
Meet our 2010 NP Last Degree Ski ExpeditionTeam Members (two teams)... |
Meet
Ian 
Meet
Andrea 
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Bio: Elham al Qasimi is from the UAE and trained extensively to
prepare to be the first Arab woman to ski the "Last Degree"
to the North Pole. At one point, she even dragged a Land Rover to mimic
the rigors of pulling a heavy sled over the snow and ice.
A former investment banker, she hopes to encourage other Arab women to
push their own boundaries and to raise awareness for the PCRF and PEAS
http://www.elhamalqasimi.com/support/,
children's charities in the Middle East. Her journal of the expedition
can be read at her website.
Read more about Elham...
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/04/27/woman.uae.north.pole/index.html
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Eco/trek-arab-woman-north-pole/story?id=10427569
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Bio: Taylor Sweitzer is a 15-year-old high school sophomore at New Trier High School in Wilmette, Illinois. He is the son of Helen and Rick Sweitzer, the owner of Polar Explorers and its sister company, The Northwest Passage. The honor of "first" came to him unexpectedly - he was just excited to be skiing in the Arctic with his dad, and it was not realized until after the expedition that he is the youngest person on record ever to ski the "Last Degree" to the North Pole. Taylor is a supporter of 350.org .
Check out more about Taylor...
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7408441
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/2204706,CST-NWS-polarteen27.article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/27/taylor-sweitzer-15-year-o_n_553576.html
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Bio: Dale Shippam was a vital and fit firefighter when a viral infection destroyed his heart and landed him on the transplant list. After receiving his new heart, he fought to return to duty as a firefighter, and succeeded just over a year after his transplant. His expedition team logged about a hundred miles while skiing the "Last Degree", which is normally about 69 miles. Negative ice drift ate up much of their progress as they rested for a few hours each night. After several days tent-bound in one of the worst storms the far north has seen which left the ice fields shattered, the team reluctantly boarded a helicopter which took them the last few miles to celebrate at the North Pole. He hopes his expedition with "Test Your Limits" doctors Michel White and Heather Ross will inspire other transplant recipients to pursue extraordinary dreams.
Read more about Dale...
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/795660
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Bio: Ian has spent the last 20 years of his life working in Telecomms around the world, most recently as a Managing Director on the main board of the UK's largest communications company. His early career revolved around climbing big mountains and undertaking numerous expeditions, as well as a 5 year period as an officer in the British Army. His adventurous side got harder to organise as family activity took over. In 2010 he decided to have a year off work, he resigned, and is now undertaking a series of new expeditions and experiences: the first of which was walking to the North Pole with Polar Explorers.
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Bio: Coming soon
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Bio: Dr. Heather Ross is the Medical Director of the Cardiac Transplant Program at University Health Network (UHN), a Member of the Clinical Studies Resource Centre in the Division of Clinical Investigation & Human Physiology, Toronto General Research Institute at UHN, Deputy Director of the MultiOrgan Transplant Unit, Director of Education for The Transplant Institute, and an Associate Professor of the Division of Cardiology and Transplant, at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Ross received her medical degree from the University of British Columbia and completed her Cardiology Training at Dalhousie University. She completed her post-doctoral Fellowship in Cardiac Transplantation at Stanford University, California, and earned her Masters Degree in Bioethics from the University of Toronto in 2002.
Dr. Ross is the founder and past-chair of The Canadian Cardiac Transplant Group. She is Past President of the Canadian Society of Transplantation, and a former executive member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. She is currently the Secretary Treasurer for the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
The author of over 130 publications and numerous book chapters in Heart Failure and Transplantation, Dr. Ross is the recipient of many teaching awards, including the Department of Medicine’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching – Anderson Teaching Award for Individual Excellence, The Institute for Medical Sciences Teaching Award, The Dr. E.D. Wigle Cardiology Teaching Award, and The Young Attending Teacher Award, Department of Medicine, TGH & University of Toronto.
Under her tutelage the fellowship program has grown to an average of 4-6 fellows per year. Prior fellows have gone on to run Heart Failure and Transplant Programs in many provinces and countries including Denmark, Argentina, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.
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Bio: Dr. Michel White is associate professor of medicine at the Université de Montréal and director of the research program in heart failure at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI). He is also holder of the Carolyn and Richard J. Renaud research chair in heart failure at the MHI.
Dr. White is a graduate of the Université Laval faculty of medicine. He completed his residency in cardiology at the University of Ottawa and his fellowship in research at the University of Colorado. He has published upwards of 104 articles and 179 abstracts. He has also helped to train numerous Master’s graduates, PhD students and fellows in cardiology.
Having already scaled Mont Blanc, Mount Sajama (Bolivia), Mount Gyajikang (Nepal), and Mount Mera (Nepal), Dr. White is now preparing for his next expedition, this time to the North Pole with Dr. Heather Ross’ team and a number of transplant recipients.
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Bio: Before Dirk started guiding North Pole expeditions for PolarExplorers he led expeditions and traveled extensively in the Canadian sub-arctic. You could say that the Arctic-fever bug bit him hard. People love Dirk for his easy going personality and his technical knowledge of everything from the pack-ice to the gear that we use. He is professional photographer and he is amazing at capturing the essence of a polar expedition on film. Want a good shot of you standing at the North Pole? Join Dirk on an expedition!
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Bio: Keith Heger is a master at navigating rubble zones and is famous for cooking up delicious fajitas. His favorite part about guiding expeditions to the North Pole is tent-time with his team mates. He also likes the opportunity to share the top of the world with people. In particular, he likes how the dynamic and rugged Polar Sea changes people. He joined PolarExplorers as a guide in 2002 and has guided trips all over the globe (though his favorite destination is the North Pole). Join a PolarExplorers expedition to try his amazing Polar Pizzas!
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Bio: Rick Sweitzer created and co-guided the first ever dogsled and ski expedition to the North Pole for amateur adventurers in 1993. Since then he has guided over a dozen expeditions to the North and South Poles and another half dozen flights to the North Pole. Rick has been guiding winter mountaineering and ski expeditions for the last 25 years. He is an expert at spinning the "fun meter" and often hosts a "cocktail hour" in his tent at night. He is a legend in the industry and a great companion on the ice!
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Test
Your Limits - Heather, Dale,
Michel, Keith & Dirk
North
Pole Last Degree Ski Expedition- Elham, Ian,
Andrea, Taylor, Rick,
Keith
North
Pole 3-Day Expedition -Charles, Anna, Karine, Sari, Hannu, Audun,
Jeff, Lonnie, Dirk
