Helen Thayer
In 1988, at the age of 50, Helen Thayer was the first woman to solo either of the world's poles. Originally from New Zealand, Helen walked with her Inuit dog, Charlie, to the magnetic North Pole. She traveled without resupplying anywhere along the route, or using any dog teams or snowmobiles. Her best-selling book, Polar Dreams, is her story about this achievement.
Other notable achievements by Helen Thayer include:
The first person to circumnavigate the Magnetic North Pole.
In 1992, with her husband Bill, they were the first married couple to trek to any of the world's poles.
One of the first non-Indians to explore a remote area of the Amazon rainforest by kayak. She paddled 1,200 miles.
In 1994, she and her husband, walked 600 miles across the Canadian Yukon to live with and study a family of wolves above the Arctic Circle.
In 1996, she was the first woman to document the crossing of the Sahara Desert on foot.
In 1997, she celebrated her 60th brithday, by trekking 200 miles solo in Antarctica.
The picture to the right shows Helen and her dog Charlie
skiing in the Arctic.
The next picture shows Helen Thayer walking in the Gobi desert.
To find out more about Helen Thayer's accomplishments, her education programs for K-12th graders, or to have Helen and her husband come do a presentation at your school - Click Here.
