Meet Will

Polar Explorer, Educator, Environmental Ambassador, Writer, and Photographer

Will Steger is a formidable voice calling for understanding and the preservation of the Arctic and the Earth. Best known for his legendary polar exploration, Steger has traveled tens of thousands of miles by kayak and dogsled, leading teams on some of the most significant polar expeditions in history.

Exploration

Thanks to satellites we can now see the most remote corners of the planet. Yet we still depend upon explorers to be our eyewitness to document the changes and possibilities of our planet. Will Steger stands out as the pre-eminent explorer of our time. He has a record of unprecedented firsts to his name:

• First confirmed dogsled journey to the North Pole without re-supply (1986)

• 1,600-mile south-north traverse of Greenland (the longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history in 1988)

• First dogsled traverse of Antarctica (the historic seven month, 3,471-mile International Trans-Antarctica Expedition in 1989-90)

• First dogsled traverse of the Arctic Ocean in one season from Russia to Ellesmere Island in Canada (1995).

Educator

Education is central to everything Will Steger undertakes. He received his B.S. in Geology and M.A. in Education at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, and taught science for three years at the secondary level. In 1970, he moved from his birthplace in suburban Minneapolis to the wilderness north of Ely, Minnesota. There he founded a winter school and for ten years created outdoor programs using dog teams and skis as means of travel. But he knew he needed to move beyond the classroom to make the kind of educational impact that he wanted. His unique ability to blend extreme exploration with cutting-edge technology have allowed him to reach millions of people around the world, under some of the most hostile conditions on the planet and be a pioneer in online education. He may use primitive methods for his travel, but his expeditions take place at the frontier of the information age. Over 2 million students followed his 1995 International Arctic Project via journal entries and the first-ever transmission of a digital photograph from the North Pole.

Accolades

Will Steger has received worldwide recognition and numerous honors for his record-setting explorations and interactive educational initiatives. Steger joins Amelia Earhart, Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen and Jacques-Yves Cousteau in receiving the National Geographic Society's prestigious John Oliver La Gorce Medal for "accomplishments in geographic exploration, in the sciences, and for public service to advance international understanding" in 1995. He is the only recipient to be nominated in all three areas and this award has not been given since. In 1996 he became the National Geographic Society's first Explorer-in-Residence and received the Explorers Club’s Finn Ronne Memorial Award in 1997. In 2006 Steger joined Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Dr. Thor Heyerdahl and Neil Armstrong in receiving the Lindbergh Award. He was given this award for "numerous polar expeditions, deep understanding of the environment and efforts to raise awareness of current environmental threats, especially climate change". The same year Steger was appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty to serve on the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, a group charged with recommending a Climate Action Plan to substantially reduce Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2007, Steger received the prestigious Lowell Thomas award from the Explorers Club and the National Geographic Adventure Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on climate change.

Photographer and Author

Steger’s highly acclaimed articles and spectacular photographic images have been published and appreciated worldwide, including in National Geographic magazine. He is the author of four books: Over the Top of the World, North to the Pole, Crossing Antarctica and Saving the Earth.

Environmental Ambassador

Steger is a recognized authority on polar environmental issues, and ceaseless advocate for the Earth’s well being. He has testified before the United States Congress on the Arctic regions, climate change and other environmental issues. He was also asked to testify before eight joint committees of the Minnesota Legislature in January 2006 on climate change and his eyewitness account. To help advance the understanding of humanity’s role and impact on the environment, Steger founded the Global Center of Environmental Education at Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota and the World School for Adventure Learning at the University of St. Thomas in 1993.

Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy

Based on his unique eyewitness experience with climate change in the Polar Regions, Steger established Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy in 2006 (formerly the Will Steger Foundation), a Minneapolis, MN based nonprofit that educates and empowers people to engage in solutions to climate change. Building on Will Steger’s experience as a polar explorer, science educator, and advocate, Climate Generation strategically engages and empowers emerging youth leaders, communities and educators across the Midwest and beyond for a sustainable and equitable future.

Steger Wilderness Center

Will Steger established a Trust in 2013 to preserve Will Steger’s legacy. The Trust includes Will Steger’s historical expedition archives and the Steger Wilderness Center, set in a pristine boreal forest wilderness ecosystem, to be a place for innovation in the fields of leadership, group dynamics and sustainability.

The son of parents that nurtured a sense of adventure in their children, Will Steger continues to inspire and motivate generations of people to make decisions based on their personal values and live their lives with the same sense of adventure.

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