Laurie Dexter
Laurie Dexter was a member of the joint Soviet-Canadian Polar Bridge expedition that skied from Russia to Canada through the North Pole in 1988. The team took 91 days to cross the ever-shifting ice of the polar ocean, with backpacks in excess of 100 pounds and temperatures frequently in the minus 40’s. Laurie aims to be the first person to complete both an Arctic and an Antarctic traverse.
As a young man Laurie emigrated from Scotland to Canada. He has lived nearly all of his life in the Northwest Territories, including thirteen years in some of the most northerly communities in the world. There he learned the survival skills and the language of the Inuit (Eskimos). He has made numerous first ascents of rock routes and mountains, and has taken part in a variety of demanding expeditions, kayaking, skiing, sled hauling and mountaineering,
most of them in the high Arctic.
Laurie is an experienced runner, having completed many marathons such as Boston, Atlantic City, Toronto, Vancouver, and in Antarctica. However, Laurie specializes in ultra running. He has over 200 k in the Canadian 24-hour Championships in Ottawa, 10 marathons in 10 days in Czechoslovakia, the 87 k Comrades race in South Africa, the World 100 k Championships in Belgium, and over 600k in 6 days in New York.
Laurie has degrees in Education, a Masters of Divinity and an honorary Doctor of Laws. He has received recognition from the Order of Canada, The Soviet Order of Friendship of Nations, The International Fair Play Trophy from UNESCO, and the Kurt Hahn Award from the Outward Bound Association.
Laurie works as a public speaker specializing in polar region history, geography, linguistics, nature, fitness, cross-cultural education and justice and motivational lectures based on running and his expeditions. He has worked for Marine Expeditions for three seasons in the Arctic and three sessions in the Antarctic as a ship-based guide and lecturer.