Meagan McGrath (born 1977) is a Canadian aerospace engineer, mountaineer and explorer. She has climbed the world's top seven summits, visited the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

and she is the first Canadian to ski unassisted to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

Life

McGrath was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, but grew up in

Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the fifth largest in Canada. It is a ...

. She studied chemistry at the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

and became an aerospace engineer employed to the Canadian armed forces. McGrath went on a chance visit to

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

and was intrigued by the experience and decided to try more challenges. McGrath has climbed the highest summits on seven continents including

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

. When she was descending from Everest she led the rescue of another mountaineer. It was on 21 May 2007 and she rescued

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

i Usha Bista. She was selected as a 2011 recipient of the

Sir Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached t ...

Foundation of Canada Humanitarian Award for her rescue. The award recognises a Canadian who has personally or administratively contributed a significant service or act in the Himalayan Region of Nepal. She then negotiated with her employers to have a year off to try and climb the top five summits and to walk and ski to the South Pole. She completed the trek on Jan 16, 2010. She has now climbed the seven continent's top summits, visited the North Pole and she is the first Canadian to have skied unassisted to the

Awards

In 2011 she was given the

Foundation of Canada Humanitarian Award. In 2012 she received an honorary doctorate from

Laurentian University Laurentian University (french: Université Laurentienne), officially the Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Lau ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Meagan 1977 births Living people Canadian aerospace engineers Canadian explorers Canadian mountain climbers Sportspeople from Toronto 21st-century Canadian women scientists