Richard Weber, (born June 9, 1959 in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

) is a Canadian Arctic and polar adventurer. From 1978 to 2006, he organized and led more than 45 Arctic expeditions. Richard is the only person to have completed six full

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 ...

expeditions.

Biography

Richard comes from a family of dedicated cross country skiers. He started skiing at the age of two and competing at six. He became a member of Canada's National Cross-Country Ski Team in 1977 and represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1977, 1979, 1982 and 1985. He retired from

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

in 1985 (with twenty national titles) and has since been dedicated to Polar and Arctic expeditions. Through the years, Richard has collected several firsts: * In 1986, in the ''Will Steger International Polar Expedition'', with teammates Paul Schurke, Geoff Carroll,

Will Steger Will Steger (born August 27, 1944 in Richfield, Minnesota) is a prominent spokesperson for the understanding and preservation of the Arctic and has led some of the most significant feats in the field of dogsled expeditions; such as the first confi ...

and Ann Bancroft and Brent Boddy. Along with this latter, he became the first Canadian to reach the North Pole on foot. * In 1988, became the first person to reach the

from both sides of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. * In 1989, in the ''Soviet-Canadian Polar Bridge expedition'', 1988, from Northern Siberia to Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve in Canada, he became the first person to accurately stand at the Geographic

(first

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

to register "90" north). * In 1992, in the ''Weber-Malakhov expedition'', with companion Dr. Misha Malakhov, became the first attempt to reach the

with no outside help. * In 1995, Richard and Misha's expedition became the first unsupported expedition to reach the North Pole and return to land. The achievement has not yet been repeated. * In 2006, in the ''2006 North Pole Classic'', with Conrad Dickinson, became the first to trek to the North Pole using

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

s exclusively. * In 2009, he completed an on-foot trek from

Hercules Inlet Hercules Inlet is a large, narrow, ice-filled inlet which forms a part of the southwestern margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf. It is bounded on the west by the south-eastern flank of the Heritage Range, and on the north by Skytrain Ice Rise. Hercules ...

on the Ronne Ice Shelf 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 ...

in a record time of 33 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes.H. Mick, "Canadian trio sets record in South Pole trek," Globe and Mail, 9 Jan. 2009 He was accompanied by fellow Canadians

Ray Zahab Raymond Zahab, (born in 1969) is a Canadian long-distance runner and public speaker. He has run in long-distance running adventures in several countries, including the South Pole, Siberia, and the Atacama Desert in Chile. He crossed the Saha ...

and

Kevin Vallely Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

. * In 2010, he organized and completed an on-foot trek from northern Canada to the North Pole with his son Tessum Weber, and fellow adventurers David Pierce Jones and Howard Fairbank, they went on to set the fastest time to the North Pole (42 days, 18 hours 52 minutes for the 900 km trek). Together with his wife,

Josée Auclair Josée Auclair (born May 20, 1962 in Sherbrooke, Quebec) is a Canadian explorer. She lives with her husband Richard Weber (explorer), Richard Weber and their two sons, Tessum and Nansen, in the Outaouais (region), Outaouais region of Quebec, Cana ...

, and their two sons, Tessum and Nansen, Richard operates Arctic Watch, Canada's most northerly lodge located in Cunningham Inlet on Somerset Island in

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

. Through their company, Canadian Arctic Holidays, they also outfit, organize, and lead Arctic expeditions and adventure trips, some of them to the Poles.

Degrees

* Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Vermont

Major North Pole expeditions

"Last Degree" North Pole expeditions

In April 1993, Richard and Dr. Mikhail (Misha) Malakhov pioneered the first commercial North Pole expedition allowing people to ski the final 100 kilometres (i.e. from the 89th parallel) to the

. From

Longyearbyen Longyearbyen (, locally �lɔ̀ŋjɑrˌbyːən "The Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000 and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ...

(in the

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...

archipelago), the clients are flown to Borneo, the Russian drifting station, the starting point of the expedition. Between 1993 and 2005, Richard and Misha have conducted eight of these North Pole Dash expeditions. In 1999, Jack MacKenzie, a North Pole Dash participant originating from Canada, became the oldest person ever to ski to the North Pole at age 77 years, ten months and 13 days. On April 23, 2003 Jill and Pete Etheridge, and Alison Sheldrick, three of the North Pole Dash participants, became the first persons to reach the North Pole wearing snowshoes.

Other arctic expeditions

Awards

Honors

What has been said about Weber

* "To my mind Richard Weber and Misha Malakhov are the greatest of all Arctic travellers. Their 1995 North Pole return journey was the most difficult polar challenge ever achieved." (

Sir Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

) * "The Arctic is a very challenging terrain and in order to face it you need to be with the right people. There are no two better people in the world to be with than Mikhail Malakhov and Richard Weber. They are the best." (

Robert Swan Robert Charles Swan, OBE, FRGS (born 28 July 1956) is the first person to walk to both poles. He is currently an advocate for the protection of Antarctica and renewable energy. Swan is also the founder of 2041, a company which is dedicated ...

) * "When I first heard that Weber and Malakhov were attempting this trip, I said, 'It's possible. They can do it; everyone one can do it.'" (

) * "Above all, Richard got us there and was the best leader we could have possibly had - and the most skilled person on the ice in the world." (Adrian Hayes, 2007 North Pole expedition)

Books

References

External links

* Cross-country skiing *
Canadian Ski Museum - Hall of Fame
*Arctic Watch *
Canadian Arctic Holidays website
*
Beluga Haven
* 2007 North Pole Expedition *
North Pole Quest 2007
*
Richard Weber’s debrief: Thoughts on North Pole treks in the age of global warming
* 2006 North Pole Expedition *
North Pole Classic 2006 website
*
Thepoles.com : This is not the Arctic I saw 20 years ago
*
Cross-country Canada Website - Richard Weber completes another record Arctic trek
*
Cross-country Canada Website - Pair on track for North Pole record
* 1995 North Pole Expedition *
CBC Radio Archives : Pair pulls off polar adventure - June 15, 1995
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Richard Members of the Order of Canada Canadian explorers Explorers of the Arctic Canadian male cross-country skiers 1959 births Living people