Ann Bancroft (born September 29, 1955) is an American author, teacher, adventurer, and public speaker. She was the first woman to finish a number of expeditions to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and othe ...

. She was inducted into the

National Women's Hall of Fame The National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) is an American institution incorporated in 1969 by a group of men and women in Seneca Falls, New York, although it did not induct its first enshrinees until 1973. As of 2021, it had 303 inductees. Induc ...

in 1995.

Biography

Bancroft was born in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, and grew up in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. Bancroft spent two years in

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in her fifth and sixth grades. Bancroft began leading wilderness expeditions when she was 8 years old when she convinced her cousins to join her on backyard expeditions. She described her family as one of risk takers. Bancroft struggled with

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

from an early age, but she nevertheless graduated from high school and was accepted at the University of Oregon where she graduated with a Physical Education Degree in 1981. Bancroft was a camper and staff member at YMCA Camp Widjiwagan in Ely, MN. Bancroft also taught Physical Education and Special Education in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bancroft became a wilderness instructor and a gym teacher in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

(at Clara Barton Open School) and

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Bancroft founded the Ann Bancroft Foundation in 1991. The Ann Bancroft foundation supports the Wilderness Inquiry group and Bancroft currently teaches at Wilderness Inquiry. The Wilderness Inquiry group allows individuals and families to go on outdoor adventures, and the adventures are open to people of all ability levels. Bancroft currently co-owns an exploration company, Bancroft Arnesen Explore, with

Liv Arnesen Liv Ragnheim Arnesen (born June 1, 1953) is a Norwegian educator, cross-country skier, adventurer, guide, and motivational speaker. Arnesen led the first unsupported women’s crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap in 1992. In 1994, she made internat ...

. Bancroft has been on expeditions on the Ganges River in India, crossed Greenland, traveled to the North Pole, and crossed the South Pole.

Expeditions

Bancroft gave up her physical education and special education teaching posts in 1986 in order to participate with the " Will Steger International North Pole Expedition". She arrived at 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 Ma ...

together with five other team members after 56 days using

dogsled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the ...

s. This made Bancroft the first woman to reach the

on foot and by sled. She was also the first woman to cross both polar ice caps to reach the North and South Poles. In 1992–1993, Bancroft led a four-woman expedition 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 ...

on skis; this expedition was the first all-female expedition to cross the ice to the South Pole. In 2001, Bancroft and Norwegian adventurer

became the first women to ski across Antarctica. In March 2007, Bancroft and

took part in a trek across the Arctic Ocean to draw attention to the problem of global warming. The two explorers were followed be millions of school children. However, according to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', the expedition was called off "after

suffered frostbite in three of her toes, and extreme cold temperatures drained the batteries in some of their electronic equipment." In 2017, Bancroft led an expedition on the

Ganges River The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

as part of the "Access Water Initiative Series." The Ganges River expedition's purpose was to raise awareness of the importance of clean water and that waste will travel downstream. This expedition was a 60-day trip on 1,500 miles of waterway. Bancroft plans to boat down the

Mississippi river The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

in 2018 with Arnesen and other female explorers. Future expeditions will be conducted on every continent. This initiative aims to encourage children to protect their waterways, which is a vital resource. In 2018, Bancroft will paddle down the 2,320 mile Mississippi River. Future trips include Africa in 2019, Oceania in 2021, South America in 2023, Europe in 2025, and Antarctica in 2027.

Activist

Bancroft is openly

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

and in 2006, she publicly campaigned against a proposed amendment to the

Minnesota Constitution The Constitution of the State of Minnesota was initially approved by the residents of Minnesota Territory in a special election held on October 13, 1857, and was ratified by the United States Senate on May 11, 1858, marking the admittance of Minne ...

to prohibit any legal recognition of marriages or civil unions between members of the same sex. Bancroft also supports awareness of Access Water, Winter Warm-Up challenges, and

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

Select achievements

* First woman to reach the

in 1986. * Named Woman of the Year by Ms. Magazine in 1987. * Leader of the first east–west crossing of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

in 1992. * Became the first woman to reach both poles in 1992. * Leader of the first all-female expedition to the

in 1992–1993. * Included in Remarkable Women of the Twentieth Century in 1998. * Second woman (after

) to cross Antarctica on foot in 2001. * Named Woman of the Year by

Glamour Magazine ''Glamour'' is today an online women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. For many years a traditional hard-copy magazine, it was founded in 1939 and first published in April 1939 in the United States. It was originally called '' ...

in 2001. * Induction into the

for the United States in 2005. * Attempted another expedition to the North Pole with

, but

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in t ...

stopped their trek in 2007 * Named one of history's greatest polar explorers in 2011. * Finished the first Source to Sea Access Water expedition on the Ganges River with seven other women in 2015, covering 1,500 miles in 60 days.

Books

* Bancroft, Ann & Nancy Loewen (2001). ''Four to the Pole! The American Women's Expedition to Antarctica, 1992–1993''. Linnet Books. * Arnesen, Liv & Ann Bancroft with Cheryl Dahle (2003). ''No Horizon Is So Far: Two Women and Their Extraordinary Journey Across Antarctica''. Da Capo Press. . ''No Horizon Is So Far'' describes Ann Bancroft's and Liv Arnesen's 1,700 mile trek across Antarctica in 2000–2001. The nonfiction book won an Amelia Bloomer award in 2005. * Bancroft, Ann & Liv Arnesen (2003). ''Ann and Liv Cross Antarctica''. Da Capo Press. .

References

External links

"Explorer Ann Bancroft Plays 'Not My Job
NPR, ''

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' is an hour-long weekly news radio panel show produced by WBEZ and National Public Radio (NPR) in Chicago, Illinois. On the program, panelists and contestants are quizzed in humorous ways about that week's news ...

'', June 26, 2010
Interview with Ann Bancroft
''Northern Lights Minnesota Author Interview TV Series'' #486 (2002) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Ann 1955 births American explorers American travel writers Female polar explorers Female travelers LGBT people from Minnesota American LGBT writers Living people People from Mendota Heights, Minnesota University of Oregon alumni American women travel writers People with dyslexia Bisexual writers Bisexual women 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American women Scientists with disabilities