 Posted 8/12/2011 player, were both active in New

 HistoryLink.org Essay 9848 Zealand's outdoors adventures, and

Share encouraged Helen to take up their
 passion. "They were great goal setters,
 go-getters and great planners," says
 Thayer of her parents (Striping, 2007).
Helen Thayer was the first woman
and oldest person to make a solo They were uninterested in the more
journey to the magnetic North Pole. constricted gender roles of the times.
She competed internationally as a "They told me at a very early age, just
world-class discus thrower, and in because you're a girl doesn't mean to
1975 became the U.S. National say you can't do what you want.
Champion in the ice-sledding sport Decide what you want to do and do it
luge. Since retiring from competitive right" (Kershner interview).
sport, she has spent her life exploring At the age of 9, Thayer climbed her
some of the most challenging places on first mountain -- Mount Egmont (now
the planet in order to gain greater Taranaki), a dormant volcano in New
understanding of both the environment Zealand with a height of 8,200 feet. "It
and indigenous cultures. In 1994, was a big climb for a 9-year-old,"
Thayer and her husband, Bill Thayer, Thayer said recalling her first foray
spent a year living with wolves in the into extreme outdoor experience. "It
Canadian Yukon. In 1996 they walked sort of sealed my lifestyle as an
the Sahara Desert and in 2001 they outdoor person" (Brown).
walked 1,600 miles across the Gobi
desert. They later returned to the Luckily for Thayer, it wasn't just her
Sahara, walking 900 miles on an parents who encouraged her
ancient trade route through four development as an athlete. The
countries. Helen Thayer has been headmaster of Thayer's high school
named one of National was Leslie "Dan" Bryant, a
Geographic's "25 Great Sportswomen mountaineer who had attempted Mt.
of the 20th Century," honored by the Everest in 1935, and was a well-known
Clinton White House, and named by Kiwi climber.
the University of Washington as one of
the state's "100 women Who Have It also didn't hurt that Sir Edmund
Made a Difference." She lives near Hillary (1919-2008), a fellow New
Snohomish with her husband. Zealand native and part of the first
known party to reach the summit of Mt.
A Born Athlete Everest, was a family friend of
Thayer's. Thayer took climbing lessons
Helen Thayer was born outside from Hillary, and accompanied him on
Auckland, New Zealand, in 1937. Her climbing trips during her adolescence -
parents, Ray and Margaret Nicholson, - experiences that left a strong
operated a 10,000-acre sheep and cattle impression.
ranch outside Auckland. Her mother, a
tennis player, and her father, a soccer
"I just had a wonderful childhood,"
Thayer says. "I don't know how it
could have been any better" (Brown).
Thayer went on to study laboratory
medicine in college at Auckland. She
graduated in 1961.
Marriage and Throwing the Discus
A year later, she met Bill Thayer, a
helicopter pilot from Needles,
California. Bill had been hired as an
aerial agricultural sprayer on Helen's
parents' farm.
They married in 1962. They decided
early on that because of the dangers of
Bill's job as a pilot, and Helen's
ambitions as an athlete, children were
not a priority in their marriage. In fact,
Helen's goals were no pipe dream; she
competed in the Commonwealth
Games that year, throwing discus.
Shortly after their marriage, the
Thayers moved to Guatemala, where
Bill worked as an agricultural sprayer
and Helen honed her skills throwing
discus. She competed in the Caribbean
Games for Guatemala.
In 1965, the Thayers moved to
Washington state, where they owned
and operated a dairy farm. But it wasn't
all farming; by that time, Helen was
the third best discus thrower in the
country, with a personal best of 204
feet.
Thayer's sense of exploration -- even
between sports -- kicked in again in
1972 after watching a luge race on
television. Craving the adrenaline and
speed this fast ice-sledding
sport offered, she took up it up. As
usual, Thayer had no interest in a mere
hobby. In 1975, after just three years of
luge, she won the United States
National Championship.
After a few years they sold the dairy
farm. Helen started teaching skiing in
the nearby Cascades (and working part
time in a hospital lab). Bill went back
to flying.
Journey to the North Pole
In 1986 Thayer was inspired to explore
some of the world's most remote places.
Both Bill and Helen took up the cause
with a signature zeal, as they kayaked
through 1,200 miles of Amazon rain
forest and walked 2,400 miles through
the Sahara Desert.
It was during a mountain climbing
expedition in Tajikistan in 1986 that
Helen first decided to solo to the
magnetic North Pole. Over the course
of two years, the Thayers managed to
save $10,000 for the cost of the
expedition; a miniscule amount,
compared to the millions of dollars
previous explorers (with sled teams
and companies) had spent.
The 364-mile journey started from
Polaris, Canada, and traveled north to
King Christian Island. From there,
Thayer traveled seven days south to
meet up with her transport back.
The area was heavily populated by
polar bears, and Thayer's solo journey
skiing through the area made her an
easy (and slow) mark for bears that
were always on the lookout for an easy
dinner. A few days before she set out
on her journey, an Inuit in the area
offered her a 94-pound husky mix. The
jet black dog, whom Thayer named Arctic Gray wolf), they lived 100 feet
Charlie, was trained by the Inuits from the entrance of the wolf den in
to warn humans about the presence of the summer months, where the wolves
polar bears and to attack approaching accepted them as neighbors. The story
bears. became the basis for her book, Three
Among the Wolves. She became an
The journey took 27 days and Thayer advocate for wolves, describing their
pulled a 160-pound sled the entire way. care for each other and noting that they
Seven days from the end of her trip, a hunted mainly ill or old animals (and
storm blew away her food supply, were thus not depleting herds of moose
leaving Charlie with half-rations for or elk that humans hunted),
the remainder of the trip, and Helen
with only five walnuts and a pint of Hiking and Exploring
water each day.
In 1995, Thayer walked a total of
She calls the Pole trip the most "all 1,500 miles through Death Valley and
around challenging" adventure she has the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.
had; no small feat, considering her next
two decades (Kershner interview). And, in a (not so pleasant) contrast to
She published a book, Polar Dream, the desert, she spent her 60th birthday
about the expedition. on a solo walk in Antarctica. She
celebrated with a frozen cupcake.
After Thayer's North Pole Expedition,
she founded Adventure Classroom, a Thayer returned to her place of birth in
non-profit educational program for 1999 and walked 1,200 miles across
students. Thayer's experiences, writing, New Zealand to study the Maori
and photography provide the basis for culture.
lectures, lessons, and teaching tools. "I "For us, it's terribly important to be
want them to say, if she can do it, I can curious about other people and to know
do it," says Thayer of her involvement what they're doing," Thayer said in
with young students (Kershner 2007. "Just because they're different
interview). doesn't mean they're less. Sometimes
Wintering With Wolves they're a whole lot more, a whole lot
more" (Stripling, 2007).
In 1994, the Thayers decided to spend
a year living in the Northwest Awards and Honors
Territories and Canadian Yukon close Helen Thayer has been honored as an
to a pack of wolves, observing not just explorer and as an athlete. Her awards
their social behavior within a pack, but include the following:
also what the Thayers saw as a distinct
pattern of food-sharing behavior with  2010 University of Washington
other species in their habitat. chose Helen as one of
Washington state's "100 Women
Taking Charlie as a go-between Who Have Made a Difference."
(himself a great-great-grandson of an
 2010 inducted into the Sports
Hall of Fame, Snohomish County
 2006 recipient of the Explorers
Club Vancouver Award for the
pursuit of knowledge and
exploration
 2005 member of Washington
State's Parade of Star Athletes
 In 2002 Helen was named "One
of the Great Explorers of the 20th
Century" by National Geographic
 President Bill Clinton and Hilary
Clinton invited Helen Thayer to
the White House on March 4,
1999, for a reception honoring
"Pioneer Women in Sports."
 August 12, 1999 the National
Geographic Alaska Alliance
awarded Helen the Robert A.
Henning Geography Education
Award "In recognition of Your
Tireless Efforts In Sharing World
Geography With Students"
 In 2000, Helen Thayer was a
subject of National Geographic's
book Women in Exploration."
 "The Helen Thayer Award"
named in Helen's honor and
awarded annually for "Excellence
in Student Education, Community
and Business Service."
 1999 Women in Communication
"Women of Achievement Award"
 1998 Washington state award for
work with "Children's Education
and Community Service".
 1997 "Sports Legend" award,
Washington State
 1994 Winner of the Business &
Professional Women's Award for
her "Community Service in
Motivating Students to Better
Life Styles."
 1990 Team Leader of the first
Soviet-American Women's Arctic
Expedition
 1989 "Woman Athlete of the
Year", Snohomish County
 1988 Winner of the American
Mountain Foundation
"Outstanding Achievement"
Award
 1975 United States National
Champion for the sport of luge
 1965 to 1975 National Champion
and record holder in Track and
Field and Luge During this time,
Helen represented three countries.
New Zealand, Guatemala, and the
United States ) on national teams
in international competition in
track and field and luge.
Gobi Desert Days
But Helen Thayer was not ready to rest
on her laurels. In 2001, she and her
husband had another adventure in mind.
Helen and Bill (ages 63 and 74 in 2001,
respectively) were in their 40th year of
marriage. Both intrigued and curious
about nomadic culture, they decided
their anniversary trip would be a 1,600
mile trek across the Mongolian part of
Gobi Desert, located in Mongolia and
China. Like many of Thayer's
adventures, this one came from a
seed planted early in life (at age 13),
when a teacher at Pukekohe High
School in New Zealand described the
Gobi in a lesson.
Accompanied by two camels (named
by the Thayers Tom and Jerry) who
carried the supplies on their back, the
couple confronted not just the
predictable thirst, scorpions, and
extreme sandstorms; they also
contended with dangerous smugglers
and the constant threat of accidentally
crossing the border into a hostile China.
Thayer wrote the book Walking the
Gobi detailing their adventure.
Audacious and Rare
The Thayers are rare adventurers.
"You have to admire their audacity,"
said Ed Sobey, Ph.D., chair of the
Pacific Northwest Chapter of The
Explorers Club. Sobey calls them
"deceptive adventurers" (Stripling,
2007). "If you saw them on the street,
you'd never pick them out as world-
class explorers," he says (Stripling,
2007).
Thayer, at the age of 74, still has a
sizable list of places she'd like to
explore with her husband, now 85.
Ethiopia, Bhutan, Tibet, and the Congo
are all of interest. And just to show
they still have plenty of adventure in
them, the Thayers just spent their 50th
anniversary trekking 700 miles across
the Sahara, to produce another
Adventure Classroom program
studying cultures around the globe.