In March, Rosie Stancer will begin a sixty-day journey across the frozen Arctic Ocean to the North Pole. If successful, the 5'3" bundle of strength and stamina will become the first woman to reach the North Pole solo, and the first woman to complete solo missions to both the North and South poles.
The North Pole is the axis of the earth’s rotation, where all lines of longitude and time zones converge. It also happens to lie on floating ice 415 nautical miles from Canada. It’s a region where extreme storms, temperatures as low as -40 degrees, and polar bears make human existence nearly impossible.
But for Stancer, a changemaker who is literally forging a new path for women, nothing is impossible. She will have learned how to haul a sledge more than twice her body weight for over 1,000 kilometers; trained in firearms so as to defend herself against polar bears; and figured out how to fix dental problems on the fly.
Here is what she had to say about her upcoming journey:
Q: What keeps you sane when you’re freezing cold, starving, exhausted, and on the lookout for polar bears?
A: The thought of the bears, of course!
And when they’re not around, I draw on the distant love and support of my boy Jock (5 ½), my family, and all the friends who have so unconditionally given me their support in whatever way they can, including my charity, Special Olympics, who champion me all the way every time. It is greatly consoling to think with that much love and support I can’t be completely certifiable.
Q: What does your mission to the South Pole—and now the North Pole—do for the empowerment of women?
A: I do not look like the pre-conceived image of a polar explorer.
- I’m petite (5'3", not quite 8 stone)
- I don’t have a beard
- I’m blonde and I like high heels…..
And did I mention? I’m a mother.
In other words, the success of my previous polar expeditions cannot be attributed to being a bloke, or ladette. I’m proud to be proof that the key is inner strength; it’s not about bulging biceps, but rather about what immense resources lie within if you’re prepared to dig deep. And this is what women should be judged on, alongside men, if we have to be. Every expedition seems to draw out a degree of apparent disapproval—from both sexes. For there are no shortage of women out there who, like the men, fear those who swim against the tide and dare to take that bold step out of their comfort zone into the unknown.
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