Matty L McNair (born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States) is an American

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

. As of 2018 she was living in

Iqaluit Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...

Nunavut Nunavut 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'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Canada on

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...

. Among her many accomplishments are: :* 1997 leading the first ever all-female expedition to the Geographic

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 rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. :* 2000 she led an expedition across

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island (; ) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Britain, and the total ...

through the

Sverdrup Pass Sverdrup Pass is a mountain pass in central Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. On 27 May 2013, researchers from the University of Alberta found samples of 400-year-old bryophytes that were still alive and viable. The specimens were found in an ...

. :* 2003/04 she led two ski-all-the-way expeditions to the

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

. :* 2003 crossed the Greenland Ice Cap with her children Sarah and Eric by ski-kites with

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow, a practice known as mushing. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for Sled dog racing, dog sl ...

support. :* 2004/2005 completed an unsupported ski expedition to the South Pole, again accompanied by her children Sarah and Eric, who became the youngest persons to ski to the South Pole. :* 2007 drove a dogsled with

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...

in a race to the 1996 location of the

North Magnetic Pole The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field, planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic comp ...

as part of '' Top Gear: Polar Special''. This journey was cut short before her party reached the pole because the other competitors (in trucks) reached the destination first. :* She is the first American to ski to both the North and South poles.

References

Books

''On Thin Ice: A Woman's Journey to the North Pole'' (1999),

External links

NorthWinds

Best of ExplorersWeb 2005 Awards: Matty McNair - Arctic and Antarctica

All American Speakers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNair, Matty 21st-century American explorers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Iqaluit American emigrants to Canada People from Pennsylvania