Since 1986, when Ely's Will Steger and Paul Schurke led a dogsled expedition to the North Pole, northern Minnesota has become an epicenter for Arctic exploration. Steger led a team by dogsled across Antarctica in 1989. Schurke led an expedition along the Bering Sea in Russia and the U.S. the same year.
Schurke has led shorter expeditions to the North Pole, and Steger has made several other epic Arctic trips by dog team. Lonnie Dupre of Grand Marais accompanied Schurke on the 1989 Bering Bridge Expedition and has since circumnavigated Greenland by dogsled and kayak (1997-2001) and, with Eric Larsen of Grand Marais, made the first summer trip by ski and canoe to the North Pole in 2006.
Larsen is attempting to reach the North Pole, South Pole and the summit of Mt. Everest in 2009. He reached the South Pole on Jan. 3, covering 1,000 kilometers in 41 days.
In early March, Dupre and two others will leave northern Ellesmere Island in Canada for a supported ski trek to the North Pole. Tyler Fish of Ely and John Huston of Chicago will leave Ellesmere at the same time on a bid to become the first Americans to ski unsupported (without outside resupply) to the North Pole.
