April 24, 2002

Teachers recount rugged journey to the North Pole

Susan Martin and Kerri Finlayson part of WomenQuest 130 mile ski trek

By LISA PERKINS
Herald staff writer
       One year ago today Susan Martin and Kerri Finlayson completed a journey that few dare to start. As part of WomenQuest Polar Trek 2001, Martin and Finlayson, along with 10 other women, reached the North Pole - the goal of their 130 mile ski tour.
      This past Saturday, Martin and Finlayson shared their experiences with a program sponsored by the American Association of University Women and the Women's History Project of Northwest Michigan. The duo presented commentary along with a slide show for the large audience gathered at the Traverse Area District Library.
      Martin, an eighth-grade science teacher in Boyne City and Finlayson, an anthropologist and educator at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, got involved in the WomenQuest program as a way to challenge themselves physically, emotionally and intellectually as well as to inspire young girls to meet the goals in their own lives.
      Though the two had never met before, with their common interests and goals, they formed a bond as they trained for the trip over a period of eight months.
      "It sounds glamorous, but there is an awful lot of training that goes with it," said Martin of daily workouts pulling an 80 pound sled over a 15 mile course.
      "It's important to think about the worst thing that could possibly happen to you and prepare for it," Finlayson noted. "The worst thing we could think of was going into the water, so we decided to jump into the Bear River - in January!"
      "It was everything we had heard about, the disorientation and inability to breath, but we did it, we faced the fear and felt prepared. We also knew a long day skiing is better than a short day swimming," she noted.
      When the team of 12 arrived in Siberia, to acclimate themselves to the environment before beginning the trip, they were greeted with a wind chill of minus 50. In addition to the daily rigors of training, the team visited the local schools.
      "I wasn't prepared for how poverty stricken the population is," Martin said. "They know a good education is their ticket out of poverty."
      When the women set out on April 16 - from a point known as latitude 89 degrees, 10 minutes North, 110 degrees, 00 minutes East - along with the food, tents, sleeping bags and other traditional gear was satellite communication equipment for the daily contact they would make with middle schools across the United States.
      Students back home could also keep track of the adventurers through posted entries, as well as photos courtesy of NASA, on the WomenQuest website.
      "It was colder and more difficult that I could have ever possibly imagined," said Martin of the eight day journey. "We had to make a 48 hour push at the end to make it to the pole. There was no way we were going to go through all of this and not make our goal."
      "When we finally reached the North Pole it was anticlimactic," Finlayson admitted. "It's not like reaching the top of the mountain, when you get to the North Pole it just looks like everyplace you have just been."
      While the WomenQuest team is proud of their accomplishment - the first team of women to reach the North Pole from Russia - they are not content to rest on the laurels.
      What's next on the world hopping agenda - possibly a bike trip from here to South America, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, or a trek to the South Pole - not suprisingly, Martin and Finlayson are hoping for the warmer options.