Founder

POLE TO POLE 2000 FOUNDER MARTYN WILLIAMS is one of the foremost guides, expedition leaders and adventure business managers in the world. As a founder of Adventure Network International, he has been instrumental in all private expeditions to the Antarctic interior and the South Pole in the last ten years. The company has worked with film producers from National Geographic, ABC Television, BBC and Japanese television companies, and is highly respected by government and industry.

As an expedition leader, Martyn Williams is the first person in the world to lead successful expeditions to the three extremes: the North Pole, South Pole, and Mount Everest. He led the first-ever crossing of Antarctica using human power. He led the first American expedition to the South Pole. He is the first Canadian to reach both Poles. As a mountain guide, he has guided expeditions to remote areas of the world for 25 years, including Mount Everest, and the highest peaks in Antarctica, Canada, South America and Australia. As a river guide, he has taught wild river rescue to Parks staff, and has completed a number of first descents in Canada. He led the first raft descent of the Alsek River, long considered North America's premier wilderness river.

He has a background in education with Indian and Eskimo youth and has innovated outdoor and environmental issues at the national level as Trustee of the Canadian Nature Federation. He is deeply committed to finding practical means to educate youth in skills needed to lead in a global community. Recently, he founded the Millennium Leadership Institute to further those goals, and from that, was born Pole to Pole 2000.

Martyn's most recent trip was leading a group to the South Pole in December 1999.
 
 

Dylan Spencer - Canada 
Dylan is a wilderness skills instructor working with youth programs. He is an avid skier and naturalist and enjoys sleeping outdoors in almost any weather. Dylan has a strong interest in indigenous cultures and philosophies. Web Site

Jay W. Choi -  Korea
Jay is an expert skier with mountain experience and training. Jay is studying at University and has a great interest in humanitarian issues and the handicapped. Visit Jay's Pole to Pole web site.

Devlin Fogg - South Africa
Devlin is a wilderness guide with a passion to test himself. Most recently he has spent the season guiding on the Zambezi river in Botswana. Devlin studies animal behavior as one of his hobbies. He has been selected for several national level outdoor teams because of his abilities as a team member and problem solver. Take a look at Devlin's selection process on this web site

Jessica Casas - USA
Jessica loves the outdoors, especially back-packing in Colorado. She is a top athlete, competing at the national and international level in martial arts and previously at tennis. She brings to this team an enthusiastic love of life that is very infectious. While studying Biology at Brown University she volunteers her time at hospitals and schools. She is fluent in Spanish.

Mercedes Rosauer - Argentina
Mercedes is a nationally known competitive triathelete and mountain climber. She has climbed South America’s highest peak, Aconcagua. She lives in a small mountain town in the Andes where she studies ecobiology, works with the Park service and, in her spare time, rides horses. Mercedes' Pole to Pole trip is featured on this Spanish-language web site.

Naoki Ishikawa - Japan
Naoki is a climber and explorer. He has climbed the highest peaks in North America, Europe and Africa. His explorations have taken him down the Yukon River to study traditional ocean navigation methods of the Polynesians. Naoki's supporters in Japan invite you to visit their web site.

Heidi Hausman - USA
Heidi has lived and traveled all over Africa in connection with aid projects. She has climbed in the Atlas Mountains and skied in the Alps. In addition to her outdoor experience she has also captained several sports teams. Her outgoing manner and leadership abilities are attributes that her peers recognize. She speaks fluent French.

Renaud Richard - France
Renaud is a business consultant with a project engineering background. His love is the outdoors where he is a ski and kayak instructor and coach. His creativity and problem-solving ability will be a huge asset to the team. He speaks fluent English and French. Visit his French language web page featuring Pole to Pole.
 

Laurie Dexter has an incredible wealth of experience in the Canadian north, he has lived in Eskimo communities for 14 years and has climbed many peaks. He was a Canadian member of Polar Bridge, the first crossing of the North Pole from Russia to Canada, a three month expedition!! Laurie speaks the Eskimo language and is one of the foremost arctic historians in the world. When not in the Arctic or the Antarctic on expeditions he can be found training for ultramarathons in his hometown of Fort Smith NWT.

 Carrie Sundahl is the Office Manager for Pole To Pole 2000. She takes care of the details behind the project, and creates a home base in 100 Mile House, BC for the team.

Ashanti Fraser is the Events Coordinator for the Pole to Pole adventure. His love of computers, people and the unknown are utilized each day of the project to liase with other dedicated environmental and humanitarian organizations and to coordinate the team's logistics and itinerary.

Martina Williams, co-founder of Pole To Pole 2000, has been an integral part of the planning and implementation of the project. Her organizational skills and unique perspective continue to be critical to the success of this epic journey. The mother of three boys, Martina has a background in spiritual guidance having worked with clients from all over the world. Her life-long travels enable her to have a true global understanding. Since Martina is involved on all fronts of the project from it's beginning stages, it shows that: "Behind a great man is an even better woman"

MENTORS & EXPEDITION ADVISORS

Robert Swan (England), first person to travel by foot to both Poles; Patrick Morrow (Canada), the first person in the world to climb the highest peaks on every continent; Gerhard Schmatz (Germany), the first German to summit Everest; Ron Dodson (USA), President of Audubon International; Charlie Clements (USA), president of Physicians for Social Responsibility and founding member of the Nobel Peace Prizewinners' Committee to Ban Land Mines; and Hugh Culver (Canada), corporate advisor and consultant.

Click here for page on Team 2000 Trainers

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