You have to work pretty hard to find a modern polar explorer with more street cred than Eric Larsen. The native Wisconsinite spent the past 2 decades racking up an impressive list of exploration and mountaineering accomplishments, including being the first (and only!) person to reach both poles and summit Everest in a 365-day period.
Now, Larsen has partnered with German brand Jack Wolfskin to help train the next generation of explorers — a generation that, hopefully, looks different than it has in the past.
“Regardless of the challenges that I personally faced, I — like many others — more importantly realized the advantages that I have been given in life simply because of the color of my skin,” Larsen shared with GearJunkie in an interview.
“As I move forward with my career, focusing simply on my own personal objectives seems weirdly selfish. While some part of me will always want to do personal difficult trips, I am more focused now on lifting others up and making this style of travel accessible to everyone.”
In that vein, The Polar Academy 2024 Scholarship Honoring Matthew Henson will cover all expenses — gear, clothing, travel, and the week-long training course — for six BIPOC individuals drawn from an applicant pool by a selection committee.
According to the application page, BIPOC applicants should have a “reasonable” fitness level, be over 21, and carry valid medical insurance. Beyond that, it’s all about grit and a willingness to channel the spirits of past explorers — like the award’s namesake, Matthew Henson.
Matthew Henson: BIPOC Scholarship
Henson’s fame has ebbed and flowed over the years, but his name deserves to be household. He accompanied legendary Arctic explorer Robert Peary on no fewer than seven expeditions in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In 1909, Henson was a member of the Peary expedition that claimed to be the first to reach the North Pole. Henson later received a lifetime membership to the Explorer’s Club, a Peary Polar Expedition medal, and a posthumous Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Matthew Henson since I was a kid, and I’ve been trying to get others interested in his story for quite some time,” Larsen told GearJunkie. “In reading about historical expeditions, you very quickly realize the skill set that is required for success — and it’s not just one thing. While supporting and traveling with Robert Peary’s North Pole expeditions, Henson was the guy doing most of the heavy lifting.
“He could speak Inuit fluently, he was an excellent dog driver, solved all sorts of problems, could fix anything, an experienced navigator, he was adept at building snow houses and had incredible strength, stamina, and endurance. Understanding the vast skill set that Matthew Henson possessed served as a goalpost to work toward in my own polar career. I also look at Henson as someone who learned from Inuit in the area rather than pushing his own beliefs forward, which if you look at the historical age of exploration, was the downfall of many European explorers.”
