Paul Landry
Encyclopedia
Paul Landry M.B.
(born September 6, 1955) is a French-Canadian
polar explorer
, author
, and adventurer who is the only paid man to ever reach three Geographical pole
s in a single year.
A Franco-Ontarian
from Smooth Rock Falls
in the Northeastern
part of the province, Paul Landry spent his boyhood summers canoe
ing the area's rivers and his winters snowshoe
ing and cross-country skiing
. He received a diploma in Power Engineering from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
and studied social sciences at the University of Western Ontario
. Between the age of 20 and 22, Landry traveled and worked throughout Europe
and the Middle East
then functioned for a number of years as a Program Director for Canadian Outward Bound
community projects during which time he co-authored their publications: Basic River Canoeing and the Wilderness Canoeing Handbook. He also was the editor of On Thin Ice, A Woman's Journey to the North Pole. He eventually married and had two children and settled in Baffin Island
where he used to operate a polar guiding business and runs polar training courses for explorers. He used to be the owner of a professional dog sledging
team.
As an explorer/adventurer, Paul Landry has paddled numerous rivers in North America
and was a member of three separate mountaineering
expeditions to Peru
, Bolivia
and Argentina
. With seven, he holds the world record for North and South Pole expeditions.
In September 2003, Landry and friend Peter Gladden of Hudson, Ohio
were decorated with the Medal of Bravery
by the Governor General of Canada
for risking their lives to rescue four hikers
who were overcome by the current while crossing a fast-flowing river in Auyuittuq National Park
on Baffin Island.
Landry was part of the ski
team in the 2004/2005 Sir Ranulph Fiennes
-backed "Invesco Perpetual Trans-Antarctica Challenge". He is participating in his fourth North Pole expedition with Adventure Ecology's "Top of the world" Mission 1 expedition. Part of a four-person team that included his 20-year-old daughter, Sarah McNair Landry, along with Britons
David Mayer de Rothschild
and Martin Hartley, he skied, walked, swam, dog sledded, and snow-kited 1800 km (1240 Miles) across the Arctic Ocean
via the North from Cape Arctichesky in Russia
to Ellesmere Island
in Canada
.
Medal of Bravery
The Medal of Bravery is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the third highest award for bravery, and one of the three Canadian Bravery Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council...
(born September 6, 1955) is a French-Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
polar explorer
Polar region
Earth's polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles also known as frigid zones. The North Pole and South Pole being the centers, these regions are dominated by the polar ice caps, resting respectively on the Arctic Ocean and the continent of Antarctica...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and adventurer who is the only paid man to ever reach three Geographical pole
Geographical pole
A geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
s in a single year.
A Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
from Smooth Rock Falls
Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario
Smooth Rock Falls is an incorporated town in the Cochrane District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Part of the James Bay Frontier, it calls itself "The North's Biggest Little Town."-Geography and transportation:...
in the Northeastern
Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and east of Lakes Superior and Huron.Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin; and the single-tier municipality of Greater...
part of the province, Paul Landry spent his boyhood summers canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
ing the area's rivers and his winters snowshoe
Snowshoe
A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....
ing and cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
. He received a diploma in Power Engineering from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
-Academics:SAIT Polytechnic offers two full baccalaureate degrees , four applied degrees, 66 diploma and certificate programs, 32 apprenticeship trades and 1,600 continuing education and corporate training courses....
and studied social sciences at the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
. Between the age of 20 and 22, Landry traveled and worked throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
then functioned for a number of years as a Program Director for Canadian Outward Bound
Outward Bound
Outward Bound is an international, non-profit, independent, outdoor educationorganization with approximately 40 schools around the world and 200,000 participants per year...
community projects during which time he co-authored their publications: Basic River Canoeing and the Wilderness Canoeing Handbook. He also was the editor of On Thin Ice, A Woman's Journey to the North Pole. He eventually married and had two children and settled in Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
where he used to operate a polar guiding business and runs polar training courses for explorers. He used to be the owner of a professional dog sledging
Sled dog
Sled dogs, known also as sleigh man dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs, are highly trained types of dogs that are used to pull a dog sled, a wheel-less vehicle on runners also called a sled or sleigh, over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines.Sled dogs have become a popular winter recreation...
team.
As an explorer/adventurer, Paul Landry has paddled numerous rivers in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and was a member of three separate mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
expeditions to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. With seven, he holds the world record for North and South Pole expeditions.
In September 2003, Landry and friend Peter Gladden of Hudson, Ohio
Hudson, Ohio
Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,262 at the 2010 census. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area...
were decorated with the Medal of Bravery
Medal of Bravery
The Medal of Bravery is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the third highest award for bravery, and one of the three Canadian Bravery Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council...
by the Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
for risking their lives to rescue four hikers
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
who were overcome by the current while crossing a fast-flowing river in Auyuittuq National Park
Auyuittuq National Park
Auyuittuq National Park is a national park located on Baffin Island's Cumberland Peninsula, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, the largest political subdivision of Canada. It features the many terrains of Arctic wilderness, such as fjords, glaciers, and ice fields...
on Baffin Island.
Landry was part of the ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
team in the 2004/2005 Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...
-backed "Invesco Perpetual Trans-Antarctica Challenge". He is participating in his fourth North Pole expedition with Adventure Ecology's "Top of the world" Mission 1 expedition. Part of a four-person team that included his 20-year-old daughter, Sarah McNair Landry, along with Britons
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
David Mayer de Rothschild
David Mayer de Rothschild
David Mayer de Rothschild is a British adventurer, ecologist, and environmentalist and head of Adventure Ecology, an expedition group raising awareness about climate change. He is a member of the Rothschild family, the youngest of three children of Victoria Schott and Sir Evelyn de Rothschild of...
and Martin Hartley, he skied, walked, swam, dog sledded, and snow-kited 1800 km (1240 Miles) across the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
via the North from Cape Arctichesky in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Polar expedition record
- November 2006 - January 2007 : Team N2ihttp://www.teamn2i.com(Rory Sweet, Henry Cookson, Rupert Longsdon) - Kite Ski Expedition to the Pole of InaccessibilityPole of inaccessibilityA pole of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach owing to its remoteness from geographical features that could provide access...
- November 2004 – January 2005 : Antarctic Traverse via the South Pole
- June 2003 : GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
Ice Cap Crossing - South PoleSouth PoleThe South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
:- November 2002 – January 2003
- November 2001 – January 2002
- North PoleNorth PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
:- March 2002 – May 2002
- March 2001 – May 2001
- March 2000 – April 2000
- April 1998 : Magnetic North Pole Expedition
- February 1990 – June 1990 : Baffin Island Expedition
External links
- Paul Landry's Polar Consultants website
- NorthWinds Polar Expeditions website
- Team N2i - Pole of Inaccessibility website
- Invesco Perpetual Trans-Antarctica Challenge website
- Paul Landry Polar expedition photo collections
- Medal of Bravery announcements, Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 136, No. 36
- Adventure Ecology website