Iron Will

I have great admiration for Ann Bancroft; she is an amazing woman and a good friend. I was taken aback, however, by your reference to Will Steger and the idea that Ann has eclipsed Will by creating an educational program and meeting and greeting her followers [“If the Breakers Don’t Get You…,” July 2002]. In 1988, I moved to Minnesota and worked for Will Steger for 3 years, coordinating the publicity and educational program for the Trans-Antarctica Expedition. The main focus of the expedition, involving six men from six different countries, was to bring worldwide attention to the pristine nature of the Antarctic continent and, in turn, the Antarctic Treaty that was up for review in 1990. As a result, we coordinated a massive educational program which reached an estimated 3 billion people worldwide. Since the Internet was not yet available to the masses, we put together a series of online networks—Minitel in France, Keylink in England and Australia, etc. In fact, Will pioneered the concept of adventure learning. The Expedition created an incredible following of educators and students worldwide. At the end of the expedition, the team visited with the heads of state of each country represented. They asked for ratification of the Treaty to protect the continent from oil and mineral exploration. The team members were greeted by crowds of followers in each country. While touring central China, we were feted in every town we visited. The students were intimately knowledgeable about the expedition, having followed it daily through the China Youth Daily newspaper, which carried our reports. We received letters from aboriginal children in Australia who had followed the expedition via Keylink. The success of the educational program for the expedition led to my founding a graduate school program at Hamline University, the Center for Global Environmental Education. CGEE has developed educational programs for many other expeditions, working with Ann, bicyclist Dan Buettner, Alaskan Norman Vaughan, and the Earthwinds Balloon project. Will Steger is nearly 60, and has accomplished many amazing feats. I know Ann has great admiration for Will, as do all the world’s leading explorers. Will has set a standard which is hard to surpass. Whenever he has not been exploring, or raising money for expeditions, he has spent his days in the woods of Ely, designing his future while building stonewalls and root cellars, planting gardens, writing, and reading. He thrives on the combination of public time and private time. He is by no means a solitary recluse who shuns people.

Jennifer Gasperini
St. Paul