Meet Caroline Côté, the fastest woman to reach the South Pole

Breaking stereotypes, pushing boundaries and logging an extraordinary achievement

It’s a record! Polar explorer and endurance athlete Caroline Côté is officially the fastest woman to reach the South Pole unassisted. It took her just 34 days, two hours and 53 minutes to reach her destination at the bottom of the world. Côté, who departed from Antarctica’s Hercules Inlet on Dec. 9, 2022, completed the solo 1,130-kilometre ski trek while dragging all her gear and supplies behind her by sled. Pure determination and grit led the 36-year-old to beat the previous record by four days. Côté had spent months preparing for the journey with rigorous mental and physical training and meticulous planning.

“I feel really lucky because so many details could have gone wrong, like the weather,” says Côté. “If I even had three days of bad weather, it would have been so much more difficult.” Other than some minor issues with her gear, Côté says the expedition went well. “I also had a team of experts and my husband supporting me. Altogether, we made it work, so I feel really happy that there were all those people there for me.”

Hastings Wildlife Junction in eastern Ontario is an example of the scale of conservation needed in Canada

Nature needs space to thrive. The more nature we can conserve, the better our chances at keeping the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss in check. That’s no easy feat in southern Ontario, Canada’s most densely populated region, but Hastings Wildlife Junction, a project of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), is proof that it is possible.

Located south of Bancroft, Ontario, at the intersection of two major wildlife corridors — Algonquin to Adirondacks and The Land Between — Hastings Wildlife Junction comprises some 4,800 hectares of forest, wetlands and rivers. It is critical habitat for a wide range of species, including seven of the eight turtle species considered at risk in Ontario, as well as numerous snakes, birds, black bear, pine marten, moose, eastern wolf and elk. And, remarkably for the region, it has about 98 per cent natural land cover.

Around 52 million years ago, in the high latitudes of the Arctic, primate-like creatures roamed. The Arctic Circle was warmer, then, and hosted species such as ancient crocodiles, rodents and cow-sized butterflyfish living in a boreal ecosystem. But these “primatomorphans” still had to survive in the darkness for half the year.

“No primate relative has ever been found at such extreme latitudes,” says lead author Kristen Miller, a doctoral student at the University of Kansas’ Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.

Miller’s research, recently published in PLOS ONE, focused on fossil specimens that were taken from Umingmak Nuna (Ellesmere Island) during the 1970s. Miller studied fossilized fragments of jaws and teeth to identify and name two species that are new to western science: Ignacius mckennai and Ignacius dawsonae.

breathtaking scenery, wildlife, fine dining experiences and evenings to remember. We’ve selected the top day hikes in Gros Morne National Park and combined them with delicious Newfoundland cuisine, comfortable lodging, and cultural experiences. Newfoundlanders are renowned for being excellent storytellers and we will have the chance to hear tales from the Vikings during our visit to L’Anse aux Meadows, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only Viking site in North America. Before concluding this adventure, we make our way to the northernmost tip of Newfoundland, where we will stay at the base of a still-operating lighthouse. Quirpon Island boasts the most extended iceberg viewing season in Newfoundland and an impressive number of whales off its shores.

Check out these other upcoming trips:

- Essential Peru with Jill Heinerth
- Alberta Birds & Dinosaurs with Nancy Webb
- Halfway Lodge & Allenby Pass with Scott Forsyth