The Steger file

Last update: January 13, 2007 - 3:23 PM

• Born Aug. 27, 1944, in Mahtomedi, the second of Bill and Margaret Steger's nine children.

• Moved with his family to Richfield in 1950, and graduated in 1962 from Benilde High School, now called Benilde-St. Margaret's.

• He wrestled in college before graduating from the College of St. Thomas (now the University of St. Thomas) with degrees in geology and biology. Later, he earned a master's degree in education there.

• He helps design and develop winter outdoor clothing for Gander Mountain

• His most expensive car is the Toyota wagon he currently drives, which he bought for $1,500.

• In 1965, he made the first ascent in the Peruvian Andes higher than 20,000 feet.

• In 1986, he led first confirmed unsupported dog sled trip to North Pole (no re-supply on the route).

• In 1990, he completed the first dog-sled crossing, ocean to ocean, of Antarctica, covering 3,700 miles. It took seven months.

• In 1995, he crossed the frozen Arctic Ocean, traveling from Russia to northern Canada by dog sled. On one of his Arctic trips, he was briefly stalked by a polar bear.

• In 1995, he was awarded the National Geographic Society's John Oliver La Gorce Medal for accomplishment in exploration. Other recipients include Amelia Earhart, Robert Peary and Jacques Cousteau.

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