Helen Thayer

Highlights from recent activities and upcoming events... 2010 September - Helen Thayer selected bu UW as a woman who has broken barriers in our state. The Women's Center at the University of Washington is honoring one hundred Washington women who have broken barriers in a variety of fields. These outstanding women will be honored at our Gala Dinner. The event "Women Unbound" will take place on November 6, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel. September 2010, Helen is inducted into the Washington state, Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame 2010 February - The Thayers spent a month with the Bushmen (Hadze) in Tanzania. In a far-off-the-beaten-track area of Tanzania, the Thayers accompanied the Bushmen on almost daily hunting excursions and became familiar with the daily lives of people, who in many ways, still live the same ancient lifestyle as their ancestors lived 10,000 years ago. Bill and Helen to travel to Tanzania again The Thayers plan to live a month in the fall of 2010 with another tribe inhabiting the shores of Lake Victoria. 2010 Summer - Maasai and Bushmen pages added to Adventure Classroom website These tribes have been added to the "Enduring Cultures" project of Adventure Classroom. Polar Dream released for Italian readers The best selling book with a forward by Sir Edmund Hillary which Helen wrote about her historical solo journey to the Magnetic North Pole in 1988, will be published in Italy in September 2010. Polar Dream recounts Helen’s solo journey to the Pole when she became the first woman to travel solo to the Magnetic North Pole and any of the world’s Poles. The book has been translated into six languages and is now in its second edition. December 2009 - Back for Africa After spending time with various cultures worldwide, Bill and Helen returned to Africa in November 2009 to live a month with a Maasai family in a remote area of Tanzania. They returned with a new insight into the daily lives of these remarkable people. Bill and Helen walked approximately 850 miles from village to village accompanied by Maasai warriors. Helen Thayer: Walking the Gobi Desert interview on Rick Steve's National Public Radio Show Airdate: 24, 2009 Description from Rick Steve's web page... Helen Thayer, one of the most remarkable adventure travelers of our time, dreamed of trekking across Mongolia since she was a schoolgirl. At the age of 63, she and her husband became the first people to walk the entire length of the Gobi desert — the long way. Find out what they learned about the desert, the local nomads they met, and the deadly dangers they faced while on foot in the Gobi for three months. * Listen to the entire show (Windows Media) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In 2008 Bill and Helen Thayer completed just over 1,000 miles of kayaking remote rivers in the Brazilian Amazon and Pantenal. In this journey of discovery the two-person team photographed numerous animal and bird species, some rare and endangered. In discussions with local residents they soon discovered that global warming is a serious threat to not only indigenous animal species but also to the land itself. In some areas of the Amazon first time flooding has destroyed crops and houses while rising temperatures in the Pantenal threatens to impact cattle ranches and numerous species of animals and birds. 2008, Back to Alaska Again as a two-person team, the Thayers trekked 800 miles in the Canadian Yukon and northern Alaska to observe first hand the effects of global warming on the fragile landscape. Alaska is seriously impacted in many ways. The fragile coastline is eroding, sea ice is thinning, permafrost is melting. Polar bears are endangered as the sea ice thins and disappears. Many Arctic animal species are impacted by climate change and many are threatened with extinction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2008 - Helen is guest lecturer for National Geographic in Washington DC and throughout Alaska for the University of Alaska. *Helen's third book, Walking the Gobi, was published in September 2007 by Mountaineer Books. In 2001 Helen and her husband Bill walked across the Gobi to become the first man and woman to trek the entire distance of 1,600 miles. This book journals their accomplishment. Helen's first book Polar Dream, now in its second edition, continues to be well recieved. Three Among the Wolves, Helen's second book was published in August 2004 by Sasquatch Books followed by the paperback edition in the fall of 2006. All three book may be ordered directly from the BOOKS* page. In addition to writing, Helen continues to present her photographic programs of exploration to students and to adult groups nation wide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notable news from past years... Continuing her motivational lectures in 2006, Helen presented her "Three Among the Wolves" program for National Geographic to an adult audience of 2,500 at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle followed by a presentation, again for National Geographic, in Chicago. In the summer of 2006 Helen and Bill returned to Mongolia to gather more material about the ancient lifestyle of the Gobi Desert nomads with emphasis placed on the children of the desert for Adventure Classroom. Later Helen traveled to New Zealand where she was invited to present her lectures, "Polar Dream" and "Trekking the Gobi Desert," to four schools and two corporations. On November 18th, 2006, The Explorers Club presented Helen with the prestigious Vancouver Award "presented to explorers who have contributed to the pursuit of knowledge and demonstrated the spirit of exploration." Helen has been a guest at the White House, an honor in recognition of her expeditions and educational projects. She was named by National Geographic and National Public Radio as "One of the Great Explorers of the Twentieth Century." In 2005 she was a member of Washington States "Parade of Star Athletes." When not on an overseas expedition Helen speaks to school children, college students and all types of adult groups, including corporate and non profit groups. She presents several different programs. Each program includes her professional photography.