Helen Thayer

Helen Thayer (née Nicholson; born 12 November 1937) is a New Zealand-born explorer who lives in the United States. In 2009, Thayer was named one of the most important explorers of the 20th century by the National Geographic Society. She competed in track and field events, and represented New Zealand in discus at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia. In the early 1960s she represented Guatemala in discus at the Caribbean Games, and in 1975 she won the United States National Luge title.

Thayer studied laboratory medicine in Auckland, and graduated in 1961. She travelled on foot, with no outside help.

In 1990 Thayer was team leader of the first Soviet-American Women’s Arctic Expedition to Siberia.

Personal life Thayer is married to Bill Thayer, an American helicopter pilot and explorer. Thayer, H. (2003). Three among the wolves: A year of friendship with wolves in the wild. Newsage Press. Thayer, H. (2002). Polar dream: The first solo expedition by a woman and her dog to the magnetic North Pole. Troutdale, Or: NewSage Press. Thayer, H. (1993). Polar dream. New York u.a: Simon & Schuster.