True North Calling

Second generation of women breaking northern expedition records

Her mom broke the world record for fastest trek to the North Pole, and she's following in her footsteps. Sure the expeditions are expensive and it can be tiring, for Sarah McNair-Landry, it's all a "labour of love."

She's a record-breaking expeditioner. Kite-skier. Entrepreneur. And she runs tours from Baffin Island

True North Calling - Sarah McNair-Landry

8 years ago
Duration 2:22
For Sarah McNair-Landry, not only are 120-day expeditions in Canada's North a labour of love, they're also sexy.

Sarah McNair-Landry comes from a long line of expeditioners. Her mom, Matty McNair, holds the record for fastest trip to the North Pole. At 18, Sarah became the youngest person to ski the South Pole. In 2006, Sarah became the youngest person to reach both poles when she dogsledded to the North Pole. And in another record-breaking expedition, in 2011 she  and her brother Eric captured the world record for longest distance kite-skied in 24 hours (3,300 kilometres through the Northwest Passage, following the route Roald Amundsen took in 1903-1906).

So, of course, her favourite thing to do with her boyfriend and her 10 Canadian Inuit dogs, when she's not running her Baffin Island-based adventure tourism company, is to head out on 120-day long treks across the Canadian North. 

"I'm always excited to just go on expeditions, they're very sexy," she says. "But you have to be okay throwing every cent you have into these projects. It's definitely a labour of love."

Meet more inspiring northerners on True North Calling Friday nights on CBC