Iqaluit polar guide invited to Buckingham Palace

Matty McNair of Iqaluit has been invited to attend a reception at Buckingham Palace in honour of adventurers and explorers.

The American-born McNair runs NorthWinds, a company that specializes in polar expeditions. McNair has made two trips to the North Pole and three to the South Pole. She led the first women's expedition to the North Pole in 1997.

She said she couldn't believe it when she received the invitation from the palace to attend the Dec. 8 reception being held by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

"I thought where did this come from?" she said. "And so for a day I just thought, is this kind of a joke? Is this for real? Or, what do I do about this? Or who did this come from?"

Once McNair realized the invitation was real, she found out the gathering of about 100 people is meant to recognize the 100th anniversary of some famous British expeditions.

But McNair said she finds it hard to count herself among the who's who of Arctic explorers.

'Should I wear my caribou skins or my seal skins?' —Matty McNair

"I also feel as though mostly I help other people with their dreams. As far as exploration, I don't feel I've ever gone somewhere no one's ever gone before or learned new scientific things."

Just like when traveling the Arctic by dog sled, attending a reception held by the Queen requires the right clothing.

"What am I going to wear?" said McNair. "It's like, hmm, should I wear my caribou skins or my seal skins?"