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ABOUT GREGERSGregers is a professional outdoor guide and commercial pilot with over 20 years in the aviation industry. His love for the outdoors, combined with his passion for polar exploration led him to undertake an ambitious crossing of Greenland on ski as well as an expedition with his friend, Kristian Joos, to be the first Danes to ski to the South Pole.
Soon after his journey across Greenland, Gregers realised that there was a need for a more robust curriculum and educational programme about the Arctic for Danish youth. Using his experience and passion for the polar regions, Gregers founded the Polar School (Danish: Polarskolen) to inspire the next generation of polar adventurers.
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FROM COMMERCIAL PILOT TO POLAR ADVENTURER
Although Gregers now spends much of his time in the polar regions, it wasn't always this way. While working as a pilot in Northern Norway in 1995, Gregers went to visit the Polar Museum (Polarmuseet) in Tromsø. Although he had previously admired the adventures of previous polar expeditions, Gregers always thought that such trips required superhuman strength and perseverance - not something commonly found among mere mortals like himself.
After walking into the Polar Museum, Gregers was instantly hooked. Immediately, Gregers was absorbed into the world of polar exploration, enchanted by the tales of adventure and artifacts in the museum. When he finally left the museum many hours later, Gregers walked down to the harbour and sat down on the pier. There, in Tromsø, many Norwegian expeditions of days past had set out from the safe harbour and set sail for the unknown. Perhaps Roald Amundsen or Fritjof Nansen themselves had gazed out at the very same view before their polar journies.
From there the rest is history. Gregers had caught the "polar bug" and was already dreaming about his first polar expedition. Unfortunately, there were a few hurdles that Gregers would have to overcome before he could set off to the polar regions. First and foremost, Gregers didn't know how to ski, nor did he know anything about living in a tent in harsh winter conditions.
Thankfully, Gregers started his own training programme and began reading as much as he could about polar exploration. During his first expedition to Svalbard in 1997, however, his training programme proved to be a bit insufficient for the conditions. After just 20 hours, the expedition was over before it really even got started as Gregers hobbled back home with some degree of frostbite in all of his toes.
Realising that he would, perhaps need expert guidance to become a polar explorer, Gregers spent the following year receiving an education as a telemark ski instructor, fine-tuning his skills to prepare for his first challenge: the Danish X Greenland Expedition of 1999. After a successful 42 day crossing of Greenland on skis alongside friends Kalle Kronholm and Kristian Joos, Gregers decided to look southward, towards Antarctica. The very next year, in 2000, Gregers and Kristian Joos set off on a 56 day unsupported ski trip to the South Pole, becoming the first Danes to ski to the world's southernmost point.
These days, Gregers spends most of his time between his work as chairman of the board for the Polar School (Polarskolen), where he works to educate Danish youth about the wonders of the polar regions. When he's not travelling Denmark to educate Danish school children, you can find Gregers working as an expedition guide in Antarctica, Greenland, and Svalbard, or cruising around Copenhagen Harbour in his Zodiac.
After walking into the Polar Museum, Gregers was instantly hooked. Immediately, Gregers was absorbed into the world of polar exploration, enchanted by the tales of adventure and artifacts in the museum. When he finally left the museum many hours later, Gregers walked down to the harbour and sat down on the pier. There, in Tromsø, many Norwegian expeditions of days past had set out from the safe harbour and set sail for the unknown. Perhaps Roald Amundsen or Fritjof Nansen themselves had gazed out at the very same view before their polar journies.
From there the rest is history. Gregers had caught the "polar bug" and was already dreaming about his first polar expedition. Unfortunately, there were a few hurdles that Gregers would have to overcome before he could set off to the polar regions. First and foremost, Gregers didn't know how to ski, nor did he know anything about living in a tent in harsh winter conditions.
Thankfully, Gregers started his own training programme and began reading as much as he could about polar exploration. During his first expedition to Svalbard in 1997, however, his training programme proved to be a bit insufficient for the conditions. After just 20 hours, the expedition was over before it really even got started as Gregers hobbled back home with some degree of frostbite in all of his toes.
Realising that he would, perhaps need expert guidance to become a polar explorer, Gregers spent the following year receiving an education as a telemark ski instructor, fine-tuning his skills to prepare for his first challenge: the Danish X Greenland Expedition of 1999. After a successful 42 day crossing of Greenland on skis alongside friends Kalle Kronholm and Kristian Joos, Gregers decided to look southward, towards Antarctica. The very next year, in 2000, Gregers and Kristian Joos set off on a 56 day unsupported ski trip to the South Pole, becoming the first Danes to ski to the world's southernmost point.
These days, Gregers spends most of his time between his work as chairman of the board for the Polar School (Polarskolen), where he works to educate Danish youth about the wonders of the polar regions. When he's not travelling Denmark to educate Danish school children, you can find Gregers working as an expedition guide in Antarctica, Greenland, and Svalbard, or cruising around Copenhagen Harbour in his Zodiac.
