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John Huston (polar explorer)

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'''John Huston''' (born August 14, 1976) is an American [[polar explorer]], [[motivational speaker]], wilderness guide, and safety and logistics consultant. In 2009, Huston completed the first successful unsupported<ref>{{cite web|last1=Celizic|first1=Mike|title=Top of the world! They made it there unassisted|url=http://www.today.com/id/30579464/ns/today-today_news/t/top-world-they-made-it-there-unassisted/#.VT7z0mRViko|website=Today News|publisher=NBC News}}</ref> American expedition to the [[North Pole]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Harrison|first1=Lauren R.|title=Chicagoan John Huston back from icy trek to North Pole, ready for baseball|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-04-28/news/0904270451_1_john-huston-north-pole-polar-expedition|website=Chicago Tribune|accessdate=19 April 2015}}</ref> He has also completed expeditions to the [[South Pole]], [[Greenland]], and [[Ellesmere Island]]. Huston is the co-author of [https://www.amazon.ca/Forward-First-American-Unsupported-Expedition/dp/1937747905 Forward: The First American Unsupported Expedition to the North Pole].

== Biography ==

Huston started his career in [[Minnesota]]’s [[Boundary Waters]].<ref name="Team Bergans: John Huston">{{cite web|title=Team Bergans|url=http://bergans.eu/tema/expedition/team/13/john-huston|website=Bergans of Norway|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419205928/http://bergans.eu/tema/expedition/team/13/john-huston|archivedate=2015-04-19|df=}}</ref> From 2000 to 2005, Huston worked full-time at [[Outward Bound]], an expedition school that leads active learning trips.
In the spring of 2005, Huston was the only North American selected to join a team of Norwegians restaging [[Roald Amundsen]]’s 1911 expedition to the [[South Pole]] for a [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] and [[BBC]] documentary. The expedition team skied and dog sledded 1400 miles over 72 days on the [[Greenland]] icecap, using 1911 period clothing, equipment and food. During December 2007 and January 2008, Huston led a full-length ski expedition to the South Pole, covering 720 miles in 57 days.

In April 2009, Huston and his expedition partner, Tyler Fish, traveled unsupported from land to the North Pole.<ref name="Tyler Fish">{{cite web|last1=Hedberg|first1=Melanie M.|title=Overcoming the odds in ‘Race to the Pole’|url=http://ecmpostreview.com/2013/04/03/overcoming-the-odds-in-race-to-the-pole/|website=East Central Minnesota Post Review|publisher=ECM Publishers}}</ref> In doing so, they became the first North Americans to complete this trip.<ref>{{cite web|title=Polar Statistics|url=http://www.adventurestats.com/statistics.shtml#polar|website=Adventure Stats|publisher=ExplorersWeb Inc.}}</ref> Th 55-day, 475-mile journey had been accomplished by 13 prior expeditions and is considered the toughest expedition on the planet by many in the polar exploration industry.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Romanska|first1=Magda|title=A Conversation with John Huston, Polar Explorer, about "69˚S. (The Shackleton Project)"|url=http://theadventive.blogspot.com/2012/01/a-conversation-with-john-huston-polar.html#.VT7xB2RViko|website=ArtsEmerson|publisher=Emerson College}}</ref> Huston highlights themes of this expedition in his motivational lectures.<ref name="North Pole explorer shares advice">{{cite web|last1=Merchant|first1=Safiya|title=North Pole explorer shares advice with Glenbard West students|url=https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150414/news/150419320/|website=Daily Herald|publisher=Paddock Publications}}</ref>

In March 2013, Huston (United States), Tobias Thorleifsson (Norway), Hugh Dale-Harris (Canada), and Kyle O’Donoghue ([[South Africa]]), an expedition filmmaker, completed a 630-mile expedition on [[Ellesmere Island]] in the Canadian High Arctic. The team filmed their expedition for the documentary New Land 2013.<ref name="Profile: New Land 2013 Expedition">{{cite web|title=Profile: New Land 2013 Expedition|url=https://www.isuma.tv/members/new-land-2013-expedition|website=Isuma}}</ref>

Recently, Huston has worked as a guide in polar base camps, where he has assisted film crews and scientists operating in temperatures down to -57&nbsp;°F (-50&nbsp;°C).
Huston currently consults with other polar expeditions to run logistics, safety and communications for teams on the ice. He also advises and serves as a safety auditor for educational outdoor programs like Project Wildcat, a backpacking program that Huston co-founded in 1996 for incoming students at [[Northwestern University]].<ref name="Founder of Project Wildcat sets out for North Pole">{{cite web|title=John Huston Sets Out for North Pole|url=http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/spring2009/feature/johnhuston.html|website=Northwestern Magazine|publisher=Northwestern University}}</ref>

=== Personal life ===
Huston trains daily.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lederman|first1=Jason|title=A 600-mile Arctic journey|url=http://wgnradio.com/2013/03/06/a-600-mile-arctic-journey/|website=WGN Radio|publisher=WGNAM}}</ref> He spends his downtime cooking, reading, and traveling. He lives in on the shores of [[Lake Michigan]] in [[Evanston, Illinois]] with his wife.<ref name="Outside Online: John Huston preparation">{{cite web|last1=Aldonas|first1=Noah|title=John Huston on Polar Expeditions and Polar Bears|url=http://www.outsideonline.com/1919501/john-huston-polar-expeditions-and-polar-bears|website=Outside|publisher=Outside Online}}</ref>

=== Degrees ===
Bachelor of Arts in [[History]], [[Anthropology]], and [[Geography]] from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois

== Expeditions ==

=== New Land – Ellesmere Island, Canada (2013) ===
Huston and his teammates, Tobias Thorleifsson,<ref>{{cite web|title=Arctic explorers to make trek to Maritime Aquarium|url=http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Arctic-explorers-to-make-trek-to-Maritime-Aquarium-4033153.php|website=Stamford Advocate|publisher=Hearst Media Services}}</ref> Hugh Dale-Harris, and Kyle O’Donoghue, retraced portions of Norwegian explorer [[Otto Sverdrup]]’s 2nd Fram expedition<ref>{{cite web|last1=Coetzer|first1=Correne|title=ExWeb interview with John Huston, celebrating Otto Sverdrup and the 2nd Fram expedition|url=http://www.explorersweb.com/polar/news.php?id=21149|website=Polar Explorers Web|publisher=ExplorersWeb Inc.}}</ref> on Ellesmere Island.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dale-Harris|first1=Hugh|title=Plotting an Arctic Journey|url=http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/blog/posting.asp?ID=1343|website=Canadian Geographic|publisher=Canadian Geographic Enterprises|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411003330/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/blog/posting.asp?ID=1343|archivedate=2015-04-11|df=}}</ref> They made the documentary film Mystery of the Arctic Cairn<ref>{{cite web|title=Mystery of the Arctic Cairn|url=http://pbsinternational.org/programs/mystery-of-the-arctic-cairn/|website=PBS International|publisher=PBS Distribution}}</ref> about their journey. The team skijored over 600 miles in 65 days.<ref name="Evanston man prepares for Arctic trip">{{cite web|last1=Swasko|first1=Mick|title=Evanston man prepares for Arctic trip by eating butter, pulling tires|url=http://articles.redeyechicago.com/2013-03-04/news/37445276_1_evanston-man-john-huston-butter|website=RedEye|publisher=RedEye Chicago}}</ref>

=== [[Victorinox]] North Pole Expedition (2009) ===
Huston completed the first American unsupported expedition to the North Pole with Tyler Fish.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kogh|first1=Ryan|title=Skiing the North Pole|url=http://www.outsideonline.com/1905596/skiing-north-pole|website=Outside Magazine}}</ref> They finished 478 miles in 55 days with no resupplies.<ref name="First unsupported Americans to the North Pole">{{cite web|last1=Paulson|first1=Jim|title=First unsupported Americans to the North Pole: Interview with "Forward" authors John Huston and Tyler Fish|url=http://www.explorersweb.com/polar/news.php?id=20530|website=ExplorersWeb}}</ref>

=== NorthWinds Vision South Pole Expedition (2007-2008) ===
Huston lead this 720-mile ski expedition to the South Pole in 57 days, with resupplies.

=== [[Global Warming]] 101 Expedition – [[Baffin Island]], Canada (2007) ===
Huston worked as the on-site expedition manager for this [[Will Steger]]-led team.<ref name="Will Steger Expedition Team">{{cite web|last1=Baffin Island Expedition|title=Meet the Expedition Team|url=http://www.willstegerfoundation.org/baffin-island-expedition-2007/mee-the-team|website=Will Steger Foundation|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20130717083431/http://www.willstegerfoundation.org/baffin-island-expedition-2007/mee-the-team|archivedate=2013-07-17|df=}}</ref> This 100-day dogsled expedition<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fenton|first1=Abby|title=Trail Dispatches|url=http://www.willstegerfoundation.org/baffin-island-expedition-2007/trail-dispatches|website=Will Steger Foundation|publisher=Will Steger Foundation|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20150428024613/http://www.willstegerfoundation.org/baffin-island-expedition-2007/trail-dispatches|archivedate=2015-04-28|df=}}</ref> linked [[Inuit]] villages to schools in the U.S. and Canada.<ref name="Baffin Island Expedition Overview">{{cite web|title=Baffin Island Expedition 2007|url=http://www.willstegerfoundation.org/baffin-island-expedition-2007|website=Will Steger Foundation}}</ref>

=== The Modern Amundsen Expedition – Greenland (2005) ===
Huston worked as a dog musher on a team of Norwegian explorers to re-stage Roald Amundsen’s race to the South Pole for a BBC and History Channel documentary film project.<ref name="Northwestern Magazine: John Huston">{{cite web|title=Climate Change from a Polar Explorer's Perspective|url=http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/winter2007/cover/livinggreen_sidebar/Climate_Change_from_a_Polar_Explorers_Perspective.html|website=Northwestern Magazine|publisher=Northwestern University}}</ref> [[Rune Gjeldnes]] led the expedition team of Harald Kippenes, Ketil Reitan, and Inge Soleheim. The team spent 72 days traveling 1,400 miles by dogsled and cross country ski, using only 1911-style food, clothing and equipment.<ref name="NPR: Remembering The Race To The South Pole">{{cite web|last1=Flatow|first1=Ira|title=Remembering The Race To The South Pole|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128721736|website=NPR|publisher=NPR}}</ref>

== Guiding ==
John has been guiding since 1996. He has led major polar expeditions and guided television crews on the [[Arctic Ocean]]. Previous work includes: Northwinds Polar Training with the Canadian Military Special Forces Unit in [[Iqaluit, Nunavut]], Canada; [[Catlin Arctic Survey]] with [[CNN]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cousteau|first1=Philippe|title=Extreme science in the Arctic Circle|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/03/22/arctic.expedition/|website=CNN|publisher=Cable News Network}}</ref> British Channel 4, and [[Al Jazeera English]] at the Arctic Ocean Scientific Base Camp;<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chao|first1=Steve|title=Adventure at the Catlin Ice Base|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/americas/adventure-catlin-ice-base|website=Al Jazeera|publisher=Al Jazeera America, LLC}}</ref> Northwinds Vision South Pole Expedition; Voyageur Outward Bound School; and Project Wildcat at Northwestern University.

== Awards/Honors ==
2013: [[Minnesota Book Awards]] Finalist<ref name="Minnesota Book Awards finalists named">{{cite web|last1=Laurie|first1=Hertzel|title=Minnesota Book Awards finalists named|url=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/188504301.html|website=Star Tribune|publisher=StarTribune}}</ref>

2012: [[Independent Book Publishers Association|IBPA]] Benjamin Franklin Award, Sports and Recreation Book of the Year<ref name="2012 Benjamin Franklin Awards: Winners">{{cite web|title=2012 Benjamin Franklin Awards: Winners|url=http://www.ibpa-online.org/benefits/benjamin-franklin-awards/2012bfa/|website=Independent Book Publishers Association}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huston, John}}
[[Category:1976 births]]
[[Category:Polar explorers]]
[[Category:Motivational speakers]]
[[Category:Northwestern University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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