Per Thore Hansen

Per Thore is the leader of NORUK North Pole Expedition 2009.

He is 42 years old and lives with his wife Hege and their two children. Per Thore and Hege started the company Arctic Adventure Tours for about ten years ago, and he has been arranging one week trips in northern Norway and Sweden every winter all those years. He has a long list of expeditions and experience from leading expeditions on for example Svalbard along with Petter. He met Ceri and Bob on a dog sledding trip in Finnmark, and this was the beginning of realising an old dream of reaching 90 degrees north.

Per Thore has an extreme motive power to work people to reach their goals. This, with many other, is a quality that makes Per Thore the natural leader and he will do anything that stands in his power to reach the top of the world.

Along with the rest of the team Per Thore has some polar heroes, such as Nansen, Johansen, Scott and Shacleton, but his biggest hero is his wife Hege. She is the main reason why Per Thore can do arctic expeditions. She gives him strenght, will and support, and of caurse holds him in the neck whenever it is needed.

Bob Russell

Born June 1950

Retired from a lifetime in Shipping and Marine Fuel Supplies from the age of 15. Started first business at 24, sold at 37, started again in Cyprus in 1987, returned to UK in 2002 to take care of business interests there and finally relinquished all commercial involvements in 2008.

Strengths: Ability to recognise and acknowledge own weaknesses

Weaknesses: Many and Various

Fitness regime: Twice weekly circuit training; Weight training; 30-40 miles trekking at pace weekly.

Polar related credentials: Became ‘hooked’ on all things Polar after achieving a lifelong ambition in 1992 by visiting Antarctica. Became a ’90 degree member’ of the Scott Polar Research Institute in 2007. Passionate about playing a part, albeit a small one, in helping to focus attention on the rapidly changing climate and the plight of the innocents such as the Polar Bear whose environment we are so carelessly destroying. This may be one of the last expeditions of its kind.

Heroes: Shackleton, Amundsen, Scott and Nansen

Ceri Rhys William

Ceri’s passions are people and their behaviours. He believes that concentration on great behaviours is the way for all individuals and teams to reach their true potential. Ceri has spent the past 20 years working as a sports and adventure coach, operating on rivers and in mountain ranges throughout the world. Part of this time was spent serving in the Armed Forces.

Ceri actually spent 22 years in the Royal Marine Commandos specialising in Physical and Adventurous Training. Alongside his service as a soldier he became a British Canoe Union (BCU) Level 5 Coach, earned the Mountain Leader Training Board (MLTB) Mountain Instructor Award (MIA), The Winter Mountain Leader Award (ML Winter). Throughout his commando service he spent numerous winters in northern Norway which played to his strengths. Here in the Arctic he gained considerable travel and survival experience. During his time with the Royal Marines, Ceri also played representative rugby and squash and was a member of the Great Britain Dragon Boating Team, paddling in two World Championships.

Ceri works now as a professional outdoor coach, a personal and team performance coach and an expedition leader. Together with his outdoor qualifications he is a certified practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and a Master practitioner in Hypnotherapy and never ceases to be exited by the power of language in all forms of coaching.Since leaving the Royal Marines, Ceri has focused on transferring the skills and lessons learnt from operating in high performing teams to the worlds of corporate business and of individual personal development. He has coached at the highest level in organisations such as Diageo, Unilever, Red Bull and Reuters. His personal dynamism, creativity, thoughtfulness and charm combined with his great leadership skills continue to win him plaudits and motivate teams and individuals both in business and the outdoors.

Ceri’s expedition and corporate work conspire to take him away from home a great deal; in the past 12 months Ceri has successful led trips to Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Kinabalo crossed the Continental Divide in Costa Rica, trekked across the Great Wall of China and spent several weeks Dog Sledding in Norway. He remains above all however, a dedicated family man. He has been married to Geraldine for 27 years and together they have two fantastic daughters - Sarah and Katie.

Ceri lives in Devon where he continues to train on a daily basis by swimming, biking and wherever and whenever possible by whitewater kayaking, which remains his first love in the outdoors. In April 2009 Ceri is due to dog the last degree to the Geographic North Pole

Petter Thorsen

41 years. Living together with Bjørg and my three kids Mie (7), Ola (9) and Mari (11)

As "all" norwegians he is born with skiis on his legs. He spent most of his childhood and youth outdoors.Bookshelf filled with polar literature. Spent 4 years in the Royal Norwegian Navy as Marinejeger. Then graduation in Norwegian School of sports science and also studied biology.Former PT- teacher, Spitsbergen guide and project leader (public health and Spitsbergen guide education).

Now the director of the Hotel Spruce (worlds only mobile multi-star hotel).Trying now to make Norway one of the world`s premier destination for sea kayaking.

Ex triathlete with weakness for food and wine from Italy, France and Lebanon (thanks Bob!).

Dreams:

• Reaching the pole with the great guys in the NORUK exp.
• Raise my kids as happy, nature-loving people.
• For the climate to change positively so that Ola (now 9) are able to reach the pole by skies one day.
• Live an active life to late 80years.