Sunniva Sorby

From the dramatic fjords of Svalbard across the shifting pack ice toward Greenland’s immense glaciers, Sunniva Sorby brings rare firsthand knowledge of High Arctic landscapes. Having lived, led, and worked extensively in this region, she offers guests personal insight into sea ice systems, Arctic wildlife, polar history, and the rapidly evolving climate story shaping these northern latitudes.

A Norwegian-Canadian polar explorer, citizen scientist, and environmental advocate, Sunniva has spent more than three decades in both polar regions. In 2000, she served as Expedition Leader for a full crossing of the Greenland Icecap—an experience that deepened her understanding of Greenland’s vast interior ice systems and the cultural and geographic contrasts between its inland ice and coastal communities. Earlier, in 1993, she skied to the South Pole as part of the first all-women’s team to complete the journey. From 2018–2024, she co-founded Hearts in the Ice while overwintering for 19 months at 78° North in Svalbard, conducting climate research and connecting over 150,000 students worldwide with scientists studying Arctic change.

A Fellow of The Explorers Club since 2019, Sorby was honored with the prestigious Explorers Club 50 award in 2020, which recognizes fifty extraordinary people who are doing remarkable work to promote science and exploration. In 2025, she was named the recipient of The Explorers Club Canadian Chapter's Stefansson Medal—the chapter's highest honor—in recognition of her exceptional record of exploration, field leadership, and long-standing service to the Club. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Royal Geographical Society (London), and a member of the Society of Woman Geographers and Wings World Quest.

Through storytelling grounded in lived experience, Sunniva invites guests to see the Arctic not only as a destination, but as a living, interconnected system worthy of curiosity and care.

 

Language spoken: English

Photo credit: Sunniva Sorby