Norman in Wintergreen Gear with Friend

Being in the adventure business has given us the chance to rub shoulders with many bigger-than-life characters who are an inspiration to all of us.  Chief among these is Norman Vaughan whose “Dream big and dare to fail” motto made him the living epitome that attitude means everything.

He started young, training his first dog team at age 12. In 1928, age 22, he became the first American to dogsled Antarctica, crossing 1500 miles of uncharted ice. His crew laid emergency caches for the first-ever air flight over the South Pole, organized by Adm. Richard Byrd. Among the Transantarctic Mountain peaks that Byrd discovered on that flight was one he named, in gratitude to Norman, Mount Vaughan. Nearly 70 years later, at age 88, Vaughan returned to climb his 10,300 ft mountain. And in between, well, where do we start:

• 1932 Vaughan was the US dogsledding contender at the Lake Placid Olympics, the only time mushing has been in the Games
• in WWII, Vaughan joined the US Army Air Corp and led numerous dogteam search and rescue mission for pilots whose planes went down in Arctic regions
• in 1944 (see our “Its Raining Cats and Sled Dogs” blog) Vaughan cooked up a plan with Gen. George Patton to parachute huskies into the Battle of the Bulge to save soldiers stranded in the snow
• in the mid 50s he wrapped up his military duties  during the Korean War with the rank of Colonel by designing propaganda cartoons which were floated across communist lines on balloons
• in 1959, just to shake things up a bit, he coached the US polo team at international competitions in Japan
• in the 1967, as a publicity stunt, he drove a snowmobile from the Arctic Circle in Alaska to Boston
• in 1977, on Pennsylvania Avenue, he “crashed” Pres. Carter inaugural parade with a dogteam to ensure that Alaska was represented in the event.  His stunt was such a hit that he was invited to “mush” in Pres. Reagan’s 1981 parade as well

Whale Posing for Norman in Antarctica 1928

But the most inspiring thing about Norman was that when he was nearly 70, an age when most men settle down to a life of Spandex trousers and shouting at the television, Norman recreated himself.  In need of adventure after the collapse of his second marriage and his third business, he packed a duffel bag with clothing and snowshoes, tucked a $100 bill into his sock and bought a one-way ticket to Alaska.  There he earned free meals by shoveling snow from restaurant sidewalks and raised money for a new do team by cleaning bathrooms at the university. In the years that followed he competed in the 1,000-mile Iditarod Race over a dozen times, organized his own long-distance Alaskan race called the Serum Run and married Carolyn Muegge, a wilderness guide for the Outward Bound schools.

Carolyn was by his side when, in 1994, he returned to Antarctica and, with an artificial hip and battling hypothermia, he reached the top of Mt. Vaughan 3 days before his 89th birthday.

Norman in drag, South Pole

Alaska granted Norman yet another gift in his long string of Forest Gump-style “witness-to-history” experiences. In 1981, when Norman learned that Pope John Paul II would visit Anchorage, he was determined to treat him to a dogsled ride. He cobbled together a sled shielded with bullet-proof glass, convinced the anxious authorities that his scheme was sound and sledded to the airport to pick up his holiness.  As John Paul approached his sled, Norman had an idea. Why don’t you drive the dogs yourself, he said, and gave the Pope the reins.  But before they launched he confided to the Pope that two of the dogs had terrible names and he apologized in advance for offending the Pope if he had to call out to them. One was Satan and the other was Devil.  As Norman recounted, the pope looked at him quizzically then smiled and said, “That’s okay, as long as I’m doing the driving.”
Take a deep breath because there’s more, much of which involves Wintergreen and will be the subject of an upcoming entry!

Related posts:

1. It’s Raining Cats & Sled Dogs!
2. The Most Amazing Sled Dog in Polar History