Mountaineer, marathon runner and polar explorer leads an Arctic End of an Era trip

The legendary expedition icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov makes a farewell circumnavigation of the Arctic from July 10 to September 13, 2011. Quark Expeditions, the voyage operator, announced today that Laurie Dexter, Member of the Order of Canada, will be the Expedition Leader.

Dexter eminently qualified to lead the most unusual world cruise offered in 2011

In 1988, for 91 days, as a member of the Soviet-Canadian Polar Bridge expedition, Mr. Dexter skied from Russia to Canada via the North Pole. Having lived on Baffin Island for 13 years, he speaks the language of the Inuit, Canada's northern indigenous people. Since 1993 he has led more than 50 commercial expeditions to the Arctic.

When he is not leading expeditions to the polar regions, Mr. Dexter is a marathon runner and mountaineer. Among his feats are running 10 marathons in 10 days and making numerous first ascents of Arctic mountains.

Laurie Dexter is a webinar special guest, March 15, 2011

Quark Expeditions is hosting an online information session with Mr. Dexter as special guest, Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 3 PM eastern. The 45 minute session focuses on The Northeast Passage, the Russian sea route from Asia to Europe, which begins July 10, 2011 in Anchorage, Alaska. There are a limited number of seats for the online webinar. Participation is free, but registration is required.

The Northeast Passage is the first segment of the Arctic Circumnavigation, which has two additional segments -- Greenland Semi-circumnavigation and Arctic Passage. Travelers can purchase the entire voyage, or segments. The per person price for a twin berth aboard The Northeast Passage begins at USD $36,690 per person.

The webinar will be archived and questions can be asked in advance

Quark Expeditions will archive a recording of the information session for travelers who cannot attend the live event. Questions may be asked prior to the event by email. They should be sent to online@quarkexpeditions.com. Put Webinar Question in the subject line.