THE TEAM
CAROLINE COTE
"Caroline never ceases to impress and delight us. Her unique, soft yet razor-sharp style is perfect for guiding teams toward their designated goal.
She is a giant with unlimited skills and awareness, very creative, and a person you can’t help falling in love with.”
— Børge Ousland
CANADIENNE / NORWEGIAN POLAR EXPLORER
• POLAR COACH & GUIDE • FILMAKER • SPEAKER
Born with a spirit of adventure and a tendency to wander into the unknown, Caroline’s first expedition might have been to the back of her fridge, but she quickly graduated to far more ambitious terrains.
Caroline was born in Longueuil. That is just outside the slightly better-known Montréal and puts her firmly in the French-Canadian part of Canada. Thus, the exotic accent.
Before diving into the world of polar exploration, she developed as an ultra-trail runner, competing internationally in races ranging from 50km to 160km. She enjoyed a brief but fulfilling career in the sport, winning several long-distance events. It proved to be the perfect way to lay the foundations for later polar strength: pushing physical and mental limits in wild, remote terrains.
Alongside running, she worked as an adventure filmmaker, which is what first brought her to the polar regions. In 2014, she directed her first documentary during the Xp Antarctik expedition. From that moment, she was hooked. The vastness, silence, and raw beauty of the polar landscapes became a deep source of inspiration and ultimately, a calling..
In 2021 she married Vince. Both of them already having moved to Norway, started on a new path, and lucky us, became an integral part of Team Ousland.
Today, she guides in polar regions with a strong focus on storytelling, safety, and sharing the powerful connection between humans and the wild.
Her love for the wild led her to, and was seriously tested in, the Arctic Svalbard. There she undertook a sixty-three-day unsupported expedition with her husband, Vince. It seriously stunned the polar community and firmly placed her and Vince at the pinnacle of polar exploration. She has also solo crossed a part of Antarctica and reached the South Pole from Hercules Inlet in thirty-three days, two hours, and fifty-three minutes (a record at the time and 43km pr day average :-• ).
Years before, she explored the Forbidden Plateau of the Antarctic Peninsula twice. She then guided a Greenland Icecap crossing. Her building, supporting, and leading teams was like a duck to water. She enjoyed it a lot! And so has everyone going with her.
She loves the Northern part of Canada. But she now lives close to the Arctic Circle in Norway. Last year she became a mum. She named her son Leif because she thinks that Leif Erickson was the best explorer.
Like you, she is in love with places where most people’s eyelashes freeze before they can say, “Pass the hot chocolate.”
Caroline is very much part of own ‘Love-Story’
CARO'S SECRET ADVICE :
"BRING A REALLY NICE SURPRISE FOR YOUR TEAM
LIKE A FRESH PINEAPPLE
DON'T BRING YOUR IPAD OR COFFEE MACHINE"
All this translates to: if you care for the others, your reward will be massivly enhanced. The same applies if you leave your urban / digital life behind. And, this is your chance to live, take in, and savour the saying: you should only own 7 things in life.
