Introduction
Lars Thorbjørn Monsen (born 21 April 1963 in Oslo) is a Sámi-Norwegian adventurer and journalist, famous for his explorations and backpacking expeditions in harsh wilderness. In particular, he became especially known for his thru-hiking trip in northern Canada, which was filmed and documented by Monsen himself, and then broadcast on NRK in 2005. He spent 2 years and 7 months on this trip alone.
In 2010 Monsen was expedition leader for the Norwegian program "Ingen Grenser" which is a remake of BBCs Beyond Boundaries. In 30 days they covered 500 kilometers over Cap of the North, some of the participants with severe physical limitations. He is married to American-Norwegian artist Trine Rein.
Monsen is a skilled chess player with a FIDE rating of 1877 as of November 2016.
Expeditions
His well-documented expeditions include:
- Walking and dog-sledding across northern Canada (2 years and 7 months, going from Kaktovik to Goose Bay). A lot of filming was done during this expedition, the footage was subsequently cut together into the documentary series Canada På Tvers.
- Walking across Alaska (10 months)
- Walking across Norway (12 months)
- Walking across Kodiak Island, Alaska
- Walking across Admiralty Island, Alaska
- Paddling in canoe, twice, through Katmai National Park, Alaska
- Traveling 900 km by foot through Norway, Sweden and Finland
- Walking 90 days in Børgefjell National Park
- Three 1-month trips through Finnmark, Femundsmarka og Saltfjellet for NRK.
- 365 days of wilderness traveling through Norway, Sweden, Finland for a TV show on NRK called Nordkalotten 365.