Adventurers around the globe have paid tribute to Dixie Dansercoer after the veteran polar explorer’s fatal crevasse fall on Monday.
Mourners gathered yesterday afternoon at a sculpture of Dansercoer in the harbor of Nieuwpoort, his hometown. The monument commemorates his 2007 expedition to retrace the journey of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899. The Belgica Expedition (named after their ship) made the first overwintering in Antarctica and included such later polar luminaries as a young Roald Amundsen and Frederick Cook.
Photo: Louis-Philippe Loncke
Belgian adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke organized a card and flower assembly at the De poolreiziger (the polar traveler) sculpture, including signatures from a range of Belgian adventurers, international polar travelers, and various organizations such as the International Polar Guides Association. The rock band, K’S Choice, which provided the music for one of Dansercoer’s documentaries, also signed.
Polar veterans expressed their shock and sadness at the loss of a colleague and friend. “Crushed and shocked by the news of the death of my friend Dixie Dansercoer yesterday,” wrote guide Hannah McKeand. “Dixie was a warm, bright, wise, and funny man, who always had a kind word.”
Photo: Louis-Philippe Loncke
Dansercoer’s wife, Julie Brown, poignantly wrote of Dansercoer yesterday: “Dixie was so much more than a polar explorer. He was fun and spontaneous and lived life to the fullest. He would want you to do the same.”
