Polar explorer Eric Larsen photographed at the Snodgrass Mountain trailhead near his home in Crested Butte, Colorado on May 26, 2022. Larsen, known for numerous expeditions to the North and South Poles, including a 2014 unsupported crossing of the Arctic Ocean, has found his greatest challenge in facing a stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis in January of 2021. Larsen drew on the mental toughness he used in polar expeditions to help him battle cancer. Larsen is currently cancer free. “There have been many dark days,” Larsen said. “Now I just want to find out what my body can do.” (Dean Krakel, Special to The Colorado Sun.)
