The Indomitable Polar Explorer Peter Freuchen, Who Saved His Own Life with Frozen Feces (15 photos)

In the legendary ranks of daredevils, Danish explorer Peter Freuchen occupies a league of his own. In the early 20th century, the entire world marveled at his Arctic exploits. Freuchen himself likely lost count of how many times he brushed with death, yet his iron will and legendary resourcefulness saw him through the most desperate situations. And while he suffered severe physical tolls along the way, nothing could dampen his thirst for adventure.





His father envisioned a medical career for him. Peter even enrolled in medical school, but dropped out almost immediately to pursue adventure. He went on to spend the better part of his event-filled life in Greenland, mapping the icy island's landscape, documenting its wildlife, and immersing himself in the traditions of the native Inuit. His first wife, Mekupaluk Navarana, was herself an Inuit woman he met during an expedition; their marriage lasted ten years.



Freuchen with his first wife, Mekupaluk Navarana

The couple had two children together, but their life was cut short when Navarana tragically died from complications of influenza. Freuchen would go on to marry twice more. Though he was charismatic and popular with women, domestic bliss could never hold him back for long. The Dane had an insatiable wanderlust and never turned down a chance to venture into uncharted territory. In fact, his first wife joined him on many of his most perilous treks.





Peary Land: one of the most remote places on Earth

Freuchen joined Knud Rasmussen on a four-month expedition across Greenland that yielded several major breakthroughs, most notably concerning Peary Land. For nearly a century, geographers believed Peary Land was an island. Rasmussen and his team proved there was no channel separating it from mainland Greenland, establishing that the "island" was actually a peninsula. On that single trek, the explorers covered over 1,000 kilometers.



Peter Freuchen with his wife Dagmar

Following that historic trek, Freuchen traveled across northeastern Siberia before heading off to explore the deserts and savannas of South Africa. Yet even the most exotic tropical landscapes could not replace the snow, ice, and biting frost of the far north. He invariably returned to the Arctic, thrown with renewed zeal into its exploration.



Freuchen on safari in Africa

The Frozen Feces Incident

Not all of Freuchen's expeditions went smoothly. While crossing Alaska in 1926, he was caught in a brutal, protracted blizzard. Initially, he hoped to wait out the storm beneath his sled, unloading his cargo to take shelter underneath. But as the blizzard raged on, Freuchen was forced to hunker down. He dug out a small snow cave and used the sled to block the entrance.



Peter Freuchen and Knud Rasmussen

It soon became clear that his snow shelter threatened to turn into a frozen grave. As snow piled heavily on top, Freuchen decided to break out. However, the gale-force winds and sub-zero temperatures had packed the snow into solid ice that he couldn't break through with his bare hands. Having left all his tools above near the sled, he had to rely strictly on ingenuity and whatever he had on hand. Thinking quickly, Peter fashioned a makeshift chisel out of his own feces.



In the extreme cold, the improvised tool froze rock-solid, allowing Freuchen to chip his way out. He dragged himself back to camp with immense effort, suffering severe frostbite in his feet along the way. Fearing gangrene, he decided to amputate his worst-damaged toes himself. Lacking both painkillers and surgical tools, he performed the operation using nothing more than a swig of strong whisky and his pocket knife.



One Leg, Countless Ambitions

His drastic actions saved his life, allowing him to reach safety. However, gangrene had already set in, and doctors were forced to amputate the leg he had tried to save in the wilderness. What does a one-legged explorer do after losing a limb? Write books and give university lectures, naturally. But a quiet life behind a desk wasn't enough for Freuchen. As soon as he recovered from surgery, he fitted himself with a wooden peg leg and immediately began prepping for his next expedition.



Peter Freuchen with his daughter

By the early 1930s, cinema was booming, and Freuchen leaped at the new medium, heading to Greenland to direct a film. It became the first-ever motion picture depicting Inuit life. He remained connected to Hollywood for years, advising directors on Arctic subjects and even making a cameo as a ship captain in a movie.



Peter Freuchen's "Book of the Seven Seas"

It seemed impossible to find a more energetic and tirelessly active Arctic authority. Yet remarkably, Freuchen also found time to work back home in Denmark. In 1938, he founded the Danish Adventurers' Club, which remains active to this day. Simultaneously, he published multiple books on Greenland and the Inuit, spoke at conferences, wrote outspoken articles advocating for atheism, and—in an unexpected twist—even published a women's magazine!



Freuchen held a personal grudge against the Church. Though never religious himself, his first wife, Navarana, had been devoutly faithful. When she died, Freuchen sought to bury her in a Christian cemetery, but local clergy refused to honor her final wish.



Peter Freuchen with his first wife and children

At the time, Indigenous people—even baptized Inuit—were often treated as second-class citizens. That refusal earned the clergy an intelligent, fiercely defiant enemy who never missed an opportunity to criticize religious orthodoxy.

Peter Freuchen's Luck

When World War II broke out, the 53-year-old Freuchen was back in Denmark. Without hesitation, he joined the Danish Resistance. Refusing special treatment despite his prosthetic leg, he took on high-risk missions alongside much younger freedom fighters. Eventually, he was captured by the Nazis and sentenced to death.



His captors underestimated the middle-aged, bearded man walking on a wooden peg leg—a grave mistake. Shortly before his execution, guards discovered his cell was empty. Freuchen had not only pulled off a daring escape from a Gestapo prison, but also managed to flee across the border into Sweden. Right after the war, he relocated to the United States to focus on writing.



Peter Freuchen on television

In 1956, Freuchen became a household name across America. Not because the public had suddenly developed a passion for Arctic anthropology, but because he appeared on the game show

The $64,000 Question

and swept the grand prize. Adjusted for inflation, that jackpot would be worth roughly $570,000 today. His competitors stood virtually no chance, as the quiz category happened to be oceanography.



Peter Freuchen with his wife Dagmar

Freuchen reached his 71st birthday full of vigor and big plans. He was preparing for yet another expedition, an undertaking months in the making. Tragically, fate had other ideas. On September 2, 1957, Peter Freuchen suffered a fatal heart attack in the arms of his friends right at the steps of the plane that was set to take him from New York to Alaska.

As specified in his will, Freuchen was cremated, and his ashes were scattered near the airbase in Thule, Greenland. It was from this very place that the Dane had embarked on so many journeys, and where he took his final rest.