Born in 1883 in Arctic Norway Storkerson met Vilhjalmur Stefansson in the early 1900’s and would later become Stefansson trusted travel companion. Both men had been parties to the Anglo-American Polar Expedition in Alaska and in February 1914 Storkersen joined Stefansson’s new Northern Party of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (1913-1918).

Together they travelled on sea and ice, tackled the extreme natural environment, learned the skill of seal hunting with the Inuit and explored the unknown. Journeying with an empty sled on the ice, they lived off the land eating seal liver, tripe, flippers and blubber, and fighting off polar bears who occasionally wandered into the camp.

On Stefansson’s second ice journey in 1915 Storkersen was credited with spotting the first new land and throughout the challenging feat of exploration and Arctic travel his experience proved to be an invaluable asset. Stefansson who considered Storkersen to be both a skilful and loyal man wrote in ‘The Friendly Arctic’ that were he ever to make such a journey again, he could not ask for better.