Book Review: The Worst Journey in the World

Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyon the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Tennyson,
Ulysses


I recently finished reading "The Worst Journey in the World" by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. ACG tell an heroic tale of loss and courage in Antarctica.

In March of 1912, Robert Scott, Titus Oates, Bill Wilson, Seaman Evans and Birdie Bowers perished of cold and starvation on their return journey from the South Pole. It had been a race to the Pole between the British and Amundsen and the Norwegians which had ended triumphant for Amundsen and his crew, and fatal for the British party.

On June 15, 1910, the Terra Nova set sail from Cardiff bound for Antarctica. The Terra Nova would return to Cardiff on June 14, 1913 with news of the defeat at the hands of the Norwegians and without their Captain Robert Scott and 4 of his best men.

The story is told by Apsley Cherry-Garrard; a 24 year old man at the time the Terra Nova set sail. ACG draws from his experiences and from others' journals to explain the facts, thoughts, emotions and the science behind 3 years in Antarctica. ACG lived to tell the tale of The Worst Journey in the World, which was not the race to the Pole, but the journey a year prior where ACG and Wilson traveled in the dead of winter, through 4 months of darkness and -78 degree cold, over crevasses, at times cheating death, for the sole purpose of recovering for scientific purposes the very first Emperor Penguin egg. ACG describes how at times during the Winter Journey he wished for nothing more than death.

All was not grief in Antarctica. ACG writes, "Those Hut Point [one of the permanent huts constructed in Antarctica] days would prove some of the happiest of my life. Just enough to eat and keep us warm, no more - no frills nor trimmings: there is many a worse and more elaborate life. The necessaries of civilization were luxuries to us...the luxuries of civilization satisfy only those wants which they themselves create."

ACG writes a gripping tale of life, loss, friendship, determination, adventure and science in Antarctica.

If you are a brave man, you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but cowards have need to prove their bravery. Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say 'What is the use?' For we are a nation of shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not promise him a financial return within a year. And so you will sledge nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers: that is worth a good deal. If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg. - ACG

Yosemite; The Polar Journey

Factor #1: 5+ hours in vehicle

Factor #2: Friday is becoming Saturday

Factor #3: Euphoria about Yosemite

Result: Impersonations

Bear

Blowfish

Turtle smoking a cigar? (Work with me here. My second guess was a small Chinese woman with a bad joint)

Katie, Jess and I drove to Yosemite Friday night. The plan was to stay in Curry Village with about 17 of Katie’s friends in one tent cabin.

The tentative plan for locating the overstuffed tent cabin (There are probably 800 of these things in Curry Village a

nd opening the door to the wrong tent cabin could present an awkward situation) was for Natalie to leave a not on her car indicating which lucky tent cabin would be hosting 17 college students.

What actually happened was Natalie’s phone worked in the Valley, she texded us the cabin number(s) (thrift had given way to reason and two cabins were reserved) and we found our posse without a hitch.

For anyone who’s never been cross-county skiing, it’s not as easy as you might think. I’ve downhill skied for years and might fall once or twice in a day. On our 6 mile loop to Dewey Point, I face-planted, bruised my shin with my skis, whacked people with my poles and nearly took out a tree…or maybe the other way around, a la Sonny. We climbed up hill, fell down hill, dodged trees and skied through a huge meadow. As we approached the Point, someone commented, “Don’t ski off the point”. “Ok”, I said. I’m not gonna lie, I hadn’t really thought about skiing

off the point. We hugged the middle of the chute heading down to the point. When we arrived I looked back and noted that it really would have been very easy to ski off the point. With mounds and mounts of snow, it was impossible to decipher where the end of sold ground was and where a large overhanging snow drift began.

Our reward for 2 hours of work was a sweeping winter view from Dewey Point. After photos, high-fives, beef jerky, peanut butter, chocolate, carrots, and anything else that passers-by might hand out to us, we headed back. On the way out to Dewey Point, we stopped over

and over to dig our heads out of the snow after face planting. I’d say between 17 people, there where a combi

ned 1,237 falls (if you count the times where will gave out and people scooted, crab walked, or rolled down hills). On the way back, I witnessed 5 total falls. That’s a delta of 1,232 if you’re counting. I’m not sure what the difference was, but we raced back to the lodge.

Top 5 Reasons to visit the Valley during winter:

• Fewer Turons
• Bears are still in hibernation
• Coffee tastes even better when it’s less than 30 degrees
• Driving in ice
• Watching the stars in the meadow on hard-packed snow