the Adventure Lifestyle magazine

ABOVE: HANS SAARI, RICK ARMSTRONG CROSSING A CREVASSE. Talking with a Mountaineer Kristoffer Erickson climbing with him a lot. He described it as this wild and raw place. He just didn't have that same magic in his eyes when he referred to any other place. Alex's attitude showed me that it was possible to get there and that it wasn't something on ly a select few people could do. SOME OF THE GREAT EXPLORERS VISITED ANTARCTICA. DID ANY OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS INSPIRE YOU? Alex passed on Alfred Lansing's Endurance, which chronicles Shackleton's adventures, and that was the first piece of literature I read about exploration and adventure in the Antarctic. I think that any of the explorers-Shackleton, Atk in son, Byrd-who spent time down there in the late 1800s or early 1900s when there was so little known about it , are inspirational. TodilY, for us to go to this region with modern-day technology, jet aircrafts, large expedition sh ips, even down to our technical clothing-it pales in comparison to the adventure that these explorers were having. WHAT ORIGINALLY GOT YOU STARTED MOUNTAINEERING? Growing up in Montana, spending time in the woods, taking backpacking trips into the wilderness with my grandfather- these experiences sparked an urge to spend time in the mountains. I started climbing at 16. I had no idea of the immense scale of possibilities-that climbing opportunities existed all over the world. As I learned more climbing skills, my knowledge of where people could climb unfolded. DID YOU EVER CONSIDER ANY OTHER CAREER PATH? When I first started climbing I wasn't looking at it as a career path. It was more of a passion. Skiing, climbing, spending time outdoors were just things I loved to do. It wasn't until I graduated from college with a degree in photography that I realized combining my avocation with a vocation was going to make me a living. WHEN DID YOU SET YOUR MIND ON ANTARCTICA? The late climber Alex Lowe introduced me to Antarctica. He had been there several times when I was in my early 20s and EVEN SO, DO YOU FEEL PART OF AN ONGOING TRADITION- A MODERN-DAY ANTARCTIC EXPLORER? Obviously the first person to set foot on Antarctica was an explorer ; and then the fi rst person to circumnavigate the continent was an explorer; and then the next person to ski across Antarctica vias an explorer. As you approach where I am in that time line, it's a different kind of exploration. Instead of just looking at the Antarctic mountains from a boat, as many tour groups do, we get off the boat, climb mountains then ski back down them. We've visited areas in the interior where people have never been. A lot of I'lhat we're visiting in Antarctica has been seen before by someone, and possibly even explored to some ex tent, however there is not a tremendous amount of information on this. Antarctica is the last frontier for first descents and other climbing expedition firsts. There are still great unexplored 37

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