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Dream Trip: Ski to the South Pole
Ultimate Adventure Bucket List: Mountaineer Ed Viesturs' wildest dream trip is to ski to the South Pole, Antarctica. See all our Adventure Bucket List trips.
No matter their era or interest, the world’s legendary explorers have one thing in common: an insatiable curiosity about the forgotten corners of the world. Nowadays, few places hold their allure like the literal ends of the Earth—the Poles.
“Something that has always intrigued me is a ski trip from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole,” says Ed Viesturs. His strategy would be simple: With one or two partners, he’d take up to 50 days to glide more than 600 miles across the Antarctic, braving blow-you-over winds to reach the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where the average temperature is -18ºF in the austral summer. A purist who negotiates the planet’s extreme places on his own terms, Viesturs would carry all of his own gear by sled with no support team or resupply drops. “I think the intrigue for me is the simplicity of the daily routine, combined with the demanding physical and mental endurance needed to do this.”
Next: See Ed Viesturs's Must-Do Trip: Climb Mount Rainier
See the Ultimate Adventure Bucket List 2011
Mountaineer
In 2005, mountaineer Ed Viesturs was the first U.S. citizen to climb all of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks—and he did so without the use of supplemental oxygen. He has summited Everest seven times and is the author of several books, including the national bestseller No Shortcut to the Top.
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