Mind over Matter: The Epic Crossing of the Antarctic Continent

An noted adventurer describes his ninety-seven-day, two-man, unsupported journey across the icy wilderness of Antarctica, offering a vivid narrative of the physical and mental challenges of the epic journey. Tour.

Not content with his record-setting exploits of polar travel--including the first Pole to Pole circumnavigation (1979-1982)--Fiennes set out from Chile in November 1992 to make an unsupported crossing of Antarctica. His companion was Mike Stroud, who would record physiological data. Each man pulled a 485-pound sledge containing all the supplies they would require for their 1500-mile journey, much of it at altitudes above 10,000 feet. By the time they reached the South Pole in mid-January, they had each lost 25% of their body weight. Stroud was vulnerable to hypothermia, and both men were suffering from frostbite and wind- and sunburn. On Day 83, now on half rations, they faced a 9000-foot descent on ice and in gale-force winds; next they traversed dangerous crevasse fields. On Day 95--February 12, 1993--having reached the Ross Ice Shelf, they summoned a plane. This epic journey tested both body and mind. With a foreword by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Fiennes ( To the Ends of the Earth ) offers another gripping account of endurance and adventure.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

``The world's greatest explorer'' bruises his way across Antarctica on foot, and without any external support, thank you very much. Fiennes (The Feather Men, 1993) is well-known in polar circles for having made numerous firsts: Pole-to-Pole circumnavigation, trans-Antarctic crossing, unsupported journey to the South Pole. Here he recounts, in his rather swaggerish, old-boy style, his tramp with Mike Stroud (see Mike Stroud, Shadows on the Wasteland, below) across the southernmost continent, dragging all they would need behind them in sleds (a mere 500 pounds when full) for 1,350 miles. The trip would be another first--if they survived. This was a long, mean trek across a brutal landscape only too happy to seal their doom, if not from a fall down a crevasse, then by the sheer wasting of their bodies. There are the obligatory horrifying descriptions of body rot (he refers to his hands as ``senseless lumps of bloodless meat'' and his nose as a suppurating pineapple) and some fine description of the terrain and strange weather phenomena, and the narrative is laced with excerpts from the diaries of explorers who went before them. Fiennes comes across as a bit of a bully (he does a very neat and quiet job of making Stroud out to be a weenie), prone to God-and-country bluster, but for all his ramrod-straight comportment, he does have a sense of humor, tongue often firmly in cheek--it's probably frozen there. Therein lies the success of his story: a desperate, thrilling adventure told with enough drollery to make it believable, and the haughty Fiennes a mere mortal. And bully for them--they made it. A cracking account of one hazardous march, in the classic stiff-lipped style. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The age of the gentleman traveler and explorer is not dead. Mind over Matter is just that, Sir Ranulph Fiennes' mind over the matter of Antarctica--on foot! One must set aside the nagging question of why? and read his adventure with empathy. He walks 1,350 miles, freezing off body parts and experiencing a massive weight loss. There are polar bears around, and they are hungry. As if that weren't enough, there are long stretches of crevasse fields where an unlucky step could send one plummeting thousands of feet into an icy grave. With the helpful patronage of his good friend the Prince of Wales, Sir Ranulph Fiennes was given the boost he needed for his journey, and in the end became the ultimate fund-raiser for multiple sclerosis. So his undertaking can't be said to have been entirely self-serving. This is a fast-paced tale--as any worthy book of adventure should be--and older children as well as adults should enjoy it. Ra{£}ul Ni{¤}no

Fiennes now tells his version of the historic expedition to Antarctica undertaken with Dr. Mike Stroud. In November 1992, Fiennes and Stroud, both veteran British polar explorers, set out to achieve the first unsupported crossing of Antarctica. This arduous journey, fraught with the hazards of Antarctic weather and terrain, broken equipment, and medical problems, came to an end 95 days and 1350 miles later, after the two had successfully crossed the Antarctic continent (though not the entire Ross Ice Shelf). Both Stroud's record of the trip, Shadows on the Wasteland (LJ 5/1/94), and Fiennes's account reveal a journey that took the explorers to the edge of their physical and psychological capabilities. Fiennes also interweaves an extensive history of Antarctic exploration and provides appendixes detailing Antarctic topography, among other items. This fascinating book will be enjoyed by adventurers, armchair travelers, and Antarctic researchers.
Pamela Bellows, Northwestern Connecticut Community Technical Coll. Lib., Winsted
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.