South Pole

Unlike Robert F. Scott's 1911-12 Antarctica expedition, this trek to the bottom of the world ended in success and survival. Roger Mear, Robert Swan and Canadian Gareth Wood overcame 9,000 feet of altitude and 900 miles of frozen barriers en route to the South Pole without dogs, radios, mechanical support or caches of food. In tribute to their American predecessor they used Scott's journals and named their expedition "In the Footsteps of Scott." Together, Mear, Swan and Wood hauled over 1,000 pounds of survival gear and monitored their progress daily against Scott's log. Their epic struggle tested these self-assured individuals and taught them the value of co-operation and teamwork in the face of disaster. For Gareth Wood, the day they finally reached the Pole was more the beginning of a new journey than the end of his quest. The ship that was to have collected the team was crushed in the ice. Not only did Wood survive another year in the Antarctic, he lived to describe the horrific attack by a savage leopard seal. Gareth and co-autor Eric Jamieson deliver adventure on a grand scale, framed by giant glaciers and rarely seen mountains. It is a tribute to personal achievement against astonishing odds.