Whew! They made it! On February 11, former teachers Ann Bancroft of the U.S. and Liv Arnesen of Norway reached the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica (see An Icy Journey 1/19/01). They became the first women to cross Antarctica's land mass on skis! It took the explorers 90 days to ski and parasail across 1,688 miles of ice. They kept going despite bitter cold, injuries, ripped sails and broken sleds.

"I've been trying to do this for 11 years," said Bancroft, 45. On earlier adventures, she became the first woman to reach both the North Pole and the South Pole. In 1994, Arnesen, now 47, became the first woman to travel to the South Pole alone.

The pair had hoped to cross the Ross Ice Shelf, but lack of wind forced them to shorten their trek. They flew back to McMurdo Station to catch a ship before icy waters made the trip home dangerous.

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February 23, 2001 News Scoop