Editorial Polar Opposites Eric Larsen just returned from the first ever summer expedition to the North Pole. Having seen the footage from his trek, I’ve no doubt that he traversed some of the most inhospitable ground, including melting chunks of sea ice and pressure ridges the size of buildings. He traveled more than 600 miles in 62 days, using skis, snowshoes, and a modified canoe. For our September/October issue, I interviewed Barbara Hillary, the first African-American woman to ski to the North Pole. On a shuttle bus from a media event in Aspen, I sat next to Eric and told him about Barbara and her feat. Barbara grew up in Harlem and had never heard of skis. She survived lung cancer and poverty. She decided to go to the North Pole to achieve “something spectacular” before she left the earth. Her first time on skis was while training for the expedition. Eric Blanches while I speak to him about Barbara. I haven’t meant to offend him, but I inadvertently have. He tells me he’s quite concerned about how loosely the word expedition is used nowadays. Anybody can be the first to do just about anything these days with enough money, a helicopter for transport, and a sturdy set of planks. I try to argue semantics with him. He doesn’t seem to buy that an expedition for me might be a 1.5-mile hike through grizzly country or navigating the Whole Foods parking lot here in Boulder. I point out that Barbara wasn’t just dropped at the geographic North Pole. She skied more than 60 miles in –40 degree temps to get there. And she was missing part of a lung. And did I mention she’s in her seventies? He’s nonplussed. While I realize that all adventures aren’t created equal, must we append an asterisk to every “first,” explaining its true value and significance compared with others? Can the success of one expedition lessen the accomplishment of another? Seems silly to me. Do we have to discount the heights that others go in order to rise above them? When I get home, I look up expedition in the dictionary. It is defined as “an excursion, journey, or voyage made for some specific purpose, as of war or exploration.” It doesn’t say that an expedition must be arduous, death defying, or without oxygen. It doesn’t mention extreme temperatures, polar bears, altitude sickness, or frostbite. More importantly, it doesn’t say that the explorer has to be alone, with a group, or the first or last to attempt the journey. This leads me to believe that an expedition is similar to faith or religion. It’s very personal and perhaps intangible, even to those following the same route. What my eyes see and experience will never be identical to anyone else’s I know. In fact, I am the very first to be me at any exact point on this planet. Let the record show that I am here on a journey, and it is exquisitely my own, no asterisk necessary. |
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