At What Cost?

(c) Cruceros Australis

We all know the MasterCard tagline: Priceless.

Despite a reputation for being cheap, I agree that an occasional over-the-top credit card bill is worth the memories I’ve created with a handful of big-ticket purchases—my bike, my ski boots, and my tent, just to name a few. But when it comes to the cost of creating memories, how much would you be willing to spend for 10 days?

To be fair, the 10-day trip I’m referring to is extravagant and truly once-in-a-lifetime: 24-hours of Antarctic sunshine, custom cashmere clothing, fur-lined luxury tents atop a 200-foot ice cliff, a Cordon Bleu chef prepping English breakfasts and three-course dinners at your beck and call, and a private flight to a penguin breeding ground.

But, seriously, would you drop $5,000 for it? $10,000? $58,374?

That’s right: $58,374—is the price of the “White Desert Emperors & Mountains” excursion being offered by the ultra-luxe Mantis Group.  That’s more than the median household income in the state of Michigan. It’s enough to sponsor 13 breast cancer survivors on a fund-raising expedition to Mt. Everest’s base-camp for the Breast Cancer Fund , and enough to send 96 inner-city kids on week-long backcountry adventures with Big City Mountaineers.

Is one, 10-day trip of your own worth the money that can change hundreds of lives? Maybe the answer depends where you fall on the spectrum of big spenders, how much of an impact you can make after such a transformative trip, or how you’ll share the story you’ve witnessed with the world.

Despite the hefty price tag, there’s no doubt that you’d consider your memories on the seventh continent priceless in their own right. I’ve got no problem with that. I guess the question I’d ask is how much of yourself you’d be willing to give back? If the answer is “everything” I think that’s justification for the expense.