One of the things about Holly that first caught my attention was her sense of adventure. She had climbed to 18,000 feet in the mountains near Everest. When I was writing a book a few years ago on how our government compromises the health of patients suffering chronic pain, I asked Holly what was her dream. She said to go to Antarctica. So we planned this adventure and, as we did, I became infected by her vision to study a place that has been partly despoiled by humankind even though the environment is so harsh they can hardly live here except for short periods in base camps that are for research (and no doubt some to stake claims to minerals – when and as that becomes possible). We are quite well aware as well that trips such as the one we are taking may be curtailed or eliminated in the not so distant future. We have no illusion that we are not attempting anything like Ross, Amundsen, Shackleton, or what any of the others attempted or accomplished, but you get an appreciation by being here, you can only imagine.
JPF
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