Every Step - Alone in Antarctica: The First Woman to Ski Solo Across the Southern Ice - page 15

I had just one remaining reservation. The SPOT route on the
Leverett was regularly referred to as a 'road' or a 'highway'.
Although this was a misleading exaggeration (there was no
paving or even piste-ing along the route), if I chose to travel the
glacier it was likely I would see some evidence of the convoy and
perhaps even some physical markers that had been left behind.
This didn't bother me so much from an aesthetic viewpoint
but I knew that it would be a reason for my expedition to be
belittled by others, particularly within the polar community.
Despite this, the plan which had remained a rough idea for
years had now, within the space of a few months, transformed
into a viable prospect. Returning from Iceland, I realised that
it was time to give my proposal the ultimate test - I needed to
put it in front of Steve.
Steve works for Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions (ALE),
one of only two operators that provide flights into and around
Antarctica for expeditions. For the past five years he had been
the manager of ALE's Antarctic basecamp. He's seen expeditions
come and go, succeed and fail; a level of experience that makes
his opinion highly sought after. I knew him as someone who
could be relied upon to give a brutally realistic assessment of
any expedition plan.
The day I went to see Steve at his home, the forested hills of
the Cotswolds were such a vibrant green that they seemed to
glow. The sunlight was tinged with lime as it filtered through
the new season's leaves that flashed past my open car windows.
Summery tunes played on the radio as I swooped along narrow
country lanes that plunged and twisted between the hills.
Eventually, the curtly polite voice of my satnav told me I had
arrived and I pulled up outside a stone building perched on a
slope surrounded by beautiful views of the English countryside.