To the Poles without a Beard: The Polar Adventures of a World Record-breaking Woman

by Catharine Hartley (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $3.23

  The simultaneously hilarious and awe-inspiring story of a Chardonnay-quaffing media worker who became the first British woman to trek to the South and North Poles. WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN VENTURING TO THE POLES (especially when you're the first British woman to try it) * Decide to take up the challange in a haze of alchohol one New Year's Eve * Crash the BBC global email system with your fundraising requests * Do no training whatsoever prior to departure, except the odd aerobics class * Pack 300 Malboro Lights into your sled * Fail to put on the requisite 3 stone to help stave off cold and hunger * Forget to buy any gloves so stop off at Snow and Rock on High St Ken for some on the way to the airport * Ignore finger going black with frostbite to avoid making a fuss * Get so drunk in the plane to the North Pole that Canada refuses you entry as an undesirable alien * Forget to eat or sleep for three days before setting off Catharine Hartley did all these things and still made it to both poles. TO THE POLES WITHOUT A BEARD tells her hilarious and incredible story.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2002

  $3.23

  The story of an ordinary thirty-something city girl who became the first British woman to walk to the South Pole. 'We called ourselves Plebs to the Pole. It was the first time travellers with no previous polar experience had the chance to attempt such a journey. Before our expedition, Antarctica had been sacred territory - the preserve of scientists and real explorers. No one had any idea how amateurs would perform in such extreme conditions.' In January 2000 Catharine Hartley, a thirty-four-year-old Londoner with no previous polar experience, walked into the record books by becoming the first British woman to reach the South Pole on foot. Just over a year later, she topped her achievement by manhauling her sled to the much more physically challenging North Pole. TO THE POLES WITHOUT A BEARD is a wonderfully humorous tale which differs considerably from the usual (male) polar account, as Catharine is no polar-bear eating, athletic toughie who exalts in as much physical discomfort and misery as possible, but an ordinary, Chardonnay-loving girl from London who decides with remarkable willpower to achieve the impossible. Catharine's story is an inspiration to all those who have ever wanted to make their dreams a reality.