Think South: How We Got Six Men and Forty Dogs Across Antarctica

by Cathy de Moll, Will Steger

What does it take to move forty dogs, three sleds, twenty tons of food and gear, and six men from all over the world across nearly four thousand of the coldest miles on earth? Cathy de Moll, the executive director of the 1990 International Trans-Antarctica Expedition, introduces the wild cast of characters who made it happen, on the ice and off: leaders Will Steger and Jean-Louis Etienne, who first met accidentally, on the way to the North Pole; Valery Skatchkov, the Soviet bureaucrat who supplied a “hot” Russian airplane; Yasue Okimoto, who couldn’t bear to leave headquarters in Minnesota while her boyfriend was on the ice; Qin Dahe, the Chinese member of the team, who didn’t know how to ski; the millions of children who followed the expedition in schools around the world, learning about the fragility and ferocity of the seventh continent; and many others.  These stories of near misses and magical coincidences are as suspenseful and compelling as the expedition’s headlines—and they have never been told. But they also reflect the greatest lesson of the project: the international cooperation that was needed for the expedition’s success is every bit as essential for the preservation of Antarctica today. 

Cathy de Moll, who has been a teacher, communications executive, writer, and entrepreneur, was the executive director of the International Trans-Antarctica Expedition. Will Steger led the first confirmed dogsled expedition to the North Pole, the first and only traverse of Antarctica by dogsled, and other remarkable expeditions.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2015

About the author

Cathy de Moll has been a teacher, communications executive, writer, and entrepreneur. She was the executive director of the 1990 International Trans-Antarctica Expedition, the first-ever unmechanized crossing of Antarctica, the subject of her book, Think South: How We Got Six Men and Forty Dogs Across Antarctica. The book has been published on the 25th anniversary of what Outside Magazine called "one of the 20th century's most challenging expeditions." De Moll is retired and divides her time between St. Paul, Minnesota and San Francisco, California.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Antarctica. Ever since reading about Shackleton in middle school and doing an extensive book report on Ice Bound in high school, I've pretty much grabbed up every book on Antarctica I can find.

However, I have to confess I never read much about the 1990 Trans Antarctica expedition. I received an invitation to an event at the public library in Minneapolis with Cathy de Moll and the launch of her new book. I think normally I wouldn't have been quite so eager to read a book about the "behind the scenes" of an expedition, but once I started reading this one I was hooked. I managed to almost finish reading it before the event and I was pleasantly surprised to find that four of the six members of the expedition were present as well as many others that are mentioned in the book. This shows the great bonds of friendships between all these people, even 25 years later.

The structure of the book makes it unique and compelling. Each chapter is focused on an individual, be it an expedition member or someone who helped make the expedition possible. The book also progresses chronologically with some necessary referencing forward and backward in time.

I wasn't expecting the book to speak to me on so many levels but it did. Having studied Soviet history in college, I was very interested in the interactions with the Russians. I was sad that I was just a little too young to have been one of the students receiving the Weekly Readers and learning about the expedition in elementary school. Being as young as I am but also having grown up in a remote area, I am amazed at the amount of advancement we've had in international communication

I felt both confusion for the cultural differences and understanding for an expedition member's girlfriend who stayed in a very different country where they spoke an unfamiliar language. I could feel the very real exhaustion and pure amount of effort that was required to even attempt this mission. I was exasperated with how much was simply out of their control, especially how much would unexpectedly fail and the sheer amount of luck they had.

The book definitely belongs in that "great books" category; the reader receives just the right mix of explanation and story, gets more out of the reading than they thought possible, and it makes something unfamiliar very relatable.

[Dale Seavey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A behind the scenes account of moving this group across the Antartica.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Cathy de Moll organized the antarctic trip of Will Steger & five other people (all from different countries). This was a huge feat and she documents it in this book.

[Dennis Gerwing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very pleasant surprise. Have always been interested in the early North Pole/South Pole seekers and the Arctic/Antarctica explorers (Scott, Amundson, Shackleton, the voyage of the USS Jeannette, etc.) ... but wasn't expecting too much from what promised to be a behind-the-scenes account of the 1990 International Trans-Antarctica Expedition. I found it, however, well-written and immensely interesting and insightful ... and it made me regret that I was not more attentive to the Expedition in 1989-90 when it actually occurred ... especially since significant activity associated with it occurred in my own backyard (Minnesota). Note: there are numerous photos and videos of the Expedition and of all the principal individuals involved on YouTube which can greatly enhance your reading experience.

[Joan Broadfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cathy deMoll has captured adventure and personality in this highly readable account of the planning and execution of a (an?) historic dogsled trip over Antarctica. Her involvement was not as a traveler on dogsled, but as a mapper of the plans, a finder and connector of the right people - and of the right equipment, as well as the timer of steps from beginning to end. How could this story be compelling and engaging? Because it is written with the eye towards capturing the adventure it clearly was.

Pictures and text provide means to connect with these dog-sledding and scientific characters - beyond the stereotypes of the images those words might convey. From the beginning, she drew me in. I'm glad I 'bit'; it was satisfying.

[Carol Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Cathy's book. I didn't really know what to expect as I bought the book on a whim when Cathy and Will Steger were doing a book signing. I bought the book because it had "dogs" in the title! The feat of what Cathy drove to in order for the expedition to work was amazing. At the end of the book when she wrote about the impact to students, it brought tears to my eyes. The book was written in a way that I haven't read before and I really enjoyed it. It's a slice of history that everyone should read about!

[Jan Daker · Rating 3 out of 5]

St. Paul woman did the impossible by organizing an international 6 man, 40 dog, going 7 months in Antartica. She should be in international relations!!! Can't believe she pulled this off much less got the men and dogs supplied along the trip during blizzard conditions.