Pair of Women Start Trek to Cross Antarctica on Skis

An American polar adventurer and her Norwegian partner snapped on their skis Tuesday and pushed off across the ice and snow of Antarctica to try to become the first women to ski across the world’s coldest continent.

Before setting off on their three-month journey, Ann Bancroft, 45, of Scandia, Minn., and Liv Arnesen, 47, of Oslo, made a satellite telephone call to their expedition’s organizers to say they were prepared to start.

People at a camp in Queen Maud Land confirmed that the pair began skiing in clear weather about 6 a.m.

The two had hoped to begin their 2,400-mile journey Nov. 1 but were forced to wait 12 days in South Africa until the Antarctic weather cleared enough to let their plane land.

On arriving Monday in Antarctica, the two tested their equipment, took their sleds loaded with gear and food for a trial run and declared themselves ready for a 100-day journey in which they will endure temperatures of minus 30 and winds of up to 100 mph.

“It feels good to be back in the harness,” Bancroft said as she strained against the weight of the sled. “If we get a good start, we’ll be real confident.”

Bancroft and Arnesen intend to ski and wind-sail 12 hours a day and arrive at the South Pole by Christmas, despite their delayed start.

If all goes according to plan, they will travel from the South Pole down to McMurdo Station on the Ross Ice Shelf, where a boat will wait to take them away.

Throughout the journey, the two teachers plan to use high-tech computer equipment to relay their experiences to schoolchildren around the world via the Internet.

In 1994, Arnesen became the first woman to ski alone and unaided to the South Pole--a 50-day journey. Bancroft was the first woman to ski to both the North Pole and the South Pole.

Now they hope to become the first women to ski across the continent without outside assistance, a feat completed only by a handful of men.