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Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

nytimes.com

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Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#61

Post by willbw »

tootie wrote: post #52
bydo wrote: post #8

Related, an excellent long-form New Yorker feature about another recent attempt: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-white-dark...

I read this and thought that whoever tries stuff like this is just a moron. There's not really much discovery to be made if any. It's extremely costly and dangerous. The only benefit is vanity.

There is a part of some humans that drives them to do wild, adventurous things that can't be rationalised. Personally I find it quite a romantic notion, ignoring the sensible, boring options and doing something just because it is hard and exciting (and yes, stupid as well).

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#62

Post by PostOnce »

tootie wrote: post #52
bydo wrote: post #8

Related, an excellent long-form New Yorker feature about another recent attempt: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-white-dark...

I read this and thought that whoever tries stuff like this is just a moron. There's not really much discovery to be made if any. It's extremely costly and dangerous. The only benefit is vanity.

Vanity is a benefit; it's hardly the only benefit.

We'll spend maybe $100,000 on phone bills in our lives, I wonder would I be happier with a bunch of Instagram alerts, or having crossed the Antarctic alone; what would create fonder memories?

Experiences that have been had by others don't impact you. I can look at a picture of Earth from NASA all I want, it'll never hit my core in the way it would if I went up there.

What if you crossed it alone and didn't tell anyone you'd done it, and vanity wasn't the same sort? Living alone in the woods is one thing, living alone in the woods and posting it all to social media is a little different.

Can you really imagine no benefit to a man doing something to challenge himself? This is no Everest tourist expedition with 1000 other climbers and an enormous support staff of locals, this is daring?

Why should we ever try anything that anyone has ever done before? Should we then just stay home?

Even if it provides nothing to these men, at the barest minimum they have inspired some long thought in others; after all, we're all sitting here thinking about it. I've been thinking about it, and talking to friends about being alone in the wilderness, for the better part of the day now.

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#63

Post by gist »

tomcooks wrote: post #43
gist wrote: post #32

The way I think I have no clue why people take risks like this other than for the obvious fame and fortune. Just the way I am it seems to be either narcissistic or foolish. I am sure others spur them on because what is not to like about being the friend of someone who does something where you don't suffer any large downside (other than you lose them as a friend). Also there always seems to be a bit of 'watch car raci…

I don't understand the downvotes you're getting. It might not be as narcissistic as it seems to you: I have been embarking on a couple of adventures, certainly not even close to this Antacrtica crossing, yet my unassisted trips were seen as some as a egoist, narcissistic showoff thing to do. I got a lot of people telling me they assumed I was doing it for likes and follows, only my close friends understood that there…

> I don't understand the downvotes you're getting.

Because popular culture is such that we are brainwashed into thinking this type of thing is GREAT!. Similar to when someone jumps on the railroad tracks to save a complete stranger. They get called a hero. But what (to another replies point) if they get killed and aren't around for their family? Why should you risk your life in that case? How is that smart or even considerate of those around you? What is is: stupid and selfish actually.

> only my close friends understood that there's something deep inside you that tells you to go and explore

Thanks for that. You are the type of person that I would sit down with to explore that entire thinking actually. (I don't feel the same way so I can't easily understand that..)

> quitting everything and embarking on a solo trip seems to be a common secret dream that people working 9-5 hide deep inside of their heart.

Not me. I don't think I could deal with that!

I think it depends. I was talking to the guard at the courthouse last week and he couldn't wait to retire off to the country. But his job has to be boring as fuck <-- sorry. And you know his son he told me was 'really good with programming and had some game author write to him directly for something he was doing'. And the father (the court sheriff guard guy) says 'he says he doesn't want to do programming full time'. What does he want to do? Well he is now a police officer in the most dangerous town in the state (really). This isn't really about the son though. My point is the father is happy standing around all day doing nothing. So of course he can't wait for his vacations and to retire (and do nothing at all most likely). Can you imagine just standing there and doing nothing? I can't.

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#64

Post by gist »

watwut wrote: post #51
matz1 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because everyone different. To you it might be narcissistic or foolish but for him obviously it is highly important and meaningful.

If I died younger, my parents would suffer a lot. If I died now, my husband and kids would suffer. I would not want my husband to risk that much for trip, because me and kids need him. It is kind of saying you don't have such people around.

Agree exactly. The thinking does not take into account at all the impact on anyone else. Plus we are not talking about 'well get over it I am not going to not ride the motorcycle because of you Mom'. We are talking about a highly unusual and risky behavior.

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#65

Post by gist »

moate wrote: post #37
gist wrote: post #32

The way I think I have no clue why people take risks like this other than for the obvious fame and fortune. Just the way I am it seems to be either narcissistic or foolish. I am sure others spur them on because what is not to like about being the friend of someone who does something where you don't suffer any large downside (other than you lose them as a friend). Also there always seems to be a bit of 'watch car raci…

>>The way I think I have no clue why people take risks like this other than for the obvious fame and fortune. Those are both pretty great motivators. There's always going to be daredevils and explorers who are in it for the thrill as well. Being "The first to..." or "the only to..." is a superlative people feel might be worth the risk. Besides, without people pushing the limits, we never know what might be possible.…

> Besides, without people pushing the limits, we never know what might be possible.

Serious question and sorry but who cares exactly? Not like there is a line of people that need to do the same thing, right?

> Maybe we find out something about survival in hostile environments or mission logistics or how to run a proper search and rescue operation.

Ok so that is an upside but that is like trying to justify that it's ok that those kids got lost in the cave so it was cool to take the risk, no?

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#66

Post by pen2l »

xeromal wrote: post #26
jshevek wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hiking and camping in cold weather can be an extremely effective weight loss strategy. If done with good nutrition, enough sleep, proper gear, it can even be a healthy weight loss strategy. I'm surprised no one seems to ever discuss this, with so much of our culture seemingly obsessed with losing weight.

Hiking and camping in cold weather requires a certain fortitude that most people don't have automatically. It's going to take a bit of willpower to subject oneself to cold and misery. haha. It eventually becomes fun though.

I was almost going to not ask this, but I think in a place like this it's more appropriate than inappropriate --

guys, how are the toilet-stuff dealt with? I want to do hiking/camping, but the confusion about this whole thing keeps me away. What's the normal protocol? Any books/guides you can recommend for someone who's never done this before? In particular, I'm interested in hiking an easy mountain in the northeast (I live in Boston)... one that takes somewhere between 3 to 6 days?

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#67

Post by legostormtroopr »

imesh wrote: post #44
jshevek wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hiking and camping in cold weather can be an extremely effective weight loss strategy. If done with good nutrition, enough sleep, proper gear, it can even be a healthy weight loss strategy. I'm surprised no one seems to ever discuss this, with so much of our culture seemingly obsessed with losing weight.

If you need to be hiking all day for months to lose weight, you are ptobably going to gain it all back once you stop.

That's a rather defeatist outlook.

I'd say that after all that hiking, especially on minimal food, your body would be accustomed to requiring less food decreasing your appetite and making it easier to maintain your weight over time.

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#68

Post by leesalminen »

pen2l wrote: post #66
xeromal wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hiking and camping in cold weather requires a certain fortitude that most people don't have automatically. It's going to take a bit of willpower to subject oneself to cold and misery. haha. It eventually becomes fun though.

I was almost going to not ask this, but I think in a place like this it's more appropriate than inappropriate -- guys, how are the toilet-stuff dealt with? I want to do hiking/camping, but the confusion about this whole thing keeps me away. What's the normal protocol? Any books/guides you can recommend for someone who's never done this before? In particular, I'm interested in hiking an easy mountain in the northeast…

For #1- unzip and let it rip

For #2- dig a hole, pull pants down, aim into hole, dispose of paper in hole, refill hole.

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#69

Post by moab »

tootie wrote: post #52
bydo wrote: post #8

Related, an excellent long-form New Yorker feature about another recent attempt: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-white-dark...

I read this and thought that whoever tries stuff like this is just a moron. There's not really much discovery to be made if any. It's extremely costly and dangerous. The only benefit is vanity.

The same thing could be said for many costly (in terms of either time or money) journeys: hiking the AT, biking across the world, to name two. In these cases, others have made these voyages thousands of times before, but that doesn't stop people from making these trips.

By the way, I think you're misreading the piece---I don't get the impression that these men are making these trips for vanity.

Re: Two men are trying to become the first person to cross Antarctica alone

#70

Post by matz1 »

gist wrote: post #64
watwut wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I died younger, my parents would suffer a lot. If I died now, my husband and kids would suffer. I would not want my husband to risk that much for trip, because me and kids need him. It is kind of saying you don't have such people around.

Agree exactly. The thinking does not take into account at all the impact on anyone else. Plus we are not talking about 'well get over it I am not going to not ride the motorcycle because of you Mom'. We are talking about a highly unusual and risky behavior.

Everyone is different, not everyone care about the impact on anyone else. For these people they don't need to take this into account. To you this might seem to be utterly sad, but to them "sad" might not even register. For them not be able to do highly unusual and risky action is probably their definiton of true sadness. For this people, the only thing you can do is to support them.
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