Antarctic Adventure: The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955-58.

FUCHS, Sir Vivian. [Edmund Hillary].

$450.00

Item Number: 137050

London: Cassell & Company Ltd, 1959.

First edition of Sir Vivian Fuchs’ classic account of The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with maps, plans, and illustrations by Stuart Tresilian. Association copy, signed by legendary mountaineer Edmund Hillary who led the New Zealand Ross Sea Support team of the expedition on the title page. The New Zealand party included scientists participating in International Geophysical Year research while the British team led by Fuchs, were separately based at Halley Bay. Very good in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Uncommon signed.

The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) of 1955–1958 was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole. It was the first expedition to reach the South Pole overland for 46 years, preceded only by Amundsen's expedition and Scott's expedition in 1911 and 1912. In keeping with the tradition of polar expeditions of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, the CTAE was a private venture, though it was supported by the governments of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States, Australia and South Africa, as well as many corporate and individual donations, under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth II. The expedition was headed by British explorer Vivian Fuchs, with New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary leading the New Zealand Ross Sea Support team. The New Zealand party included scientists participating in International Geophysical Year research while the British team were separately based at Halley Bay. Fuchs was knighted for his accomplishment. The second overland crossing of the continent did not occur until 1981, during the Transglobe Expedition led by Ranulph Fiennes.