Skiing into the Bright Open, Liv Arnesen
Skiing into the Bright Open, Liv Arnesen
List: $12.99 | Sale: $9.10
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Skiing into the Bright Open
My Solo Journey to the South Pole

Author: Liv Arnesen, Ann Bancroft, Roland Huntford

Narrator: Ann Richardson

Unabridged: 6 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/16/2021


Synopsis

In Skiing into the Bright Open Liv Arnesen describes the exhausting, exhilarating experience of being the first known woman to ski unsupported to the South Pole.

From her childhood in Norway to the seasons she spent working as a guide on Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, Arnesen courted the cold, and her memoir reflects the knowledge and passion for Arctic and Antarctic exploration that grew with her adventures in the wintry reaches of Norway and beyond. Tracing her path from the heroic stories of explorers like Fridtjof Nansen and Ernest Shackleton to her own crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap in 1992, Arnesen credits the inspiring feats of those who preceded her but also describes the obstacles—including niggling self-doubt—that tradition, convention, and downright prejudice put in her way as she endeavored to find the support and sponsorship granted to men in her field.

A tale of solitary adventure in the bleak and beautiful bone-chilling cold of Antarctica, Skiing into the Bright Open tells a story of gritty determination, thrilling achievement, and perseverance in the face of near despair and daunting odds; it is, ultimately, an object lesson in the power of a dream if one is willing to pursue it to the ends of the earth.

About Liv Arnesen

Liv Arnesen is a world-renowned explorer, lecturer, author, and educator whose expeditions have been featured by the BBC, CNN, NPR, NBC Nightly News, and NBC's Today Show, as well as in the New York Times, Outside, Sports Illustrated, and O, The Oprah Magazine. With Ann Bancroft, she wrote No Horizon Is So Far: Two Women and Their Historic Journey across Antarctica and founded Bancroft Arnesen Explore, a nonprofit dedicated to global water sustainability, with expeditions planned through 2027 to raise awareness through education and storytelling. She lives near Oslo, Norway.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Leah on August 29, 2021

As the first woman to ski unsupported to the South Pole--and solo, no less--Liv Arnesen has an incredible story to share. In full-blown spite of all of the gendered expectations for what her adult life and priorities should look like, ideas that men can indulge in this type of "glorified tourism" bu......more

Goodreads review by Mary on April 16, 2021

One lone woman on two skis pulling one 250 pound sled trekked 745 miles, for 50 days, with no support to reach the South Pole. Liv encountered bitter winds, subzero temperatures (REALLY sub-zero) and deadly crevasse crossings and miles and miles of sastrugi....complex, fragile shapes of snow on top......more

Goodreads review by Karen on October 03, 2022

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At first I was concerned that it would read more like a list of her experiences, but the author provides good insights into how she became interested in skiing to the South Pole, the work it took to prepare for her endeavor, obstacles, especially because she's a woman......more

Goodreads review by Alexis on December 29, 2024

Liv's story is an incredible one. No doubt she was born for exploration and expeditions!......more

Goodreads review by Jane on March 09, 2022

An adventurous story of a woman, her courage, sense of adventure and the thrill of skiing into Antarctic, all from the comfort of a cozy chair! Exciting memoir!......more