The Ice Beneath My Feet: My Year In Antarctica
By (Author) Diana Patterson
ABC Books
ABC Books
1st February 2010
Australia
General
Non Fiction
Geographical discovery and exploration
500.82092
Paperback
386
Width 160mm, Height 235mm, Spine 20mm
631g
Antarctica is windy and achingly cold, incredibly isolated and inhospitable - yet its overwhelming stark white beauty speaks to our imagination. Bright and passionate, Diana Patterson was searching for her path in life when she was bitten by the Antarctic bug in her late twenties. She nursed her secret ambition and with dogged determination set her sights on becoming station leader at the Australian base Mawson - a lofty aspiration, considering this was most definitely a bloke's world. Being knocked back four times didn't deter her - she never gave up her dream, and at the age of 38 became the first woman in charge of this small, mostly male community of glaciologists, physicists, biologists and tradies, in each other's pockets 24/7, thousands of miles from the comforts of home. The Ice Beneath My Feet is an intimate and riveting account of Diana's year at Mawson. The day-to-day reality of life in this frozen environment and the adventures of the delightful, vital characters we meet along the way (men, huskies, penguins!) are utterly captivating, and a must-read for anyone who harbours their own Antarctic dream.
Diana Patterson was the first woman in the world to manage an Antarctic research station and is now a motivational speaker and involved in Antarctic tourism. A committed conservationist, she has held a number of senior management and advisory roles with an environmental focus and keeps active through alpine and cross-country skiing, bushwalking and mountain biking.