Antarctic March

By Andrea Sachs

Two years ago, baby boomers Ann Bancroft, 48, and Liv Arnesen, 50, became the first women to cross Antarctica by foot--trekking 1,700 miles in nearly three months in temperatures as cold as -35-oF. The duo write about their experience in No Horizon Is So Far. TIME spoke with Bancroft:

When did you first get interested in this kind of activity?

From the get-go, at 8. [I have] really solid memories of the idea of going to these faraway places, these polar regions. That was exciting from a very early age.

Do you consider yourself an athlete or an explorer?

A little of both. Certainly the two of us have had long and healthy careers of playing competitive athletics, as well as noncompetitive. It figures into the fabric of our lives as explorers. The two worlds really are together in that regard.

Is there a social world of people who do expeditions?

Oh, yes. It's a small club. It's a small group of women, for sure! We are talking all the time to people all over the globe who do this kind of thing.

Why do folks undertake these sorts of expeditions?

Sometimes it's for scientific reasons; sometimes it's quest driven. I think it's a very natural place for the two of us to go. We are curious, we're both introverted most of the time, and so a 100-day journey really excites us.

How did you meet Liv?

I met her via correspondence in 1993. She contacted me. I had just returned from the South Pole with three other women. She had heard about the expedition and was making the steps to do her own. She was going to go solo. I was so impressed with this woman who was going to head off on her own. I knew I was going to go back one day, and I knew I was going to go back with one other, so I immediately started thinking, Is this the one other?

What was the most difficult part of the trip, physically?

This was not the most physically arduous expedition that either of us has been on. We've had more difficult journeys. Emotionally, this was a hard one because of the lack of wind. We're used to waiting in the tent because of crummy weather. But when the sun is shining and you're stuck in the tent because it makes no sense to go forward and pull anymore, what you really need is wind for the ice sailing. Waiting to move was a challenge.

This was very expensive, wasn't it?

Very expensive. I would say that this Antarctica trip, with all of the people behind us, was probably $1.5 million.

Forgive me for saying this, but you don't look as if you could have crossed Antarctica. [Bancroft is 5 ft. 4 in., 135 lbs.]

I don't look like a hard body? [Laughs.] I think we're Everywomen. We're not Jackie Joyner-Kersee. I think we're very strong when we go, but it's really not about that. It's about working together. It's about mental toughness and stick-to-itiveness; it's about making prudent decisions. It's the hardest work you've ever done in your life, but it's also the joy of our life. It's not about individual brute strength.