MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- The tiny stairs of the military transport airplane were difficult to descend in my giant plastic boots. The jet engines groaned and my goggles fogged with the first blast of Antarctic air...

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND-- "If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants" -Sir Isaac Newton. There is a long and rich history of Terra Incognita. The place names identifying scientific research bases, mountain tops, nunataks, valleys, glaciers, ice shelves...

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA-- It’s not surprising that a trip to the bottom of the world might provoke thoughts of death. It’s true the risks we…