by Alicia MacLeay
For just $9,00-12,000 (or so) you can buy a pair of polar worthy skis with an epic story your ski buddies will be hard-pressed to top.
Charles Seymour Wright, a Canadian member of the 1910-1913 British Antarctic Expedition, was wearing those skis when he discovered the frozen remains of expedition leader Captain Robert Falcon Scott.
Scott and four team members reached the South Pole in January 1912, only to learn that Norwegian Roald Amundsen had beaten them by a month. All five died on the trek back to basecamp.
Wright, the expedition's physicist and glaciologist, had traveled with Scott within 283 miles of the pole, but wasn't selected for the final polar push. He navigated for the search party the following spring and located the group's tent and bodies in November 1912.
The skis and bamboo poles, along with Wright's sledding equipment, photos, manuscripts, and scientific equipment from the expedition are up for bid on Wednesday at Christies.
Wright's grandson, Adrian Raeside, is selling the collection, which is valued at between $235,000 and $390,000 (£150,000-£250,000).
In to a letter to his father, Wright described the struggle to haul gear southbound on the skis:
"8 pm Dec 8 -- still here practically raining now, surface awful. One sinks in never less than 18 ins and usually 30 ins. Tried pulling sledge on ski. Can manage 175lbs per man. But it will be awfully hard work & slow work unless something happens shortly. Ponies go in upto their bellies every step. ... Wish I had mocassins and snow shoes down here as I would like to convince Capt. Scott of their superiority over ski. ...
"To help my navigation ... I hammered a few copper nail into my ski near to the bow turn up to mark 15°, 30°, 45° and so on. These proved useful for maintaining a direction but not for setting a course for which one had to use a magnetic compass."
Place your bids at Christies.com.
Skis: 218.4 cm / 86 in
Bamboo poles with baskets: 152.4 cm / 60 in
[via The Adventure Blog and The Goat]
