Eight Men in a Crate: The Ordeal of the Advance Party of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955-1957

The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1955-58), led by Sir Vivian Fuchs and Sir Edmund Hillary, was the first to make a successful crossing of the Antarctic continent. The plan was for Fuchs and Hillary to start on opposite sides of the continent. However, as a precursor to Fuchs departure an Advance Party was sent out in 1955 to build accommodations and establish depots to ease Fuchs journey. This party of eight men endured a harrowing Antarctic winter holed up in a Sno-Cat crate and sleeping in tents, all the while trying to establish a base for the following season. This is the only account of the Advance Party and is based on the diary of expedition member Rainer Goldsmith.