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. This is one of sixteen books on the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE).