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‘The Impossible First’ Review: The Great White South
Reflections on life while traversing 900 miles of the Antarctic alone—with a 375-pound sled in tow—for 54 subzero days.
Colin O’Brady crosses Antarctica. PHOTO: COLIN O’BRADY If you’re looking for inspirational support to stick to your New Year’s resolutions, you might try “The Impossible First: From Fire to Ice—Crossing Antarctica Alone,” by the triathlete-adventurer Colin O’Brady. On its face, the book is an incredibly engaging and well-written account of one man’s quest to cross the world’s harshest and most barren continent unassisted. That means no motorized sled, no food drops; just Mr. O’Brady, slogging 900 miles on skis with a 375-pound sled in tow, dragging everything he needs to survive for nearly two months across a vast, frozen expanse that doesn’t change much from day to day except for the degree to which he has to contend with wind and snow.
Thankfully, the book is much more than that. In addition to chronicling the physical challenges of staying alive in such inhospitable terrain, Mr. O’Brady weaves in biographical details that make you care as much about the man as the mission. But where the author excels is in detailing the mental challenges of such an expedition in a way that makes his struggles and the lessons he learns relatable to the average person. “It all starts with believing in yourself,” Mr. O’Brady writes. “Believing that something is possible is the first step to making it really happen. . . . All of us have a dream, something we might one day hope to do or become. All of us have an Everest. . . . What’s your Everest?”
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