Having made three trips to the South Pole with the National Science Foundation, I&#x27;ve seen first-hand the impact private traverses can have on people. When all goes well, it&#x27;s wonderful but when it doesn&#x27;t go well it is the lives of the polar program&#x27;s rescue team these people are risking.<p>The continent is full of cravasses, fractures in the ice hundreds of feet deep and potentially tens of feet across, invisible because they are covered with snow, and large enough to swallow entire vehicles or teams. The third year I was down there, a rescue was required in which the leader of the rescue team dropped into five separate cravasses trying to get to a group of &quot;explorers.&quot; That was just his count, not including the rest of the team. Yes, he was roped off and knew how to progress through a risky environment, but every one of those falls in a remote and hazardous environment was a very real risk to him and his team. The teams have helicopters, and ski-equipped twin otters, but safe landing sites can be far removed from the location of the team needing rescue.<p>The history of Scott and Amundsen shows just how difficult and dangerous the continent is to cross, and it remains that way today. If this guy wants to risk his life, that&#x27;s his business, but he&#x27;s also potentially risking the lives of the team that will get called in to save him if he gets into danger.