SILVERSTEIN CARRYING NY SECTION FLAG #1 TO ANTARCTICA

Dr. Sam Silverstein, a long time AAC member, will be carrying the NY Section Flag, pictured on the first page of the NY Section website, to Antarctica this December for the 40 th Anniversary of the American Antarctic Mountaineering Expedition of 1966 to Mt. Vinson. Flag Number One was presented to Sam at the 27th Annual Dinner in November. Sam, who is a professor at Columbia University, was a member and organizer of the AAC-National Geographic sponsored expedition that did most of the first ascents in the Ellsworth Range including Vinson and Tyree. Accompanying him on this trip will be former teammates John Evans, Eichi Fukushima and Brian Marts. Among the missing will be deceased teammates Barry Corbet, Charley Hollister, Dick Wahlstrom and Pete Schoening, whose miraculous ice axe belay on K-2 in 1953 saved five lives. Nick Clinch, former AAC President, and Bill Long will be among the other old teammates who will not be accompanying Sam.

Sam is bringing, in addition to the NY Section Flag, an engraved steel plaque for Vinson's summit, in memory of the deceased members of that team.

Sam's Holiday card had a very eloquent explanation of why, in his advanced years, he is undertaking such a long and arduous trip:

"The four of us are returning to Antarctica for the same reason that one goes to college reunions, or drives a few hundred miles out of the way to visit an old friend. We do it because it's fun to return to places to reconnect with people with whom we shared happy times. Admittedly, there is a quantitative, if not qualitative difference between driving a few hundred miles out of the way to see an old friend and traveling with friends nearly 10,000 miles to climb a 16,000 ft. peak in the center of Antarctica. But hey, who's to say that one is more rational than the other? We don't do these things because they make sense. We do them because they're fun!"

"Rudyard Kipling captured the essence of it all when he wrote: 'Something hidden, Go and find it. Go and look behind the ranges. Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go.' As Kipling wrote these words much of the globe was still unexplored and unmapped, and none of the 8.000 meter peaks had been climbed. The situation is very different today. So today, even more than in Mallory's time, mountaineering is a voyage of personal discovery."

"Mountains and mountaineering have contributed richly to the fabric of my life. They have led me to undertake memorable adventures, introduced me to wonderful people, acquainted me with the literature of exploration, and stimulated my interest in science, medicine and education."

"There are many similarities between science and mountaineering. Both provide outlets for creative energies. Both involve technical competence, teamwork, trust perseverance and very hard work. At very critical moments, both require total commitment and willingness to take personal risks. And both offer lasting satisfactions. The biggest difference between them is their summits. In science, even the most elegant high points are just points of departure for even higher peaks. In contrast, each mountain has but one true summit, and there is no next step once you've reached it. Few things in life are so finite."

"So..is this a last hurrah? I do not know, but I hope not. There are many more passes to cross and ranges to see. Shaw admonished. "Life is to live, use it up.' My response, I'm trying."

"Best wishes for the holidays and New Year."

Sam Silverstein