"All right, Coop." "A hundred and five degrees." " What do you say?" " 105?" "I can go more." "107." " 108." " I'm feeling it." "109." "OK, the suspense is killing me." " All right, 110." " 110?" " 110." " A hundred and ten toasty ones." "Right." "Ready to go out and greet the heat?" "The warm wind in my hair?" " Are you ready?" " I'm ready." " Let's do it." " Let's do it." "Thirty-one." "Thirty-one degrees." " Thirty-one below." " Thirty-one below!" "New record!" " Thirty-one below!" " New record!" "New record!" "Oh, it's cold!" "I hate to do this, but..." "Rise and shine, kids." "No more sleeping in." "All right." "If "rise and shine" won't work..." "Is anybody hungry this morning?" "Attaboy, Max." "Hey, what do you say?" "Ready for exercise before breakfast?" "How you doing?" "How does right field look?" "I think it looks pretty good." "What do you say, Max?" "Here we go." "Go get it!" "Hey, Maya." "How's my best girl doing, huh?" "How you doing?" "You keeping everybody in line?" "Left field." "Go get it." "Left field, Maya." "Here we go." "Go get it!" "Attaboy, Max." "Come here, buddy." "Settle down." "There's plenty to go around, guys." "Here you go, Shorty." "Good boy, Shadow." "Dewey." "Truman." "There you go, Old Jack." "That's my best girl." "Here, I'll trade you." "There you go, Maya." " Hi." " Hey." " Didn't think I'd see you this year." " Guess you got lucky." " I guess so." " Crazy Katie!" " Did you get your pilot's license yet?" " Oh, Coop, I missed you." "OK." " Got that?" " Yeah." "Hey, hey, careful with that." "That equipment's made it 10,000 miles." "I'd hate that to change in six feet." "Sorry about that." "Hi." "I'm Dr. Davis McClaren." "Earth and Space Sciences UCLA." "Jerry Shepard, expedition guide." "Welcome to the bottom of the world." " Nice to meet you." " Same here." "Go any further south, you'll fall off the planet." "Well, that'd be unfortunate." "Charlie Cooper, cartographer, mechanical engineer, runway paver." " Nice to meet you." " Dr. McClaren!" "Welcome to the ice." "Andy Harrison, NSF science director." "An honor to meet you." " Dr. Rosemary Paris, field coordinator." " Nice to meet you." "You've met our team?" "Yeah, Mr. Cooper was just taking good care of all my things." "Cooper, really?" "First time for everything, I suppose." " Let's get you inside." " Thanks." " Sure." " Yeah." "OK." "Lady luck, in my corner." " What are we playing?" " She is pretty." " Quarter in." " Quarter." " You're going down." " You're going down." "Crazy Katie, you're going down." " Hey, doc, you want in?" " No, thanks." "I gave up gambling a long time ago." "Hey, you flew in with Katie, didn't you?" "Remind me how you're getting home." "Say, Old Jack, you in or out, buddy?" " Translation?" " That'd be out." " So, Coop, how's the new girlfriend?" " Mmm." "How's my new girl?" "I don't know." " How about hot?" " Wow." " Huh?" " Wow." "She's a scientist too." "At the Italian base." " Pretty and smart." " Smarts." "Yeah." "Notice something missing in that picture?" "OK, OK." "I think..." "I know you mean me." "You're talk..." "The picture's coming." "She's sending one of the two of us, OK?" "Patience, Jer." " Uh-huh." "How many?" " Two." "Doc, you looking forward to your first trip to Dry Valleys?" "It's a pretty cool spot this time of year." "Actually, Dr. McClaren needs to get to Mt." "Melbourne to search for his meteorite." "Melbourne, huh?" "Nobody said anything about Melbourne." "Yeah." "Meteorite hunting is a pretty small world and, uh, I didn't want anybody to know where I was really going, 'cause I'm looking for something special at Melbourne and the NSF let us keep it off the paperwork." "Is there a problem?" "Look, doc, let me show you something." "I'll show you on the map." " This is where we are, right?" "OK." " Yeah." "Here's Dry Valleys." "All the way over here, Mt." "Melbourne." "Twice as far and the opposite direction." "I've been over our route twice in the last week, but I haven't been to Mt." "Melbourne since the beginning of the season." "Well, that may be so." "But Dr. McClaren has traveled a long way." " If we can accommodate him, we should." " Andy, it's the end of January." "The ice is too thin and snowmobiles would be too dangerous." "There's only one way to make that trip, with the dogs." "The dogs?" "OK." "Will they be able to carry all my gear?" "The dogs'll be fine." " It's really late in the season." " Last year we had the dogs out right up until the day we left." "All right, Andy." "You're the boss." "I'll get things ready." " Hey, you need some help?" " No, I'm fine." "Coop, say good night to Buck." "Uh, I'm gonna take a rain check, Jer." "Ah..." "Kids, come on!" "Let's go!" "Everyone outside." "Let's get you tucked into bed." "Come on." "Good, Jack." "Good boy." "I'll see you in the morning." "Hey, Maya." "What do you say?" "One more trip, huh?" "Then we'll get you to McMurdo for the winter." "That sound good?" "Huh?" "That sound good?" "That's my girl." "Hey, Max." "I need a good trip out of you." "Lucky star, huh?" "Let's hope so." "See you in the morning, Max." "Knock, knock." " Hey." " Hey." "I warmed up some of your favorite ice cream." "Strawberry." "That's your favorite ice cream." "Yeah, well, you got here early." "I didn't have time to go shopping." "Uh, yeah, well, they changed things up." "How you been?" "Been a good season." "Kids are doing well." "Maya's been awesome." "Old Jack's getting a bit older, so..." "Jerry, I was asking you how you've been." "I'm not interrupting or anything, am I?" "No, Rosie." "We were just catching up." "OK." "All right, well, uh..." "I guess I'll see you guys in the morning, then." "Thank you." "That was sweet." "No problem." "Good night." "Good night." " Pardon me." " Oh, sorry." "Oh!" "Oh!" "Head's up." "Sad fact of life in this place, doc." "Floor is more comfy than the bunks." "So, what is it exactly that you do here?" "Cartography." "I spent the last two years mapping every inch of this territory." "Hey, dude." "What happened?" "You strike out?" "No." "I didn't even swing." "Ah, went down looking." "That's still a strike-out, Jer." " Ow!" "Ow!" " Sorry about that, buddy." "I didn't see you there." "We turn the heat off at night, so if there's anything you need to keep warm," "I suggest you sleep with it." "Incoming." "Ow!" "Jerry!" "Man!" "OK, this is the last of it." "Wow, doc." "Won't be losing you, now, will we?" "All right, rule number one." "If you want to approach the dogs, approach them from the front." "OK?" " See how the lines are taut?" " Yeah." "I want them like that at all times." "If the line's tangled, they'll fight." " We don't want that." " Got it." " Anything else I should know?" " The rest is pretty much up to me." "I gotta watch them." "They're working dogs." "They'll run themselves to death." "They love work." "All right, official introductions." "Up here in front, on lead, we got my best girl, Maya." "Next to her we got Old Jack." "Just turned ten, and, uh, he's actually getting ready for retirement." "Back here, the white one, this is Shorty." "And next to him is the pup of the bunch." "That's Max." "He's still in training." "He's got the right stuff." "I expect big things out of him." "Right here, we got the twins." "This is Truman." "Truman took a bite out of Dewey a couple years ago." " Notice the scar above Dewey's eye?" " Oh, yeah." "Yeah." "Well, they've been buddies ever since, so..." "Back here, last but not least, we got the two malamutes." "The gray one's Shadow and the red one's his buddy, Buck." "All brawn and absolutely no brain." "But we love 'em." " Everyone good to go this morning?" " Yeah, I think so." "I was just being introduced to Maya, Old Jack," "Shorty, Max, Truman, Dewey, Shadow and Buck." " Excellent." " Jer?" " Be careful out there, OK?" " Always." "Take care of Cooper for me." "Don't worry." "I'll give him plenty of food and water." "OK, enough." "Are we done?" "I'd like a picture of our intrepid explorers, please." "Thank you." "All right." "Hang on!" "OK." "OK, you ready?" "Uno, dos, tres." "Handsome." "So handsome." "Hey, Coop." "You'd better get up here and say goodbye to Buck." "Oh, yeah?" "All right, uh, see you, Buck!" "Safe..." "Safe trip, Buck." "No." "Come over and say goodbye." "You're gonna give him a complex." "And what about my complex?" "Come around..." "Come say goodbye to him." "I'm..." "I'm pretty sure he heard me say goodbye, Jer." "I don't..." "OK." "I don't know why you do this." "OK." "See ya, Buck." "All right." "You, uh..." "You take care of the doctor and, uh, Jerry, OK?" "Oh!" "Oh!" "Nasty!" "Oh!" "That was disgusting!" "I got dog spit all in my mouth and my nose!" "It's not funny." "I don't see what's so funny." "All right." "Take care, guys." "We'll see you." " Bye." " See ya." "All right, team!" "Last hike of the season!" "Let's go!" "Hike!" "Hike!" "Come on, Jack!" "Come on, Old Jack!" "Let's go, Maya!" "Come on, girl!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "What's the problem?" "We got ice fields up ahead." "I don't know how thick the ice is." "That's why we couldn't take the snowmobiles." "Look." "So, what do we do?" "I'm gonna change things up." "Put the dogs in a fan formation for safety." "It's a little slower, but it spreads the weight out." "That way if one of the dogs falls through the ice, the lead's long enough so the rest don't follow." "Hike!" "Hey, doc." " You see that over there?" " What is that?" "Here." "You see 'em?" " I see 'em." "What are they?" " Leopard seals." "More leopard than seal, if you ask me." " Give 'em a wide birth?" " Yeah, we'll give 'em some space." "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" "Whoa, kids!" "Whoa!" " What was that?" " We're on a glacier now." "We're gonna have to take her slow, doc." "Get off." "I want you to take the brake." "You're gonna run the sled." "All right?" "Heavy brake." "Follow my footprints." "Keep the sled on my footprints." " I'll probe ahead." " Got it." "This glacier's always moving, so we have to be careful." "All right, doc." "Keep two feet on the brake if you need to." " Just keep a steady go, all right?" " All right." "All right, kids, come on!" "Easy, now!" "Nice and easy." "Let's go." "All right, stop!" "Stop!" "All right, hard brake, right there!" "We got a crevasse right here." "I'm not sure how big it is, so we're gonna go around." "OK." "We're gonna bring it over this way." "Slow and easy." "I'm gonna call Maya over, and then I just want you to let up ever so lightly, all right?" " All right, got it." " All right, Maya, haw!" "Haw!" "Haw!" "Haw!" "Max, what are you doing?" "Max, no." "Haw!" "Max!" "Stop!" "Stop, Max!" "Doc, stop!" "No!" "Hold on, doc!" "Doc!" "Put both hands on the sled!" "Both hands on the sled, doc!" "Hike!" "Come on, Jack, take it home!" "Come on, Maya, take her home!" "Come on!" "Hike!" "Oh, man!" "You OK?" "Yeah." "Do me a favor." "Next time you decide to go to Melbourne, don't pack so much stuff." "And try coming a bit earlier." "Andy said the trip was fine." "You agreed to go." "Andy's my boss." "I do what he says." "If you didn't think it was safe, you shouldn't have backed down." "Easy." "Jerry, thanks for today." "Yeah." "No problem." "Who's the artist?" "My son, Eric." "He does one every trip." "He looks like your wife." "Lucky kid." "Yeah." "What about you?" "You got somebody?" "Are you kidding me?" "I'm here six months a year dragging scientists around." "What kind of woman would put up with that?" "How about Katie?" "Looked like you might've had something." "Yeah." "A couple years ago we did." "You know how it goes." "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't." "I guess relationships don't fit my lifestyle." "Anyhow, come on." "Let's go outside, guys." "We're gonna get an early start tomorrow." "Come on." "Come on, Max." "Come on, Max." "All right, whoa!" "Doc, hold it." "Put on the brake, I'm gonna take it from here." "Yeah, got it." "Whoa!" "What do you say?" " That's something else." " That's Melbourne." " That's your home for the next week." " Beautiful." "Ready, now!" "Hike!" "Victoria, this is McMurdo Weather." "Come in." "Victoria?" "This is McMurdo Weather." "This is Victoria." "We copy you, Mactown." "Hi, Andy." "It's Steve." "Just checking status on your team." "We've got four at the base and two in the field." "Over." "Suggest you bring them in." "We have two massive low pressure systems moving south." "Control wants you in early just to be safe." "Over." "Copy that, Mactown." "Over and out." "Get Jerry on the radio." "Wanna sling me a cup of that when you get a chance?" "Yeah, sure thing." " You got her?" " Yeah, thanks." "How's that looking there?" "Well, everything points to the spot that we're on." "The next couple days are gonna tell us a lot." "Field base to Melbourne." "Come in." "Base to Melbourne." "Come in." "Jerry?" "Jerry, do you read me?" "Over." "Yeah, go for Melbourne." "That you, Katie?" "Jerry, we got a call from Mactown." "... major storm coming in." "Over." "You'll have to go again." "We're in a bad spot here." "Jerry... back to field base." "Do you copy?" "We got a major storm coming in." "Mactown wants you in right away." "Over." "All right." "Copy that." "We'll be back." "When do we expect this storm?" "Katie?" "Sorry, doc." "Looks like we're gonna have to pack up." " Well, when do we have to leave?" " We leave first thing, tomorrow." " Listen, Jerry..." " You heard what she said." "Now, Jerry, look." "I cannot go back without at least trying." "Yeah, well, that's not your call." "No." "It's not." "There's a major storm coming in, all right?" "Not a minor one, but a major." "Down here there's a big difference between the two." "My job as your guide is to get you back home in one piece, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do." "But Jerry, we're talking about a rock from another world." "This ice floe might give us the first meteorite from the planet Mercury." "That could lead us to discoveries we can't imagine." "When you climb a mountain, go up a river, the exciting part isn't what you know is there." "It's what you don't know." "It's what you might find, and it's the same here." "I came halfway around the world to look for something that's important to me." "Jerry, please, you..." "You gotta take chances for the things you care about." "Half the day on the east slope." "But I want to be back on that sled tomorrow by noon." "I'll take that." "I'll take that." "No." "Hey, we're running out of time here, doc." "Believe me, I know." "Hey, Jerry." " I think we got something here." " Hey, wait, doc!" "Doc, wait a minute." "Doc, don't move." "You're outside the safety zone." "This is a big one." "Eleven centimeters across, fully intact." "It looks like a basalt, but it's like nothing I've ever seen." " Jerry!" " Doc!" "Doc, don't move." "That area's unchecked." "I told you to stay inside the flags." "Oh, my God." "This is it!" "Great, doc." "Stay still." "I'm glad you found your rock, but let's get you out of there." "Just follow your footsteps out." "Step right in your footprints." "Man, I knew I could find it!" "Huh?" "What'd I tell you?" "This is it." "Half a day!" "Thank you." "Now that you scared the hell out of me, can we go home now?" " Yeah." " All right." "Let's go." "Victoria, this is Mactown." "Come in." "Victoria here." "We copy you, Mactown." "The approaching storm has picked up speed and intensity." "We are sending you the coordinates." "Mactown out." "Copy that, Mactown." "Over and out." "Field base to Melbourne." "Come in." "Whoa." "Whoa!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" "Whoa!" "Easy there, team!" "Easy." "What's up?" "I got to do a patch job on one of the kids." "Radio Katie." "See what's going on with that storm." "All right." "Ah, shoot." "Looks like it's Old Jack." "Come here, Jack." "Field base, come in." " Field base, come in." " All right." " We'll get you fixed up." " Field base?" "Got something in your paw?" "This is Melbourne team calling." "Field base, can we get a?" "Doc!" "Are you OK?" "I think I've broken my leg." "All right." "All right, stay right there." "I'll be right back!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Wait, doc!" "Don't move!" "Doc!" "Doc!" "Doc!" "Hey!" "Don't tread water!" "Don't tread water!" "Look at me!" "You see the ice?" "Davis." "Grab the ice!" "It'll freeze you to it!" "It takes you a lot longer to freeze than it does to drown!" "Good, good!" "Davis, hang on!" "I'm coming down!" "All right, kids, come on!" "Hang on, doc!" "Maya, come here." "I can't..." "I can't breathe." "I can't breathe." "Take deep breaths, doc." "Maya, take the rope." "Go to doc." "She's coming to you, doc." "She's coming to you." "OK, Maya, down." "Good girl." "Crawl to the doc." "Come on, Maya, I got you." "It's OK." "Come on, doc, stay in there with me." "Come on, Maya." "Easy, Maya." "Easy." "Good girl." "Good job, Maya." "Put the line over him." "Good girl." "Doc." "Keep your left arm on the ice, like it is, but I want you to reach up with your right arm." "You gotta get your elbow and your arm up through the loop." "You can do it." "There you go." "Good job, doc." "Yeah, just like that." "All right." "Maya, come on." "Good girl, Maya." "Good girl." "I got you, doc." "I got you." "Keep it tight." "Line 'em up, Maya!" "Right now!" "Right now!" "Come on!" "Take it home!" "Line up!" "Hike!" "Come on, Maya!" "Come on, Old Jack!" "Come on, kids!" "Hike!" "All right, doc, you hang in there, OK?" "We're gonna get you home." "All right?" "Don't you worry." " I'm gonna get you back." " I'm sorry." "You're gonna get home and see your family, doc." "You're gonna see your son, all right?" "Come here, Maya." "Maya, you got to get us home!" "Get us home!" "Go get up there, Max!" "Maya needs you!" "Right now!" "Right now!" "Hike!" "Hike!" "I can fly in this, Andy." "You know I can." "Sorry, Katie." "It's not a question of whether you could fly in it, but whether you could see anything." "Don't worry, hon." "He's been in worse before." "Worse than this?" "What?" "Base to Melbourne team." "Come in?" "Base to Melbourne." "Come in." "This is Katie." "Please, come in." "Jerry, do you copy?" "Over." "Base out." "Good, kids." "About three here, right?" "Andy!" "Coop!" "Come on, they're here!" "Jerry!" "Jer, are you all right?" "He's got a broken leg!" "And he's been in the water!" " Get the stretcher now!" " Got it!" " I don't like that cough." " Get the dogs." "Look at those hands!" "Get him in!" " Come on, Jerry." " Let's go!" "Good team." "Good team." "Good girl, Maya!" "You got us home." "All right, let's have a look at this leg." "Rosemary." "Hypothermia kit." "Put your hands in there." "We'll bring 'em back nice and slow." "Hey." "Buddy, how you feeling?" " How are the dogs?" " Uh, good." "I just fed them." " Get the rock off the sled too." " The rock?" " He found what he was looking for?" " Of course." "He had a good guide." "Soon as you can, get that plane ready." "Dr. McClaren could lose this leg without proper medical attention." " What are we gonna do about the dogs?" " There's only so much we can carry." "I did speak to Mactown." "The winter team is ready to go." "Katie can fly right back, bring the dogs out." "I'll wait here and, uh, I'll fly out with the dogs later." "No, that's out of the question." "That could be stage three frostbite and heaven knows what nerve damage has already been done." "Jerry, he's right." "I'll come right back." "I promise." "Let's get ready to pull out of here." "Take them out." "Watch his head." "Jer." "I need some help." "Be careful with that leg." "Knock down the stretcher, Rosemary." "Coop." "Coop, come help me tighten the dogs' collars so they don't get loose." "Come on." "Max!" "Come on!" "Good boy, Max." "Come on, buddy." "Come here." "Come here, Max." "Come here, Max." " Come here." " Good boy." "Good boy, Max." " All right." "Here we go." " Won't be long." "Easy, Max." "Easy." " Let's get the other ones." " All right." "Hang in there, big guy." "That's the last of 'em." "All right, Maya." "You keep 'em in line, all right, and I'll be back." "I promise." "Be good." "That's my girl!" "All right, buckle tight." "This one's gonna be rough." " Coop, I know you got that fear..." " Major... major fear of flying?" "Yeah." "Ugh." "Hey." "Hey!" "Finally." "Oh, man." "Oh, you..." "you are so lucky you passed out." "We..." "We were bouncing around up there, man, like one of those beach balls at Dodger Stadium." "And Katie was yelling at me the whole time to stop screaming, but, uh, I couldn't do it." "It was way too intense, man." "It was crazy." "Where is everybody?" "Right here." "Everyone's here at Mactown." "Davis is good." "Uh, you're good." "Your hands..." "You still have your hands, which is good." "Everything's..." "everything's all good, man." "Did Katie get the dogs OK?" "Yeah, well, um..." "Uh..." "Uh..." "No." "They were telling her that-that she should wait, maybe, you know, until things got better." "Jer?" "It's been snowing since we got here, man." "Dude..." "Hey." "You're finally up." " How are your hands feeling?" " They're fine." " How soon can we go back?" " I think you should get some rest, OK?" "No, Katie." "How soon?" "The weather's gotten worse." "No one's flying in." "When is it gonna get better?" "They've canceled the winter teams." "No one's going in till spring." "I need it now!" "Excuse me, commander?" " Who are you?" " Jerry Shepard." "I'm with NSF." " Andy Harrison's crew?" " Yeah." "We need a plane to the field base." "We weren't entirely evacuated." "What?" "I ordered everybody out of there yesterday." "No, not everybody." "We left eight dogs there, sir." "Dogs?" "I've got over 200 people, ten winter teams to evacuate to New Zealand." "Right." "These dogs are a part of our team, NSF." "Captain, we've got a big problem with some of the engines icing up." " We have to start moving some planes." " Son, look." "This is today." "We've got a two-day window, then another storm hits." "If it lasts till here, which they say it will, then we're into winter and nobody flies." "We don't have enough supplies to keep everybody here." " So I'm a little busy right now." " All we need is a plane, sir..." " Do you want us to do that, sir?" " Do what?" " Start moving some planes." " Will you give me one minute?" "Listen." "If we could just get a plane like the one that we flew in on, it would only take three hours." "Son, the only thing we've got left are C-130s and they sure as hell can't land at a field base." "We can't just leave 'em out there." "There's nothing I can do." "I'm sorry." " Let's start moving those planes." " Yes, sir, right away, captain." "Yeah, come in." "Hey." "How we doing?" "When's your flight leave?" "You and Rosie?" "A couple hours ahead of you, Coop and the doc." "Jerry, I'm so sorry." "I'm really sorry, Jerry." "I don't want to talk about it." "You want a drink?" "Sure." " Fresca." " Yeah, sorry." "That's all I got." "You know this wasn't your fault." "This wasn't anybody's fault." " We just left 'em there." " Come on." "We didn't just leave them." "Don't do this to yourself." "The dogs are strong." "Maybe there's a chance." "We tightened their collars so they wouldn't get loose." "Listen, I..." "I know..." "I know you want me to find a way to get us back there somehow." "I know you're disappointed in me." "No." "You know, sometimes you just have to lower your expectations." "You know what, Jerry?" "I'm sorry." "I really am." "I've got to go pack." "Fill this out." "Take it down to admin." "Just follow the red line on the floor." "With any luck, you could have some funding by August." "August?" "No, wait." "I don't think you understand." "In a few days those dogs..." "I have to go now." "I'm sorry, Mr. Shepard." "Once winter sets in, as you know, there's no coming or goings down there." "We had to cancel the winter teams this year." " Couldn't get 'em in before the storm." " There must be somebody going south." "Mr. Shepard, be reasonable." "This is the biggest Antarctic storm in 25 years." "If you don't believe me, take a look at this weather report." "Yeah, good, good." " Where's the rocket going?" " What a surprise!" " To Mars, Dad." " Come on in." "Yeah?" "Well, look who I found." "Hey." "Hey, world traveler." " How you been?" " I'm good, I'm good." " How's your fingers?" " Oh, I get to keep 'em." " Great." " How's the leg?" "Hard to tell." "The cast is coming along great, thanks to Eric." "There's a pot of coffee in the kitchen, so..." "Eric, let's go find a real coloring book." " What a great surprise." " Give you a hand?" " No, I'm all right." " You got it?" "So, what brings you to LA?" "I brought you something." "Thanks." "I gotta get back there." "Right now." "I can't sleep at night." "I've been to NSF, agencies, foundations." "I've been to TV networks to convince them to follow me with a camera." "Anything to raise money." "It just..." "It all takes too long." "Now I've only got one week to get back down there before winter hits." "Then no one gets in for six months." "You've got those guys in your pocket." "The, uh, the science fund guys." " The university endowment?" " They'd do anything for you right now." " Jerry, listen to what you're saying." " No, it would just be me, just a three-day trip in." "You could tell 'em." " Tell 'em I'm scouting your next trip." " They'd be throwing their money away." " No, they wouldn't." " Even if you could get down there," " by now it's 50 below." " No." "Jerry, be realistic." "It's already been..." "I know how long it's been." "But I need to know for sure." "I have to go." "It's not possible, Jerry." "It's just not possible." "And you gotta find a way to forget about all this." "Forget?" "And you can do that?" "Hey, Jer." "It's Kate." "It's been a week." "Just checking if you're home yet." "Bye." "Jer, it's Kate again." "Call me back." "Bye." "Over here." "All right, the ocean has a mind of its own." "So respect the ocean." "Stay alert." "Now, go on ahead and take the paddle like this, in both hands." "There you go." "We're gonna do an even paddle, alternating blades." "Like that." "Hey, Al, will you take over for me?" "Hey, what are you doing here?" "Somebody told me Jerry Shepard was working at the kiddie pool." "I said, "No way." "I have to see that for myself."" "Is that why you're here?" "You're here to mock me?" "I'm the chauffeur." "Somebody else wanted to see you." "Brandy!" "Come here." "Go see Jerry!" "Wow." " Look who's all grown up and beautiful." " She's smart too." "Just like you said." "Is she?" "Let's see how well she's got you trained, then." "Go get it!" "She's looking good." "But I'm still not sure what you're doing here." "Come on." "You didn't return my calls." "I got worried." " I've been busy." " Oh, yeah, I can see that." "What about you?" "What have you been up to?" "Nothing much." "I'm seeing somebody." " Really." " Yeah, I mean," "I'm not seeing him for long, but I kind of like him." "He's such the opposite of us." "A complete head guy." "He's an engineer." "Like on a train?" "Shut up." " Yeah." " Good girl." "Go, Brandy!" "So I heard you pulled yourself off the McKinley expedition." "Listen, I know leaving the dogs was hard for you." "Well, it is what it is." "There's really nothing to talk about." "Nothing to talk about?" "Jerry, come on." "I don't want to talk about it." "You can't just keep hiding out here, Jerry." "I mean, come on." "Renting kayaks to nine-year-olds?" "Well, what am I supposed to do then, huh?" "Maybe you can help me out or something 'cause I'm not sure anymore." "You know what you're supposed to do?" "Let yourself off the hook." "It doesn't mean that you have to forget." "He knows a dog person when he smells one." "Hey, Mindo." " How you doing?" "Easy trip?" " Yeah, it wasn't bad." " Appreciate you seeing me." " My pleasure." "You're part of the family." "Here." "I thought you'd like to have this." "Thanks." "Come on in." "So, you came to apologize, hmm?" "I just knew..." "I just knew that you raised 'em." "You don't have to apologize to me." "It's not about being sorry for anything." "What is it then?" "Back when I was a young man, my father ran a team of sled dogs up in the Yukon." "One summer he was out in the bush walking with six of them." "They came across a grizzly bear." "Young, but big." "The first thing he did was maul my father within an inch of his life." "When he came to, he saw that two of his dogs had been killed trying to save him." "The rest were gone." "When he regained his strength, he went out looking for his dogs." "He said he had to." "You know why I told you this story?" "Because I won't find my dogs." "The story's not about the dogs." "It's about my father honoring what the dogs had done for him." "Jerry, what's important is finding that one thing that will truly put your heart at rest." "And now..." "And now, ladies and gentlemen, please join with me in welcoming and honoring the man who five months ago brought back from Antarctica the first documented Mercury meteorite," "Dr. Davis McClaren." " Congratulations." " Thank you." "Thank you very much." "There are several people I wish to thank, but first and most important, my family, my son, Eric, and my wife, Dr. Eve McClaren, for her patience as I travel around the world on these expeditions," "many of which could be better described as wild-goose chases." "Um, I'd like to thank the university for its continued support." "I'd also like to take a moment to thank the entire team at the NSF base, without whom this discovery and this scientist would not have made it home." "Thanks." "Thanks." "Excuse me one second." " Thanks." " Yeah, thanks." "Hey." " There he is." " Yeah." "Scotch, rocks, please." "The man of the hour." "Congratulations." "Well, I'm glad you could make it." "I wasn't sure you were gonna come down." "Yeah." "You know, about that..." "Last time I saw you," "I tried to make my problems yours." "I shouldn't have done that." "But it was hard to accept that I couldn't get back to the dogs." "So, where are you with all of that?" "Uh..." "Actually, I'm heading to New Zealand later on tonight." "So, you found a way back down?" "Part of the way." "I'll make it to Christchurch and if you hang out there long enough, usually you can find a ride south." "And if you don't?" "Well, it's, uh, like you said to me the day that storm came in." "You gotta take chances for things you care about." "Davis?" "Yeah, yeah." "Just..." "I'll be right with you." "Go ahead, get back to the party." "I wanna come in and say congratulations once again." " Sure." "Thanks for coming." " You're welcome." " Give my best to your family." " I will." "And good luck, really." "Thanks." "Enjoy the evening." " Sitter says he's been down since 8:00." " Oh, great." "Which means he'll be up at 5:00." "Hey, little man." " Hello." " Hi." "Is your boat for hire?" " For what?" " I gotta get to McMurdo." "Not a chance, mate." "It's a fishing boat." "Looking for someone, you know Bailies?" " Yeah." " It's just up there." "It's a bar." " All right, thanks." "No chance, huh?" " Not in hell." "You want me to take you to Antarctica in the dead of winter on a 70-foot fishing trawler?" "Mm-hm." "And I can pay you." "Not a lot, but everything I have." "I'm sorry, mate." "Everybody is looking for a cheap ride out to McMurdo." "Basically, my boat's a margarita blender." "First chunk of ice we hit, we'll break in half." "I've seen your boat." "We can make it." " I'm desperate." "You're my last option." " No one in their right mind will take you in anything but an icebreaker." "Excuse me, sir." "The lady at the bar bought you a drink." "No way." "Excuse me." "What are you doing here?" "Ah, some guy needed a cheap pilot for an expedition and I'm always cheap in the off season." " Yeah?" " Yeah." " Good to see you." " It's good to see you too." " So, where are you going?" " Same place I'm going." "What the hell?" " What's up, Jer?" " What's going on, buddy?" " Hey, buddy." "Aw!" " How you been?" " Nice to see you." " I missed you." "Same here." "What's really going on?" "What kind of expedition is this?" "Uh, that'd be an NSF expedition." "Yeah, I had a trip that was cut short." "It turns out I got a couple of weeks of grant money left and, uh..." " Uh-huh." " So here we are." "You're the man." "You are the man." "How long you think it'll take you to pack?" " You know me, I'm always packed." " Well, this way." "Yeah!" "Yeah." "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Come on in, boys." " Whoo!" " This is crazy." "I never expected this." "Sometimes you gotta raise your expectations." " Cooper, how you doing?" " I'd rather not talk." " OK." " Thanks." "Polarsyssel, this is helicopter Lima-November-Oscar-Mike-Bravo requesting to land on your vessel." "Roger, Lima-November-Oscar-Mike-Bravo." " You're clear to land." " Here we go, boys." " Hey." " Hey." "I thought you might like some company." "Sure." "It's a good night for stargazing." "Shooting stars mean good luck, right?" "Jerry, you know, this may not be easy, what we find." "I know that." "But whatever we find, the dogs deserve this trip." "I'm glad you're here, Katie." "And I owe you one." "You owe me for a lot of things." "This is not one of them." "No, I'm serious." "You always understood why I had to do this." "Careful, Jerry." "You're starting to sound like a grownup." "What about that conductor friend of yours?" " He's an engineer." " Oh, yeah." "We're not seeing each other anymore." "That's too bad." "Shut her down, Mr. Hansen." "Let's go take a look." "What do you make of that?" "It's not good." "The ice is six feet about here." "The ice is deeper than we thought." "I guess we shouldn't be surprised, given the winter we just had." "Come halfway around the world and we can't make it the last 100 miles." "Sorry, mates." "I guess now is last call for a great idea." "Simonetta." "Simonetta who?" "His imaginary Italian girlfriend." "Come on, not now." "An iceberg, all right, broke off from an ice shelf." "It blocked the route that the Adélie penguins take for their fishing waters." " I'm not seeing the relevance." " Horses, doc." "Rein 'em in." "Now, I needed to map the new route so researchers could find 'em." "While I was following them, they led me right past the Italian base where one Simonetta Pirelli whipped me up a mean cup of hot chocolate." " Come on, what are you talking about?" " Step into my office." "Our base is too far for the helicopter to make it there, right?" "But the Italian base is, like, half the distance." " The young man's right about that." " Still leaves us short." "Right, right." "Hold on." "See, all field bases have the same basic stuff, right?" "But the Italian base is equipped with the Lamborghini of snowcats." "I'm telling you, this thing is like a rocket." "So we take one of these snowcats to our base, do what we came to do, blow out of Dodge." "And this way, I get to spend a little less time flying." "No offense, Katie." "Huh?" "All right, let's go." "Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah, there it is!" "The keys are in number two." "The shovels are around the side." "We gotta dig this place out." "It's hard." "Sweet." "All aboard!" "Nice snowcat, Coop." "What?" "Not bad, huh, Jer?" "Well, what do you want me to say?" "You're the man?" "That'd be nice." "OK, you're the man." "You are indeed the man, Cooper!" "You are the man!" "Grazie, Geraldo." "Grazie." "And as for you, Crazy Katie, you know all those ridiculous flights you put me through?" "Yeah." "Payback is a dish best served cold." "Cooper, I think that's "revenge."" "It's Old Jack." "We came all this way and they didn't even make it off the chain." "They got off." "They got loose!" "Come on, kids!" "Come on!" "Come on, Max!" "Hey!" "Hey, Buck!" "Hey, Buck." "Max, what you been doing?" " OK, not the face!" "Not the face!" " No!" "You look so beautiful." "OK, chill, boy!" "Chill, boy, not the..." "Good boy, Max." "Good boy, Max." " Yeah..." " Told you we'd come back." "Look at you guys." "Huh?" "Shorty, come here." "Not the..." "Hey, Jer!" "A little help over here." "A little help." "Hey, Buck!" "Leave him alone!" "Get over here!" "Whew!" "Thank you, Jer!" "Good boy, Buck." "Shadow, Truman, Max and Shorty." "Man, I don't believe it." "Good boys." "My five lucky stars." "Almost perfect." "Let's go home, kids." "Come on." "This should be enough to get us home." " Give me a hand with this." " OK." "All right, Shorty, up!" "Good boy!" "Come on, Shadow, let's go." "Come on, buddy." "Come on, let's go." "Get in the back." "Come on!" "We're losing light here." "Party's over, come on." "All right, Max, come on, buddy." " Wanna ride up front?" " Have it your way." "Let's go." "Up front." "Ride with me." "Come on, buddy." "Jump up." "Max!" "Max!" "Max!" "Maya." "Aw, Maya." "Come on now." "Come on now." "You did good." "You did good, Max." "Good boy." "You brought her home." "I'm sorry, girl." "Maya?" "Hey." "There's my girl." "You're OK." "How's my best girl doing, huh?" "Good girl, Maya." "All right, let's get you home, OK?" "Let's get you home." "Coop." "Coop." " She gonna be OK?" " Yeah, she's gonna be fine." "What do you say, Coop?" "Let's fire her up and get out of here." "Yes, sir." "I'll just make room for one more." "All right." "Give me a hand here, Katie." "Let's get her in." "Come here, Maya." " Got her?" "There you go." " I think so." "All right, Max." "Let's go, buddy." "Come on." "Good boy." "How's your girl?" "She's good." "All right." "Here we go."