The annals of high-risk adventure and exploration are full of stories of those who put their ambition first and perished as a result. Those adventurers might have been physically brave, but morally, they were not courageous. There's no courage when selfishness takes over. Bancroft and Arnesen showed the courage to act on their beliefs -- that the team's well-being mattered more than their own goals, that the true mission of the trip was not personal glory but setting an example. The price was high: relinquishing a lifelong dream. But the reward was in discovering their true mettle.
"For me, exploration is about that journey to the interior, into your own heart," Bancroft says. "I'm always wondering, how will I act at my moment of truth? Will I rise up and do what's right, even if every fiber of my being is telling me otherwise?"
For Bancroft and Arnesen, that question has been answered with a resounding, valiant yes.
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