George Lowe directed the Oscar-nominated film of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1955-58), which made the first overland crossing of the continent via the South Pole. Lowe joined mission leader Sir Vivian Fuchs’ party coming from Shackleton Base; and spotted hazards for the dogs and snowcats. NFU veteran Derek Wright shot the tractor-driven Edmund Hillary-led NZ support crew coming from the other side of Antarctica. Lowe’s Everest mate reached the Pole on 4 Jan 1958. Fuchs touched base on the 19th — Sir Ed: “Hello Bunny.” Fuchs: “Damn glad to see you Ed.” You can view the film here
With other members of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Lowe received in 1958 the Polar Medal (with Antarctic clasp). He was also commemorated in Mount Lowe, a 3,000ft peak in the Shackleton Range.
He was appointed OBE for services to mountaineering and exploration.
He counted himself Edmund Hillary’s oldest friend. Before his own death, Hillary wrote the foreword to The Conquest of Everest: Original Photographs from the Legendary First Ascent, which Lowe compiled with Huw Lewis-Jones and which is to be published imminently. According to Hillary, Lowe “saved my life a few times over the years. Down in Antarctica, I remember when we were trying to get our ship, Theron, clear of the ice and I was standing with George on an ice-floe, cutting a channel. A steel cable fouled the propeller just as a rope-end flicked and locked around my ankle. Quickly, yet calmly, George managed to knock it free before it came tight. A moment later and I would have been sucked under...” (Source The UK Telegraph)
