Gina and Pene together in Perth, 1998

Our friendship began on an inspirational basis. Gina was inspired to join the Mawson Institute for Antarctic Research after reading an article about Pene, off to spend a winter at Mawson station Antarctica. Later, Gina initiated a summer project which resulted in Pene going back to Antarctica after her first trip had been aborted. We encouraged each other and learnt from each other's experiences. The scarcity of women physicists and the similar nature of our work strengthened our bond.

We shared an office and a house during the stressful final stages of writing our PhD theses, which we handed in within days of each other. Gina then left for a trip overseas, ending up in Alaska. Pene left to spend the 1988/89 summer at Mawson, followed by a winter in 1990. At this time email was in its infancy and provided a new form of communication for Antarctic expeditioners. We exchanged letters which reflected issues of concern to us - both professionally and on a personal level.

Gina and Pene take a break from their studies at the Mawson Institute for Antarctic Research, University of Adelaide, in 1988. (Photo: Richard G. Ferguson).

When thinking of writing about Antarctica, Pene realised that Gina's experiences in Alaska were a perfect counterpoint to hers at Mawson. Based on our email letters, Frost Bytes went beyond atmospheric physics to the description of life in Antarctica and Alaska.

Writing Frost Bytes gave us both the opportunity to think about our experiences in an objective fashion. We asked ourselves 'What were the important points and what stories did we want to tell?' The most important things were to be honest both about our emotions and what we were doing. Maybe we could provide inspiration to younger people by telling the story of how we were able to do the things we did. Could we humanise the image of scientists? Add some reality to the hero status of the Antarctic expeditioner? The bottom line was that we were willing to publish our personal letters and story, as long as we didn't sacrifice our friendship in the process.

Female Friendships blossom in Alaska - Sharon, Gina and Cathy on a kayak trip in Glacier Bay