Devil's West Wind Belt · An Extreme Journey of a Middle-Aged Man

Author: Yang Yongjie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Located between 45° and 60° south latitude in the westerly belt, also known as the Roaring Forties, it is the world's most extreme maritime environment. Here, winds of over 8 levels blow year-round, with peak gusts exceeding 12 levels. Massive cyclones frequently churn up towering 30-meter waves over thousands of nautical miles, making the environment incredibly perilous—hence the name "Devil's Westerly Belt." A strong man from Shandong, after studying and working in Beijing for over a decade, harbored a vague dream and moved south to become a journalist, buying a house and a car, living a happy and stable life. Yet, he always felt an unseen call from afar, stirring his restless heart day and night. At the age of middle age, he bid farewell to his wife and children, embarking on a long journey—first to Antarctica, then back to Antarctica, and finally turning northward to the Arctic, beginning his extreme adventure. The Arctic is vast, the Antarctic is boundless. Between the frozen worlds at the Earth's two poles, what did he see and feel? What dream was he searching for as a middle-aged man?