South Pole

South Pole. After an 8-day, 70-mile cross country ski run : the end of the trail !!

Geographic South Pole. But the thing is - this is the REAL South Pole. The Ceremonial Pole (top pic) and the Geographic Pole are a couple of hundred yards apart. This is the one the earth spins around.

How to do such a trip? First, catch a ride on a ski-equipped DC-3 to latitude 89 degrees south, one degree (or 60 nautical miles, 70 statute miles, 111 kilometers) from the south pole. Or start further back if you want to. Land on the polar ice cap in the middle of nowhere, unpack all your gear and load it onto your sled. Don't forget anything!!

The plane takes off and leaves you with the greatest sense of isolation you're ever likely to feel. And the greatest sense of quiet.

Once the sleds are loaded, about 100 lbs apiece, there's nothing left but to start walking south on your all-terrain skis. It will take a LOT of hours of doing this to cover the 60 nautical miles to the pole. There's plenty of time to ponder your surroundings : the infinite variety of wind-carved ice and snow features, the sky completely unmarked by jet contrails, the sun that never sets (and spins in the opposite direction), what the ground might look like under the 2 miles of ice under your feet. And a million other things.

Camping out in -30 degree temperatures might not sound too appealing, but after a full 8 hour day of pulling a sled it starts to look pretty good. These double-walled polar tents are warm enough for a comfortable nights' sleep. Especially with the help of the 24-hour sunshine.

Polar Ice Cap, Antarctica. Trudging ever onward. In spite of pulling a 100+ lb sled, the going is not particularly difficult, just really really long. The south pole is dead ahead according to the compass, our only navigation tool. At about 14 miles out we begin to see the Amundsen-Scott research station, which is right at the Pole. But not just yet...

There was a fine mist of ice crystals raining down on us this morning, making a nice halo around the sun. Taking rest breaks on the hour gives a better chance to take photos without ski poles in your hands. But you gotta be quick getting those gloves off and back on!

Our intrepid polar exploration party of 3. A pretty tough trip even with all the modern conveniences like gore-tex, merino wool, down jackets, hi-tech sleeping bags, and airplanes. Much respect goes to the early explorers like Shackleton, Amundsen, and Scott, who did so much more with so much less.

South Pole, Antarctica. It turns out there's a lot going on way down here at the south pole. The massive Amundsen-Scott research station (lower left) is located here, along with a few hundred visiting scientists from around the world during the summer months, which was 'now'. They are smart enough to arrive here by airplane, not ski in like we did. They work on a wide variety of projects including the south pole telescopes and the world's largest neutrino detector (lower right). Cutting edge science in one of the most inhospitable places on earth.

As for the south pole itself - there are two of 'em, which might cause some confusion. The candy-striped one (upper left) is the "Ceremonial South Pole" and is used for taking photos that look more "polar". The flags around it are from the nations that signed the original Antarctic Treaty, and includes the US. The other pole (upper right) is the "Geographic South Pole", the axis that the earth rotates on. This is the REAL South Pole, and is about 200 yards from the 'ceremonial' one. Take a close look at the compass points and you'll see that all four directions point North; this is only possible right here. Since the whole polar ice sheet moves about 30 feet a year this monument has to be moved periodically so that it accurately marks the earth's axis. They also change the gold-metal piece on top every January 1, so this one was brand new for 2024 when we were there. A very pretty and practical piece of science/art. You can do some interesting things right here, like be the southernmost person on earth for a while, or walk 'around the world' in a few seconds.