Photos from the South Pole
Jim Clash, a longtime member of the Section, is the adventure travel writer for Forbes Magazine and has recently skied to the South Pole ( actually the last degree). He found it a brutal but rewarding adventure. Phil Erard suggested he do a story,with some accompanying photos, for the Section website. Here it is.
Thirty-five years ago, on my ham radio, I contacted the Amundsen-Scott Station at the geographic South Pole--and, ever since, I have yearned to visit. Back then, I was an impressionable young explorer who couldn't imagine what kind of hostile place the Pole was--let alone that a station full of humans could exist there.
Last month, I got my wish when I joined a "Ski the Last Degree" expedition organized jointly by Voyage Concepts (England) and Geographic Expeditions (U.S.). The goal was simple: To ski the last 60 nautical miles to the Pole, carrying all of our own equipment, food and personal gear. The team consisted of Bill Roberts, a 46-year-old lawyer from Ireland; David Gibb, 39, a fund manager from South Africa, and me. We were led by British polar guide Steve Jones.
After a mind-numbing six flights south (New York to Lima to Santiago to Punta Arenas to Patriot Hills to the Thiel Mountains and, finally, to 89 S), we began cross-country skiing the most desolate patch of ice on earth--the polar plateau--where, in winter, high winds are the norm and temperatures dip to 130 below zero.
It was summer for us, but that didn't mean it was easy. Since the plateau is 9,300 feet above sea level, the cold air (rarely above zero) is thin, and we were hauling 100-lb. sleds behind us eight hours a day. At one point I remember thinking: If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I absolutely do not want to come back as a sled dog!
The landscape is other-worldly. For as far as the eye can see in all directions, it is a flat, dry snow. The sun, maybe 25 degrees on the horizon, never sets, just circles the sky once a day like a gaint celestial clock. Without a GPS, we would have had no idea which direction to ski.
After six grueling days the station appeared, first as a tiny black dot on the horizon. On day seven (Dec. 16), we finally reached the dot and were promptly treated to a hot meal and tour by the gracious National Science Foundation station staff. About 240 people work there on scientific projects in the summer; in winter, that drops to about 60. There is even a small store for souvenirs; I purchased Christmas gifts for all four of my brother's children.
We then posed for photos at the ceremonial pole and, in our minds, tried to envision just where on the globe we were. Walk arond the Pole, and you walk around the world. It was surreal! (In the mess room, there was a globe with Antarctica on top instead of the bottom; clearly, the Polies know where they are!)
The kicker for me was operating the station's ham radio station (call: KC4AAA). Who would have believed on February 19, 1971, when I first contacted the Pole, that I would be on the other end of the microphone 30 years later. To quote Steve Jones, my British guide, "Brilliant!"
Group at the South Pole, L to R: guide Steve Jones,
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 Self-portait in steel globe at top of the South Pole
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The old Amundsen-Scott dome, built in 1975 and buried |