South Pole Achieved!
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2011
1
21
22
Trip End
Mar 15, 2012
South Pole, Antarctica
Saturday, February 4, 2012
No Matter Which Way I Turn, I’m looking North
That’s right! I got to stand on the Geographic South Pole, the southern most point on Earth. Then ran around it! – so I technically ran around the world (in about 10 seconds). Well, I guess that part doesn’t count as circumnavigating the Earth. But I had fun anyway!
One hundred years ago, last month, Robert Falcon Scott reached the Geographic South
Pole, only to find that Roald Amundsen beat him there by a month. He was a somewhat
demoralized but still proud of his great journey.
Yesterday I stood on the South Pole, the very bottom of the world. My journey took a mere three hours by plane compared to the many months it took those first to reach the Pole. But to get to the airplane we had to all meet in McMurdo and climb aboard "Ivan the Terra Bus". Ivan took us out along the road to Pegasus Field in the Permanent Ice. I finally got to see my first Emperor Penguin. Yay! Didn't get a pic since we went by so quickly (at a blistering 20 MPH). About an hour later we began boarding the aircraft.
It was called a “Sleigh Ride” and was a morale trip for 30 of us. We flew on a ski equipped
C-130 Hercules. It was a little uncomfortable but exciting nevertheless. The seats were just stretched canvass material that ran lengthwise along both sides of the cargo plane. I got the seat with the, “crack”. You know, where the two pieces of material are separated by a few inches. I am a great plane sleeper but didn’t get a lot on this ride. My bottom kept telling the rest of me to
reposition every so often!
The flight mission was fuel delivery and we were extras. We only had 30 minutes on the ground to do our thing. There is a Ceremonial Pole with national flags of the original seven signatories of the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty says that no country shall own Antarctica.
The ice (hundreds of feet thick) is constantly moving so if you plant a marker on the pole one day, it will not be over the pole some time later. I think it’s about 20 or 30 feet a year (but I’m not sure on that number). Anyhow, a new marker is placed every January (this was located on 1/17/2012) so the one we stood next to, was for all practical purposes, right on the spot.
The “Dark Sector” is about a mile away so there was no time to go. There is a neutrino detector system, a 10-meter radio telescope and a variety of other scientific experiments going on. The main building is on special supports and must be jacked up every year or so because the snow and ice keeps rising. In fact the last station is deep under the ice.
Poleies (sp?) were at the end of their long season and probably weren’t too happy to be invaded by a sleigh ride bunch. I think we doubled their population for that 30 minutes! I did get my Passport stamped and took some pictures.
Everyone had to attend a briefing before getting on the plane. The McMurdo station manager told us a little about what to expect. For example, Pole is about eight thousand feet elevation, but since the pressure in the circle is lower than other places, it feels more like ten or twelve thousand feet depending on the weather. So expect to feel a little winded – we wouldn’t be there long enough to develop any altitude sickness.
The other thing that he stressed was that since the building was a federal
facility, he asked that no one take any “Victory” or “Courage” photos. It seems
that before this new building was put up, it was a custom for anyone who got to
Pole to take their clothes off and get a photo at the Ceremonial Pole. So it
was “keep your clothes on” since the dining room looked out at that area and
the people eating didn’t want to see anyone running around naked!
Pole is White, Cold and Flatttt. It was about -30C but no wind for a change so it was a beautiful day!
Our 30 minutes seemed to fly by, and before I knew it we were on the plane getting ready for the ride back home to McMurdo. Of course, I once again thought of those rugged explorers and their journey. We needed our return trip to be like Amundsen’s, as Scott’s entire party, including him died on the way back – the last three were only a few miles from McMurdo, where there was his hut and ships.
Comments
Your visit to the geographic South Pole, sounds like a momentous achievement! Just think about all the stories you will have to share when you get home. Can't wait to see you in Cawaja this summer.
Now you can stick a pin in the map where few others do... congratulations on reaching the Pole, Ray!
That's Cool! Like being at the summit of Mount Everest, not many inhabitants of Earth have the opportunity to stand at the Geographic South Pole. Looks like you enjoyed a beautiful day, Congratulations, Ray!
Yes the pin! Provided of course I can get a suitable Pseudocylindrical Projection Map like a Mollweid (sp?) to hang on the wall somewhere ;-)
It has been quite an adventure,Ray! WE are looking forward to seeing you this summer and sharing.
We Love You!
Grace & Rob