Travel Tips

Do you know what Dallas, USA and the South Pole have in common? Believe it or not, they both see 100 degree temperatures in July.But at the South Pole it will be 100 degrees below zero.This means you could freeze your skin off in mere seconds.

Twenty-eight brave people live at the South Pole for six months each year, sacrificing sunlight, most communication with the rest of the world, and the possibility of escaping the area.This crew is responsible for operating the United States’ polar base, which includes manning the research station’s telescopes and other equipment.Present day communications and technology are altering that purpose.

Recently North American astronomers were able to control the South Pole observatory’s telescope using satellite communications.No one had controlled the telescope at the South Pole prior to this event.The hope is that astronomers will someday be able to use the telescope from the comfort of the warm, comfortable, regular office.Antarctic Cruising Tours

The crew that stays at the South Pole must find ways to handle the coldest, driest, and windiest climates on Earth.The elevation of Antarctica is greater than that of any other continent, which can create hardship in breathing.It is the harsh and severely cold climate that makes it only possible for cold-adapted plants and animals to survive on this continent. These include penguins, seals, and various forms of algae and tundra vegetation.

The crew that stays the long six months of winter in Antarctica are called “winter-overs.”They have the privileges of a large variety of videos, a small exercise room, computers, a pool table and fabulous food.Normally, winter-overs do not speak much about what occurs during their winter months of isolation at the South Pole, from February to October.antarctica holiday

The ever increasing size of the research program at the South Pole has caused there to be insufficient power for all the equipment.There are only three oil-burning generators which are not able to produce enough power for all the computers, telescopes, lasers, and other electrical powered equipment.That being the case, the winter-overs must cope with insufficient power, tight quarters and cold buildings.

Various traditions are used by winter-overs to help pass the time.In order to be part of the “300 Club,” there needs to be temperatures less than 100 degrees below zero.The winter-overs will crank up the sauna to 200 degrees.They then sprint from the 200 degree sauna into the minus 100 degree air and back again.

They also look forward to the annual airdrop.Every June, a U.S. Air National Guard military transport plane will fly over the South Pole to drop deliver pallets of food, mail and other supplies.The winter-overs will operate heavy equipment to retrieve the supplies and bring them into the station.This is the closest winter-overs are able to get to physical contact with anyone outside the South Pole area for six months.

They are not able to see a tree or travel more than a mile from the pole throughout their stay.Everyone who takes on this responsibility is given a week’s vacation at the McMurdo Station, which is a U.S Antarctic base.While on vacation, the winter-overs can enjoy camping and frolicking on the rocky beach in jeans and t-shirts in the relatively warm 25-degree weather.

Comments are closed.