South Pole

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I wangled my way into the second cook’s job at South Pole and was there from Halloween ‘86 to Valentine’s Day ‘87. I think I got those years right, or maybe it was the ’87-’88 season. Of course it was the most amazing place I have ever been.

I believe it was Barry Lopez who described the South Pole as “beyond wilderness,” and he was certainly right. To have wilderness, you have to have life. Wild life. At the Pole, there is no life without the support systems people have provided. No plants, no wild animals, nothing. Not for very long, anyway. That is a very sobering thought when you are there.

But it is beautiful, surreal, unbelievable. If you are lucky enough to get to go, it is certainly worth it.

I think the movie further inspired my love of Penguins and this would be an incredible extreme journey that I’m sure would change me forever.

to try kayaking in the freezing cold waters….

i want to go anyway. my dad went and lived there for a few months at a time when he was in the navy. his unit was called the “puckered penguins.” his pictures are awesome. i tried to add just Antarctica as a place…but it wouldn’t let me. oh well.

I’ve been to Antarctica – not the south pole exactly – but close enough. Strange thing is – going this far from civilization (the trip is tough, going by boat) brought me much closer to the people I were travelling with, than other trips have. And I thought it would be an experience of splendid isolation, in the majestic nature down there – so be prepared for that.

I was able to work for Antarctic Support Associates (ASA) back in the day, now it is Raytheon Polar Services I think. I was there from 11-13-90 to 12-26-90 and I will never forget it.

It was cold, but you are at the South Pole!

There really is not much there, just the base. There are scientific experiments there, but I was not involved with those. I was there to shovel the snow off of the geodesic dome that covered most of the buildings. Talk about job security.

If you have the $$$$ to get there as tourist, I would go. There are not too many place that have geographical signifigance in the world. If you dont have the $$$, try working down there.