How to Travel to the Most Remote Office on Earth

The level is simply a Hercules C-130, ace impressive. You get connected this small bus, and you spot this monstrous plane, and you participate done nan back. Then you beryllium adjacent to each different successful these longitudinal seats. And past it’s departure for a seven-hour travel without toilets, pinch a small snack, a batch of sound astir you—just sitting until you see, for nan first time, a spot of Antarctica.

You spot these awesome crystal shelves from nan small windows you person there. The first point you spot erstwhile you measurement retired is conscionable crystal everywhere. You’re really caller to this environment, and sometimes it feels a small spot for illustration being connected different planet.

There’s an Italian position there, and we were expected to enactment for a day. But what we learned very accelerated is that, successful French, we say, en Antarctique pas de pronostique, meaning, “no forecast successful Antarctica,” because nan upwind is ace unpredictable. So, alternatively of staying 1 night, we stayed almost a week.

This position is conscionable a logistical one; it’s not meant to big people, and everyone who stays location blocks others from coming in. It’s a existent logistical situation for nan group moving there, truthful they want america to time off arsenic accelerated arsenic possible. But nan upwind is truthful unpredictable that you can’t conscionable return a level and spell inland. You request to hold until nan upwind is almost stable, and nan aviator says, “I’m fresh to fly,” because he has nan last word.

I still had my information problem from before, and I was trying to link to nan internet. There, it was for illustration nan net of nan ’90s—you know, beep beep beep. I tried to log in, and finally, aft possibly 2 aliases 3 hours, connected 1 computer, I sewage to nan shape wherever it said, “OK, I’m going to log successful to your relationship truthful you tin download your stuff. Please springiness maine your telephone number. I’m going to nonstop you an SMS to log in.” That was nan double verification, and it wasn’t moving because, obviously, there’s nary telephone service. So I couldn’t entree my information because of this double verification.

Finally, we took a plane. This 1 is smaller, a Basler BT-67 plane, which comes from Canada to alert wrong Antarctica and past goes backmost to Canada astatine nan extremity of nan season. This level thrust took 4 hours. It’s a non-pressurized plane. You make judge to put each your apparel on, to beryllium fresh to spell retired successful Concordia, because it’s astir minus 30 Celsius. We were ace afraid.

The first point aft landing successful Concordia was this emotion of dizziness, vertigo. What I didn’t cognize erstwhile I arrived location is that you’re astatine 3,200 meters supra oversea level, truthful you consciousness nan altitude a small bit. After 4 hours successful this mini plane, wherever you conscionable spot flatness of white, and thing else, you travel down to Concordia.

From a distance, you spot nan station. That position seems truthful mini because there’s virtually thing astir it—no mountains, nothing. And you person this small boulot dans l’estomac, arsenic we opportunity successful French, for illustration butterflies, because, you know, “Wow, that’s going to beryllium my location for 1 year.” We came down to Concordia station, and nan unit that had conscionable spent a twelvemonth and was now leaving nan station, was awaiting america and welcomed america very warmly. They sewage america wrong nan position because we were sometimes acrophobic of high-altitude sickness. They want to make judge nary 1 is carrying thing heavy, that we’re not doing beingness activity. They told us, “Just enactment calm for nan adjacent fewer days.”

The position is made of 2 towers, pinch 18 faces for each tower. It’s fundamentally white, pinch a small spot of orange, and that’s it. You participate done a passageway betwixt nan 2 towers. You return disconnected your boots and time off each your worldly there. It’s rather small. Then you tin spell to nan left, which is nan “calm tower.” Inside, you person nan dormitories, nan laboratories, and nan hospital. It has 3 floors. The mediate level is dormitories, and nan precocious level is laboratories. It’s called nan “calm tower” to support it calm. Then we spell to nan different tower, connected nan correct broadside from nan entrance. It has nan method stuff. On nan 2nd floor, there’s nan video room for movies and nan sports room. On nan top, you person nan surviving room, nan eating area, and nan kitchen.

In 5 minutes, you’ve done nan circuit of your caller home. It’s ace awesome because you think, “Someone had to build this successful nan mediate of nowhere. Someone had to return nan first steps.” And this is conscionable incredible. So galore group spell to Antarctica pinch nothing. We get here, and we person nan luxury of having this building to protect america from this environment.

It’s truthful retired of this world to beryllium there. We’ve seen a batch of pictures of Antarctica, and we’ve astir apt publication a batch of books, but you’ve ne'er been successful nan halfway of Antarctica, which is rather different. There’s nary life—no birds, nary trees—there’s virtually nothing, thing but crystal and wind.