South Pole

The South Pole lies on the polar plateau at nearly three thousand metres, on an ice sheet almost as thick again, and the American Amundsen-Scott station stands a short walk from it. Visitors arrive by ski plane from Union Glacier for a few hours, or at the end of a guided ski expedition of several weeks. There are two poles to stand at. The ceremonial pole carries a mirrored globe among the flags of the treaty nations, and the marker of the geographic pole is moved each year as the ice slides. The cold is extreme even in summer.