The Journey

In a few weeks I will be traveling to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Yes, the South Pole. The geographic South Pole to be exact. Not to visit but to work as part of the Antarctic Support Contract team tasked with maintaining the South Pole Station during the austral winter season from mid February to late October 2016. The station exists as a laboratory of sorts where a multitude of scientific experiments are conducted year round. Our job will be to ensure that everything needed for the science to be conducted is in good order.

I have started this blog to keep family and friends informed and will periodically be posting about my journey south, my stay on the station and answering questions that come in.

My journey started several months ago with a lengthy application process that included extensive background and medical screenings, a psychological examination and panel interview. It was all very interesting and exiting, however it's definitely not for everyone. I will begin working my way south at the end of January, traveling an estimated 15,000 miles before I arrive at the South Pole Station. My route will take me across the continental US and the Pacific to Sidney Australia. From there I will be flying to Christchurch New Zealand where I will be issued my ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear and boarding a military transport to McMurdo Station located on Ross Island in Antarctica. After a few days there I will fly the last 850 miles to the South Pole.

Stay tuned..