# 50 years on, Lenin still brooding over one of the most inaccessible places on Earth **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038 "2007-01-23T03:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/1 "2007-01-23T03:00:23Z")
[News reports](http://www.nbc4.com/news/10808579/detail.html) indicate that a team of one Canadian and three Britons have reached the “Pole of Inaccessibility” - the spot in the centre of Antarctica that is farthest from any coast. And they did it on foot, and by kite-skiing - no motorised equipment. And they found [Lenin](http://www.k2climb.net/news.php?id=15530) waiting for them. Or at least, a bust of him that a Soviet expedition put up 50 years ago. Poor V.I. - still dreaming of the proletariat revolution that was going to sweep the globe… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/2 "2007-01-23T03:05:41Z")
Well . . . There’s no capitalism in Antarctica, is there? 🙂 (Mainly because nobody has figured out how to make mining operations profitable when you have to dig through a mile of ice before you even scratch the soil . . .) ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/3 "2007-01-23T03:19:26Z")
Man I love stories like this. It is so bizarre to think that thing has just been sitting there all this time. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/4 "2007-01-23T03:26:34Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Well . . . There’s no capitalism in Antarctica, is there? 🙂 (Mainly because nobody has figured out how to make mining operations profitable when you have to dig through a mile of ice before you even scratch the soil . . .) [/QUOTE] They are working hard on it, harnessing the power of Global Warming to melt that Antarctic ice like an ice cream cone on a July sidewalk. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/5 "2007-01-23T03:27:36Z")
That makes me feel like a lazy bitch. Is anybody else amused by the team’s [logo](http://www.teamn2i.com/)? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/6 "2007-01-23T03:32:49Z")
I had always heard that permanent structures were nearly impossible on Antarctica. The snow just continually builds and covers every thing. I watched a discovery channel program on the new Antarctica station that is designed to be raised 10 feet every 20 years years so it doesn’t disappear. So how come Lenin isn’t 50 feet under snow? Is it just a part of Antarctica that gets no weather? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/7 "2007-01-23T03:35:55Z")
Well, just as a guess, it may be because it’s about a thousand miles from the nearest ocean, and 12,000 feet above sea level - it just may be that that area doesn’t get a lot of snow, because the humidity is so low. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/8 "2007-01-23T03:39:14Z")
Huh. The first thing I thought of was Shelley’s _Ozymandias_: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." though I don’t suppose Lenin would have appreciated the comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/9 "2007-01-23T03:46:07Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] Huh. The first thing I thought of was Shelley’s _Ozymandias_: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." though I don’t suppose Lenin would have appreciated the comparison. [/QUOTE] How appropriate. Nice mind you have there. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/10 "2007-01-23T03:55:08Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] Huh. The first thing I thought of was Shelley’s _Ozymandias_: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." though I don’t suppose Lenin would have appreciated the comparison. [/QUOTE] That’s a wonderful reference. And, using my amazing new edit powers, I see that my desire for coffee has led **Frank** to beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/11 "2007-01-23T04:01:52Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] Huh. The first thing I thought of was Shelley’s _Ozymandias_: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." though I don’t suppose Lenin would have appreciated the comparison. [/QUOTE] That’s the comparison I was trying to remember! I love that poem. I did a painting of it in grade 11. 🙂 I was wondering, though… how do we know that the Lenin in Antarctica isn’t the _real_ body of Lenin, preserved by the cold and dry (the statue in the picture being the tomb marker), and the one in Red Square isn’t just a wax or animatronic replica? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/12 "2007-01-23T04:52:55Z")
[QUOTE=Only Mostly Dead] Is anybody else amused by the team’s [logo](http://www.teamn2i.com/)? [/QUOTE] Well that’s…interesting. Must be a deleted scene from _Happy Feet_. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/13 "2007-01-23T05:27:03Z")
[QUOTE=Only Mostly Dead] Is anybody else amused by the team’s [logo](http://www.teamn2i.com/)? [/QUOTE] Why are the two penguins porkin’ each other?! :eek: :dubious: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/14 "2007-01-23T05:42:41Z")
[QUOTE=Only Mostly Dead] That makes me feel like a lazy bitch. Is anybody else amused by the team’s [logo](http://www.teamn2i.com/)? [/QUOTE] That… Is that a joke? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/15 "2007-01-23T05:45:52Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Why are the two penguins porkin’ each other?! :eek: :dubious: 😃 [/QUOTE] Apparently, “Bottom of the World” refers to both the Pole of Inaccessibility and that penguin… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/16 "2007-01-23T06:38:06Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] Huh. The first thing I thought of was Shelley’s _Ozymandias_: [/QUOTE] Dammit, I wanted to be the one to say that! Well done. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/17 "2007-01-23T07:15:17Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] And they found [Lenin](http://www.k2climb.net/news.php?id=15530) waiting for them. Or at least, a bust of him that a Soviet expedition put up 50 years ago. Poor V.I. - still dreaming of the proletariat revolution that was going to sweep the globe… [/QUOTE] [Looks at the team’s logo] Whoa! Those guys sure like to party! It’s Leninade time! 🙂 [http://www.sodaking.com/product\_info.php?products\_id=351](http://www.sodaking.com/product_info.php?products_id=351) > [@](#): > > At your next Party, follow the Party Line by mixing Leninade with your favourite Soviet Vodka and make COMMIE KAZES for your comrades who will then name you a Hero Of Socialist Flavour! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/18 "2007-01-23T07:36:51Z")
[QUOTE=wolfman] I had always heard that permanent structures were nearly impossible on Antarctica. The snow just continually builds and covers every thing. I watched a discovery channel program on the new Antarctica station that is designed to be raised 10 feet every 20 years years so it doesn’t disappear. So how come Lenin isn’t 50 feet under snow? Is it just a part of Antarctica that gets no weather? [/QUOTE] Way I heard it, you only get snow in the warm parts of anctartica. In most of it it’s so bloody cold and so far from the sea that you get clear skies, just very cold ones. I am not a metereologist, just took an EHS course with one years ago, so this info may or may not be accurate. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/19 "2007-01-23T10:44:35Z")
when I used to backpack in tibet in the 1980’s, the areas would be pretty far from civilization and often more than a day’s hike from an inhabited village and maybe a week away from the nearest civilization. I’d climb some solitary peaks with no trail and not on the way to anywhere so no one had any ‘reason’ to climb said mountains. at the top usually with be a buddhist cairn and prayer flags put up by faithful Tibetans. It was waaaaaay cool, but disbused notions that the world is \*that \* remote ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038/20 "2007-01-23T13:50:59Z")
HUZZAH! Huzzah!–for de Glorious Proletarian Oprisink uf de Oppressed Penguin Vorkers uf de Vorld! Flightless seabirds unite! Hyu hef only you chillblains to lose… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-years-on-lenin-still-brooding-over-one-of-the-most-inaccessible-places-on-earth/389038.md?page=2)