I saw an old thread posted in 2009 by a guy that had been in Antarctica, and he had quite a few questions that he answered.
I was at Scott Base in the 1970s, and would be happy to answer any questions that anyone would like to ask, provided I am able to do so.
Cheers.
I’ve always wanted to visit Antarctica. I knew a guy in college who got to go and I was supremely jealous.
The main thing I’ve wondered about Antarctica is how it is supposedly claimed by the UN. No single nation claims sovereignty over it, but how exactly does it belong to the UN?
Hi,
You should be jealous. It was the best experience of my life.
I spent 6 years aquiring the qualifications to apply for a job at Scott Base, but basically, I was just lucky to be picked.
Antarctica doesn’t really belong to anyone, despite countries “claiming” it. America built McMurdo station on land that had been “claimed” by Britain.
I guess the UN link comes in because all the countries that do have bases there get together and make up rules to try and keep the place unspoiled as much as possible. However, I don’t know that the UN has any “claims” there. There are no UN bases that I know of, and I never saw a UN flag.
I have to log off now, but I’ll be happy to answer any more questions when I come back.
Hey, did you know my dad? He was also in Antarctica in the late 60s/ early 70s! 
Hmmm, methinks there might be a bit of familial skullduggery going on here!
I’m jealous, too. I know of a university (I imagine there are many) that sponsors a study abroad semester to Antarctica. I envision a student living with a family of penguins.
Are there any options for regular folks who just want to set foot on the continent?
mmm
ETA: I see there are cruises available, and not outrageously expensive.
Thanks for this, Doggo.
Are most of the ongoing efforts there, the experiments and record keeping, etc, related to ice coring, atmospherics and the weather? Are there others that we might not know about but would find interesting?
Because it’s so difficult and expensive to fly in and rescue someone that’s become sick there, are special efforts made to keep everyone healthy beyond diet? Like do residents have to participate in exercise programs, wellness programs or the like?
How are ‘office romances’ handled? That’s a long time to spend with each other and I wonder, especially for those already married, how affairs are looked upon by the inhabitants. Is there a lot of interaction between teams representing different countries? Are you all somewhat clustered in a general area or does each country have widely distanced base camps?
Is The Thing the overall favorite movie? If not, is there another consensus favorite?
Just this morning I was thinking “are there any outdoor allergens at the North and/or South Poles?” If I were in Antarctica, is there anything in the air that would cause me to sneeze, have watery eyes, and feel like crap?
Is water brought in from the mainland, or is there a giant heater that melts snow for washing, etc?
I claim Antarctica. I use this post to announce it as I don’t have Facebook.
You must pay me if you want to use the name Antarctica©.
King Cats pajamas
One of my bucket list dreams was to go there. Still might happen I suppose. Well, I worked for a company awhile back. Then eventually I did not. A few years later I wonder if the company has improved its website and/or put up some cool pictures of our more interesting projects.
Well, what do I see. Pictures of Antartica. An article with statements from some of the people from the small group I worked with. Muthafucka.
They probably got paid very well for that traveling. And they only stayed 3 weeks give or take in the middle of the summer, so its not like it was miserable or they had to commit to long term contract and or also spend 6 months in darkness freezing their buns off.
And the real kicker is I’d bet good money all those guys hated it and were basically forced to go. Muthafucka again.
Yes, there are cruises that allow tourists to go ashore, but you seem to have already discovered them.
The only other way I know of is to go on one of the expeditions that fly in, you pull a sledge to get somewhere and fly out.
All the countries that have scientific programmes will have web sites detailing the research that is carried out. There are hundreds if not thousands of different programmes every year, so not going to go into details here.
I was there in the 1970s, so I don’t know how things are done now, but there were no special measures taken to keep us healthy then.
<do residents have to participate in exercise programs, wellness programs or the like?>
None of the above.
Scott Base had no exercise facilities, but we could go over to Mac Town where they had everything. I was in a volleyball team and played 10 pin bowls as well.
Of course, none of us were chronically ill to to start with, and the vast majority of us were young to middle aged and pretty fit.
However, there was a hospital at McMurdo, where one of us had an operation during winter.
Ultimately, if one of us had got sick enough, we would have died, as back then I doubt they would have flown in during winter. Different now though.
<How are ‘office romances’ handled?>
Much like anywhere I guess. We had no women staff on base over winter, so the question didn’t arise for us.
However, those that actually missed their GF back home seemed to have it hard.
<how affairs are looked upon by the inhabitants.>
As said, didn’t happen with us, but had a solitary couple had one, I think they would have been exceedingly unpopular.
There was one woman at Mac Town, and she found being the sole woman among a hundred or so guys “difficult”, to say the least.
<Is there a lot of interaction between teams representing different countries?>
We were unusual for Antarctica in that two bases were within walking distance, so we did interact with the Americans a lot.
Often, people are seconded to other countries bases, but there is no travel between them once the last flights finish.
I liked the first Thing movie, but not the sequel.
Depends on what your allergy is to. If it’s to soap, cleaners etc, all that is available down there, so you would still be sneezing.
However, if it was to trees/ grass/ pollen, you’re safe- no vegetation grows outside in Antarctica ( other than some algae or suchlike ).
We had snow/ ice melters which meant showers were restricted to 5 minutes and days apart when there were a lot of people on base.
The Americans had a desalination plant, so they could shower as long as they liked.
Nowadays, Scott Base also has a desalination plant.
Are you going to tell sandra_nz that you’re her real dad or shall I?
Status of Antarctic territorial cliams, from Wikipedia.
I’m trying to work out how having my dad, plus another man, present at the South Pole at the same time resulted in one of them fathering me. Unless being at the South Pole does REALLY strange things to a man! 
I just got back from the South Pole and thought I’d jump in on the “office romance” question.
About 25% of the population is female now and I’m pretty sure that some of the winter-overs will be female. Last year, there were 13 females and 37 males during the winter.
There are definitely some interesting things going on down there, with respect to romances. I was only there for a few weeks but it was long enough to hear about things like “ice wives.”
In a lot of the cases I know about, it seems the idea was that what happens at the Pole, stays at the Pole. Most people just don’t seem to talk about any indiscretions that may occur.
Did you (or anyone you know) join the 300 Club? 
I wish! I know a few people that’ll be there this winter. I’m sure one of them, at least, will do it.
Frankly, you spend over $15,000 for the trip (by ship). For that, you get a terrible voyage across the Drake Passage-people I’ve talked to tell of 30’ waves, and the ship rolls unmercifully. Once you get there, the scenery is spectacular…but there are only so many penguins and icebergs to look at. Is it worth it? I prefer tropical areas, myself. Bt its like climbing Mt. Everest-you can tell people that you’ve done it.