Life at the South Pole today - July 2022

Life at the South Pole today gives perspective on Antarctica’s heroic-era explorers

By Sarah Bouckoms (AHT alumni)

I grew up reading Disney stories, but as I got older I came to believe that fairy tales weren’t real, so I got myself some new heroes. They too only existed in books. These iron men in wooden ships sailed down to the Antarctic and walked across icy deserts with no map in pursuit of a particular place on the polar plateau, the South Pole, all in the name of science and exploration.

My latest experience in Antarctica, working for the United States Antarctic Programme, has been different to the many times I’ve been before. It has completely changed my perspective on Antarctica’s heroic-era explorers. As the physical challenges, the discomfort they endured, and the mental crevasses they pulled themselves out of became more real to me (through my own experiences living and working in Antarctica) their feats became even more unreal. I am in awe.

In 2019 I was the Programme Manager for the Trust’s inaugural Young Inspiring Explorers™ Summit, before taking the Virtual Reality Tour of Hillary’s Hut on the road in late 2020. While doing the VR, the children’s faces lit up as they saw archival footage of husky dogs gliding across the sea ice dragging out rations for depots, and I heard ooooh’s and aaahhh’s as they saw Hillary’s jacket in his room. They couldn’t hold back calls of “I’m hungry” after watching meals being served from the small galley stove or, best of all, the shivers they felt as they held Fuch’s anemometer and saw the wind moving it while caught by a cold katabatic breeze.

On my way into the AHT office each day, I would read this quote from Hillary proudly displayed next to the front door, “I am hell bent for the South Pole, God willing and crevasses permitting.” Who knew those doors would be a portal, as I now find myself living at the South Pole over winter 2022.

I have a sauna 100 metres from my warm room with flannel sheets, a greenhouse providing fresh lettuce year-round, and occasional internet providing a link to the outside world (I am rationed not to one very public call a week, but 30 minutes of video chat a week). I know during the long dark winter I will draw upon the inspiration of my heroes and hope that one day I can use my own stories to inspire the next generation of explorers. Just as I saw in the huts, I have slippers under my bed and pictures of dogs on the walls, alongside photos of Hillary, Cherry-Garrad and Tom Crean. While much has changed, a lot hasn’t.

The ability to step into the huts of the early explorers, either in real life or virtually, is only possible today thanks to the dedication of the Trust’s conservation team and the generous donors who support Antarctic Heritage Trust. I’m incredibly grateful for the endless hours put into conserving these incredible places, for my time working with the Trust, and the contagious spirit of exploration that inspires me and the 5,000 people I’ve taken into the huts virtually.

Image Links:

Sarah Bouckoms outside Scott's Terra Nova hut. © AHT/Sarah Bouckoms

Pictures of dogs on the wall behind Lawrence Oate's bunk in Scott's Terra Noval Hut . © AHT

Sarah Bouckoms with expedition clothing inside Hillary's room in HIllary's (TAE/IGY) hut in Antarctica. © AHT/Sarah Bouckoms

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Life at the South Pole today - July 2022

Life at the South Pole today gives perspective on Antarctica’s heroic-era explorers

By Sarah Bouckoms (AHT alumni)