A dazzling summer December day in Antarctica may see temperatures of as high as minus 25. However, the weather can be punctuated by gale-force winds with an eyelid-freezing wind chill factor that howl over a glacier that is two miles deep and spreads as far as the eye can see in all directions. Antarctica is one of the most harshest places to live on our Earth. Maintaining the United State's permanent station here is no doubt the world's most isolated and yet significant scientific outpost. At one time only approved researchers and workers were permitted anywhere near the South Pole. But now, people with too much money to burn are getting small flights that will bring them to this barren landscape to view all of it's glory. All there is to see is white, really. From the South Pole, you will not be able to find a penguin for a thousand miles. On the other hand, it can be quite a feat to stand on the South Pole of the planet. A lot of the scientists and officials shiver knowing the outpost is a tourist attraction, especially when diesel bulldozers and other heavy equipment help develop the site further. While researchers are busy working during the season, uninvited guests will often arrive. There is not much that can be done to keep them away. Antarctica isn't owned by any nation, however 43 nations signed treaties in order to protect and study an icy section as big as Mexico and the United States combined. All throughout the year, regardless of the months of constant winter the continent experiences, the American station stays staffed. There is an unspoken law that gives aid to anyone who is foolhardy enough to make the trek to the Antarctic. The stations discourage guests, as they are often uninformed about the region and have no idea that the elevation is 10,000 feet. Typically, when someone does visit that is not educated they will be cold, dehydrated, and have altitude sickness. In 1975, the dome opened with a sleeping quarters able to accommodate 33 men. Since then, this has grown ten fold to accommodate up to 200 men and women. Winter-overs jokingly call the bunkhouses that are premade and propped up around the place Summer Camp. Fresh water is supplied in abundance at Summer Camp, so no one goes without. It costs twelve dollars for each gallon of fuel used to melt enough ice to wash laundry, flush toilets, and take showers, so these activities are considered infrequent luxuries. The long trek to a communal bathroom can be a perilous and bone-chilling experience even underneath the blazing sun at 3:00 AM. Military escorts were needed when the first woman visited Antarctica. Now, women make up 1/3 of the summer support staff population and they are treated just like everyone else. There is a toll that has to be paid to the Pole. Research indicates that workers in extreme cold need three times more time to finish a simple task. The theorize this happens because the human brain has issues trying to produce the right types of chemicals to get even the simplest task done in such extreme cold. In the months of winter, conditions become more arduous. All support personnel, except for a few, will take the last airplane sometime in mid February, to winter somewhere warmer and far more hospitable. The only people in the area are the 28 winter-overs who staff the station for the next six months. And night will reign until October, when spring, the sun and the airplane will return.
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During December in Antarctica, a bright summer morning may see the temperature rise to 25 degrees below zero. Unfortunately, you also have to factor in the gale-forced winds that blow across this two-mile thick glacier which could easily freeze any exposed skin.
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