Most people will never stand at the bottom of the Earth. It’s a place where the wind pierces through even the thickest clothing, and the sky seems to tilt in strange circles. However, a handful of explorers have made the deadly journey to the South Pole, dragging their gear across one of the most treacherous landscapes imaginable. The South Pole doesn’t welcome visitors; it challenges and humbles them.
Some images show small victories, like a meal on the ice or a nice sunny day. Others capture quiet, private struggles that these men and women faced. Struggles like tired faces from days of travel, or a stillness you can even feel in a photograph. Together, these photos show exactly how excruciating a trip to the South Pole actually is. Let’s take a look at 20 photos that show the reality of South Pole exploration.
1. Members of Robert F. Scott’s expedition to the South Pole inside an ice grotto, looking at the Terra Nova ship in the distance, 1911
2. Roald Amundsen, the first explorer to reach the South Pole
3. “My Dad holding up the world at the geographical South Pole.”
4. Terry Tickhill Terrel, one of the first female scientists to make it to the South Pole, 1969
5. This dog is intrigued by this gramophone during an expedition to the South Pole, 1911
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6. Roald Amundsen at the South Pole, 1911
7. Amundsen and his team, wearing fur clothing inspired by Inuit designs
8. Herbert George Ponting, the expedition photographer for Robert Falcon Scott’s South Pole expedition, 1912
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9. Hanging out in the South Pole Morse radio station on an ice floe, 1937
10. Robert F. Scott and his team reaching the South Pole, 1912
11. Two French scientists are enjoying a glass of champagne after a long trip to Antarctica
12. Dr. Edward Atkinson in his Antarctica lab during the Terra Nova Expedition
13. The Australian Antarctica Exhibition, 1912
14. One of the members of the Australian Antarctic Exhibition, after a long day of travel, 1914
15. The only way to escape the cold in Antarctica is to go underground, 1914
16. After wrecking their ship, Ernest Shackleton (right) and Frank Hurley (left) marched to an ice floe camp in the Weddell Sea, 1915
17. Game night at Scott Base in Antarctica, 1960s
18. Prince Philip, feeding a penguin on Base W in Antarctica, 1957
19. The Robert Scott expedition celebrating Midwinter’s Day at the Cape Evans Hut on Ross Island in Antarctica, 1911
20. Playing a gramophone for penguins during Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica, 1907
Want to see more explorer content?
Check out 15 Places That Were Considered Cursed by Explorers, or take a look at 20 Vintage Photos of Famous Explorers (1800s-1900s). Finally, if you want to see hidden maps from early explorers, take a look at 15 Hidden Maps and Lost Routes From Early Explorers.
