Antarctica is the wildest and most unknown place on our planet. It is often called simply the South Pole. Antarctica is not a country. There are no cities and no permanent population. The only people living here are scientists engaged in research.
The number of stations dealing with science on the icy continent is about 80. 27 countries have Antarctic territory. Australia, Argentina, Chile, Norway, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and France claim that these territories are part of their national territory.
The ice continent is covered with extremely thick snow cover, which in some places reaches 4,000 meters. The extreme weight of the ice presses against the rocks on which it lies, so they begin to sink gradually. If the Antarctic ice melts suddenly, the rocks under the snow cover will begin to rise quickly. On Antarctica, unlike the Arctic, there really is a hard rock, while the Arctic consists only of an evergreen ocean.
In fact, Antarctica not only has a solid rock, but also has quite high mountains. Here are several larger mountain ranges. The conditions are really harsh! Imagine a combination of unfavorable latitude and high altitude. The high mountains of Antarctica are located mainly in the coastal parts of the continent.
The largest are the Transantrant Mountains, which extend through almost the whole of the continent. Some of the higher points here are Mount Mintos (4163m), Mount Jackson (4191m), Kirkpatrick peak (4528m) and the highest of all – the Vincent massif rising to 4897m). They are all located in the icebergs near Antarctica, part of Antarctica, which faces the Pacific Ocean.
Patriot Hills Base Camp
Antarctica has become a very attractive tourist destination, but only during the summer months when the cold is more tolerable. This continent has a very cold polar climate, and a harder place we can hardly find on this planet. Imagine a landscape composed only of snow, ice, rocks and sky, where not man animal or plant species can survive.
All this applies to Antarctica. In particular the “Patriot Hills Base Camp”- the only private camping site on this secluded continent, where the temperature can reach – 89 °C in winter. Yet, for compensation, those wishing to visit this place will enjoy twenty-four hour daylight in the summer and a great escape from all standards.
Founded in 1987, the Patriotic Hills Resort is only 1075 km from the South Pole. After four and a half hours of flight from the city of Punta Arenas to the southernmost point of Chile, you are facing a sunny-blue, ice track in Mount Ellsworth. Therefore you will have two options – walking half a mile to the camp, or much faster and comfortable movement with snowmobile.
There’s a lot to do when you get there. You can fly over the pole with yourself, or – if you feel particularly adventurous, even skiing. When the sun goes down the horizon, you will be greeted in the camp’s dining room. That is the meeting place where you can enjoy hot food and the stories of adventures.
The evening ends in the warm sleeping bag. In your dreams you can still see visible traces of the footsteps of the researcher Roald Amundsen, who in December 1911 became the first person to reach the South Pole.
