11 Stops in a Journey Across Antarctica

Discovery Hut was the first structure ever built on Antarctica, and remains standing today, not far from the modern McMurdo Station. It was built by the English explorer Robert Falcon Scott in 1901, as a base for first attempt to reach the South Pole.

Scott's Hut was the second base built by Robert Falcon Scott. Its design improved on many of the failures of Discovery hut. It was from here that the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910–1913 set on their doomed journey to the South Pole.

Inside, it's not very roomy, and when Scott was wintering here in 1911, there were 24 other crewmembers of the Terra Nova expedition crammed into every corner. The hut remains in the same state as it was in 1956, when it was dug out of the snow.

While the vast majority of the continent remains unspoilt wilderness, over the past century many more bases were built. Today, hundreds of people live and work at the American McMurdo Station, sited not far from Scott's original Discovery hut.

There's a lot of nothing between McMurdo and the South Pole. No plants, no animals, and very, very few people. But thankfully there's plenty of time to admire the view.

We made it. This simple stake marks the point where the lines of longitude converge, and the precise location of the South Pole. From here, no matter which direction you go, you're going north. Today, it's not quite the wilderness Amundsen and Scott would have found.