Since I'm not supposed to work out today, I'll post something unrelated to anything involving working out, nutrition, running, and especially nothing involving powerbar gel.
As some of you may know, I spent 13 months at the South Pole (Oct 2005-Nov 2006). Over the year I formed strong friendships forged through the trials of living in close quarters with the same small group of people. Many of those people still work with the Antarctic program, so I regularly get updates on the station. Anyone who has any general knowledge of modern antarctic inhabitation is familiar with the venerable geodesic dome as the symbol of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. 2006 was the last year the dome was inhabited, our year we moved everyone out, turned off the power, and let it go cold. Recently the dome has been taken down and I have to admit, I'm sad to see it go. There was a lot of history in that structure and it really represents a period that we'll not likely see again in the Antarctic Program. A lot of this reminds me of seeing an old mothballed ship intentionally destroyed. The dome was home to all polies for 30 years, protecting people from the elements and being the becon on the vast Antarctic plateau. I understand that it had been used well beyond its intended service life, but that's part of what made it so special. Here are some pictures from http://www.southpolestation.com/
The site is maintained by Bill Spindler and a great history of the South Pole station. Including science, research, and life with a focus on winter overs (last count there were about 1400 of us).
Here is the dome when new in the mid 1970's
And here is the last picture of the last pieces of the dome.
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