Membership to one of the most exclusive clubs in the world takes place around a short red and white striped pole in Antarctica. Only those who endure an atmospheric difference of 300 degrees Fahrenheit are granted entry.
To join the elite 300 Club, residents at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where on winter days the outside temperature dips below -100 degrees, must bare it all. It’s an odd tradition, one that comes with a high risk of frostbite in rather sensitive, traditionally clothed areas.
To join the exclusive group, the scientists must first spend time in the station’s 200-degree sauna. Once they’re fully cooked, they dash outside (at a brisk walk, because running is dangerous) wearing nothing but shoes and an optional neck gaiter to circle the ceremonial South Pole marker, which is hundreds of feet from the station. They then get back into the steamy sauna, which helps thaw their outsides while a bit of alcohol warms them up inside. Those who complete the challenge even earn a commemorative patch.
Though the thought of a naked scientist racing across the ice in dangerously cold temperatures to circle a pole may seem simply absurd, it’s actually a beloved ritual. The temperature only gets low enough a handful of days each year, giving the wacky tradition an almost ceremonial feel. Participants are usually cheered on by bystanders who use flashlights to guide them to the pole during the perpetual winter blackness.
The marker isn’t even the true location of the South Pole. Antarctica is blanketed by massive chunks of moving ice sheets that move about 30 feet each year. The ice’s inability to sit still makes pinpointing the world’s most southern spot with permanent precision impossible.
Finding and marking the accurate geographic South Pole is an annual (fully clothed) New Year’s Day tradition for those staying at the station. Every year since 1959, South Pole residents erect a new temporary marker at the spot and retire the old one into a display case inside the station. The ceremonial South Pole remains where it is, flanked by the flags, awaiting the next group of winter scientists hoping to join one of the world’s weirdest clubs.
—
“we take to the breeze, we go as we please.”
― E.B. White
—
story credits: Atlas obscura, kerry wolf
photo credits: martin wolf – national science foundation,
craig knott – national science foundation, alan light
Hi Beth, a fantastically interesting article ,,, wow..brrrr… I don’t becoming a member of the 300 club, it’s on my bucket list ….. xx
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send us a post )
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I’ll pass on any invitation you were thinking of sending me, Beth, but thank you if you were going to. 🙂
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already on it’s way, but just pass it on )
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Reblogged this on Daniel Kemp and commented:
A very unusual article and one worth reading.
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ty, Daniel.
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Wow. Give me Moderation.
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you could peek out the windows while sipping your tea )
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Like that!
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I enjoy a nip in the air, but 100 degrees below is pushing it for me!!
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it’s tough to think about, but might consider it if I was there -)
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Good for you!
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That’s a fun fact! I think I’d try it. Maybe.
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I’ll see you there!
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Hi, Beth great article. (Wacky! But great and very interesting). I think I’ll give it a miss though; well, at least this year and all the rest I have left!!! Have a great day. Goff
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you never know –
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Well that’s true! Goff
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Interesting post, but I will take a pass on that idea.
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There REALLY must not be much else to do there!
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have to create their own fun )
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I suppose they can’t put the patch on immediately, Beth.
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it would hurt a bit
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Y’know…just about the time I’m ready to give up on humanity I read something like this and my mercurial faith is restored. Thanks, Beth.
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my pleasure and isn’t that so true? there is always something wonderful going on somewhere –
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100 below isn’t bad, but what’s the windchill?
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what’s another negative 20 or so?
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Really interesting post, Beth. I would be the person inside monitoring the sauna and pouring drinks, I think. I had never thought about the ice movement moving the marker. It all sounds unbelievably cold to me!
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it takes all kinds of people to make a community work, and that would be an important job in this community
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This is so interesting. Thank you, Beth. Love the E.B. White quote!
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Thanks, Jennie )
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You’re welcome, Beth.
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I don’t think I meet the pre-conditions to become a member 😄
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❄️
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oh my goodness, i had no idea. yikes that sounds very cold and dangerous but I am sure you feel like a total bada$$ if you reach that goal!
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I’ll bet!
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🙂
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Interesting…. but not for me… brrrrrrr
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At least interesting to read about)
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Thank you! I enjoyed it🎐
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You are very welcome
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incredibly absurd, bizarre, weird, – and – to make it even worse(er!), not an English in sight….. How and WHY ANYBODY would want to do that, is beyond my wildest imaginations.
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The extreme challenge and rare opportunity perhaps?
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Yauza, hopefully they have paramedics standing by…
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They do have doctors who work there ❄️
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I think there was something similar in the movie “Ice Station Zebra,” where joining the club involved being dragged bodily from the steam room and thrown outside in the Antarctic cold…
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I had forgotten about that movie )
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This makes me ridiculously happy. Though I would never strip naked for ANY patch….I would gladly cheer those on who find the need to do it!!
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An important role as well. Impossible not to smile
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I know. I applaud their courage.
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brave souls, all.
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And the insanity and fun continue. LOLOLOL
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yes!
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Oh, cool!
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very, very cool
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an extreme version of a polar bear plunge!
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it really is!
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No thanks 🙂
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watch from inside?
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maybe just read about it on a blog lol 🙂
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that’s it!)
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Brr. Whacky is indeed the word although also strangely fascinating.
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Yes, an interesting balance
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This is a club I can do without joining. 🙂
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)))
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