The SCOOP

Antarctica is the last frontier on Planet Earth. It contains 5.4 million square miles of ice, two to three miles thick. And it’s riddled with cracks called crevasses. One of the most hazardous places on the continent is the Shear Zone, where the Texas-sized Ross Ice Shelf meets the much smaller McMurdo Ice Shelf. These huge floating slabs of ice are constantly moving. And strong winds blow snow over the cracks, creating ice bridges that mask the danger below. A crevasse is a

In the early days of Operation Deep Freeze (1950s), there was no official place to Go for those stationed on Antarctica. When the Seabees first arrived to build a permanent U.S. station, all they could see was ice. No trees. No people. No buildings. Just penguins. And mile after mile of ice. As McMurdo Station began to take shape, yellow snow started appearing. Everywhere. And, since their drinking water came from melting the local ice and snow, that was a big problem. Until

The First Tractor to Reach the South Pole Many tractors have made the trek to the South Pole but only one can claim being The First. On January 4, 1958, Sir Edmund Hilary arrived at the geographic South Pole, exhausted and exhilarated. His team was the first mechanized overland crew to succeed. What made the feat so amazing were the tractors they used: small Ferguson TE20 farm tractors. Fergies. The cabs had no top to them. Very little elbow-room. And they only got 1.5 miles