Life Raft - Alone in Antarctica: The First Woman to Ski Solo Across the Southern Ice - page 112

seemed abnormally distinct. Tiny bobbles of frost covered the
surface of the snow that flashed by under my skis. It looked
as if Antarctica had shivered and been left with goosebumps.
Glancing behind me I noticed for the first time a bank of cloud
puffed thickly in the middle-distance. I was being stalked by
bad weather and it made me push on even harder towards the
dash which was now a thick oblong so close that I could make
out structural details and even windows. I couldn't see any of
the containers or outlying buildings that I remembered but put
this down to perspective or perhaps a change at the station
since my last visit.
Feeling curiously nervous about my imminent arrival I went
through a mental check list of the strict rules issued by the
station and passed on to me by Steve at Union Glacier about
skiing into and out of the South Pole. In past decades the
station management had become exasperated with expeditions
and explorers arriving at the Pole without the means to
look after themselves, often needing medical assistance and
occasionally lacking any way to get home. Understandably,
the station pointed out that it was not an unofficial Search and
Rescue service for polar adventurers but a government-funded
scientific research facility. As a result the station now goes to
great lengths to separate the two functions of the South Pole.
If I arrived at the base as an employee of the British Antarctic
Survey or any other governmental organisation undertaking
science in Antarctica, in the spirit of international co-operation
that is fundamental on the continent, I would reasonably
expect to be welcomed into the station buildings, provided
with accommodation, food and any other logistical support I
might need. Arriving as a private individual, the situation was
very different. Visitors are welcome to the Pole but only within