SupplyChainX | A Polar Challenge

02.01.17

Transporting supplies to the southernmost point on the planet -- through frigid temperatures and unforgiving terrain -- takes some delicate planning.

From the 29,029-foot treachery of Mt. Everest to the uninhabitable moon some 283,900 miles away, there seems to be no limit to the human drive to conquer the impossible. For hundreds of years we have been pushing our physical and mental capacities for the sake of discovery, embarking on expeditions in which injury or death are almost inevitable (and the logistical challenges a nightmare).

Nowhere is this more true than in the South Pole, where the average winter temperatures hover around a frigid -72º F and many thousands of miles separate the Earth’s southernmost point from the nearest den of civilization. So how did they do it? And how do they do it now? Let’s take a look.

Early Explorers

Between 1901 and 1904, British explorer and Naval Captain Robert Scott was the first to attempt the 1,800-mile journey from the Antarctic coastline to the South Pole and back. Although he set the new southern record and discovered the Polar Plateau, he did not make it to the Pole, but returned six years later to finish the job.

As you can imagine, the technology, equipment, and knowledge early explorers had at their disposal were dramatically different from what is available to today’s adventurers and scientists. According to National Geographic, Scott and his five-man team subsisted primarily on a mixture of dried beef and fat, known as pemmican. Pony meat and biscuits were also included in the rations, but researchers estimate that the team was still 2,000 to 3,000 calories short of the daily intake necessary to survive in the extreme Arctic conditions.

To stay warm, Scott’s team donned wool, cotton, and fur apparel provided by Burberry, and used a combination of wooden sleds, motorized sledges, and ponies and dogs to haul their supplies. The sleds, weighing roughly 200 pounds each, were pulled by the men themselves -- who wore wooden skis to traverse the frozen terrain. 11 other men started the journey with Scott’s primary team, hauling supplies and leaving them for Scott’s return voyage, before returning to basecamp themselves.

The trip took four months, and while Scott did reach the South Pole, he ended up being the second to do so: Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his team beat Scott by five weeks. On the return trip, however, Scott and three of his men tragically died just 150 miles from their base camp, and only 11 miles from their next supply depot.

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The Modern Take

A lot has changed since the days of Robert Scott, of course, and technological advances have dramatically reduced the difficulty of present day expeditions. Two years ago, British polar adventurer Ben Saunders and his teammate Tarka L'Herpiniere decided to follow Robert Scott’s exact route. In contrast to Scott’s fatal expedition, Saunders and L’Herpiniere had everything calculated down to a science, from the food they brought (they consumed almost 6,000 calories a day of freeze-dried meals) to the sleds and skis that pulled their gear (custom-made from carbon fiber, the sleds were lightweight but tough enough to haul the 440 pounds of equipment the two explorers brought with them).

Saunders and L’Herpiniere were also equipped with solar-powered laptops that connected to a satellite hub, ensuring that the team remained in constant contact with their support crew (and the larger internet community).

Sustaining Research

It is these same kinds of innovative technologies that allowed the United States to build and regularly maintain a one-of-a-kind research station on the South Pole. In its third iteration, the U.S. South Pole Station was aerodynamically designed and lifted high enough off the ice sheet to allow the ever-blowing snow to pass under the building (rather than burying it, as was the case with the station’s two predecessors).

Simply getting all the materials needed for the facility’s construction to the South Pole was a true logistical feat. According to the National Science Foundation, all 40,000 tons of construction materials were flown to the site in LC-130 Hercules aircraft -- which meant that every component had to be designed to fit in that specific cargo hold. The same aircraft delivers the jet fuel to the station, 600,000 gallons of which are used to power the massive electrical generators that keep the facility operating -- and its employees alive.

And delivering all the food, supplies and equipment necessary to sustain the facility’s more than 100 residents? It takes a combination of ships and aircraft a total of 24 days and three hours to travel from California to the Earth’s southernmost point -- an 11,300-mile journey. We’ve come a long way from hauling supplies with sleds, but one constant remains: journeying to the South Pole is not for the faint of heart.