it's loud become here. the mode of four massive parts. i'm dressed like all of us who have been approved to make this journey in the same regulation gear that's required from all flights in means of conveyance on the ice. thick, no winter at all is big red, inflatable boots, gloves, underwear, cap. i am talking layers.

♪ ♪ ♪

the runway is frozen to the ice, ten feet thick. the airport shuttle, ivan the

terror bus takes us slowly towards our destination. >> we're driving ivan, 23 years old at it, good -- made out of good canadian steel. sometimes the heat actually works, this year it does. >> no easy thing to see it the way it should be seen. the last place on earth. >> there we are, try to get plenty of rest and enjoy the an ark ti arctic. >> the large u.s. base station the hubs, the pure science. it looks like a mining camp. but look closely and you'll

notice things like how a single cigarette butt. carefully bringing in communities on a planet. it is a community. highly organized, very odd of just under a thousand people with 150 winter all working towards the same thing in the most remote stunning beautiful. work is seasonal. it is the type of place that demands very special type of individual. everyone is interdependent because you have to realize that very quickly. they depend absolutely on support community specialist like the carpenters, heavy equipment operators. pilots. cooks. like i said, it takes a special hard person to make it down here but like it. you eve got to be tough.

>> right now, i love it because it's like being at a spa for scientists. >> he's one of the first placement archeologist who has been coming here since the '70 the coffee house, it's not much toook at but offers a welcome break from the cold. >> everybody respects up and down equally. the janitor has a sense that their action is right at the front line. that doesn't happen as much elsewhere in the world of science, tangibly seeing it. people who come as a scientist might think of their science as thinking of them coming to a place that's definite lly different than anywhere else in

the world. >> despite it seemingly endless whiteness, what you see is a desert. frozen desert, totaling 61% of the entire world's fresh water. it looks like nothing lives. you won't see a single plant, single leaf. and certainly not a puppy. even though the sun this time of year never sets. it moves in lazy circles around the sky. it's indeed moving, beneath your feet, all around you, just very slowly. >> it's a kind of glacier that flows off the land but begins to float in the ocean. >> it's fresh water ice. it buries from the snow like day down in the bottom, ice that might have swollen today. >> it's the called where we

print the address. it might take # a thousand years for it to get into the rough sea, not that it would take only ice. >> this is at the tip of ross island surrounded by miles of frozen sea. there were a lot of different types of ice down here. >> it started around 50 years ago. it was driven by the fact that we're still trying to figure out what an arctic ya is still about the sea leveling. let us know, how it faces in some places. we're trying to come up with some kind of solid reliable statement about what cities like san francisco and new york and shanghai have to plan for.

>> an arctic ka remain free of any sustained human contact until the mid 20th century, when the u.s. navy launched operation deep freeze. established the first permanent base here in row ber that in 19 # a # 55. >> we're packed away in a natural fit. frozen meat, perfectly preserved. >> since the national seensatio took over for the navy. >> it feels like dorm title. everybody rotates housekeeping duties and everybody shows off and pointed odor, the cooks do

the best they can giving frequent delivery what are called lugging tugs around here, freshies, or anything not frozen, canned or prepared. >> connectivity i have with the outside dinner. >> joanny works i.k. sooner or later they'll put a satellite up there. >> we're a long way away from having cell service down here. >> which is the really loud person on earth. christy is a heavy equipment operator. >> i started off in the gallie and then i ended up getting trained on the pro -- >> jewels, another heavy equipment operator. who can eat your lunch and kick your butt again has been coming for 38 seasons. >> what were you doing before. >> my mom worked for the company and she wanted me to come

because i didn't want to come. >> trying to get rid of you or what? >> she wanted to come. >> when you first started coming, how many women were here. >> there were probably 90 civilians. originally down here it was kind of disdain, which shall we let women be here. where are all the women and, we don't have to facilities for them. he said, well you better get facilities for them. when i first came down here. the company was about hey, this is special. there are not many civilians. it's wild and free and great place to be. >> having seen what you see on a regular basis and experience what you've experienced, is that alien nating square inch how simple life is and how little

you need to get by. you pack a couple of duffel bags and get down. when i get home, i get caught up in the want and need, that's the person that kind of bugs me out. >> that's one of the things i like about it. there's no rat race. it's a dell tear are support of ims many who runs the stage with that power. there's no fuel without power, no roads without heavy equipment and go from there and appreciate what everybody else's role is. >> this is a place where things are more powerful that don't involve money. you make life-long friend ships. the beauty of this place is astounding. >> there's something about him spending here. you know, a lot of people get really hooked on this place. it is what it is.

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in an arn art ka. six months of daylight, the an arctic summer season where we are now. constant sunlight reflecting on the ice. and it can and does fry the

brain. >> all right. hello, ladies and gentlemen. my name is ramono. we're going to spin some tubes here. and have special guest in here today. here to visit us is tony

bourdain. ♪ ♪ >> there are no roads and few single runways. for shot hops the main mode of transportation is helicopter. gets a lot of time shuttling scientists to and from remote field camps. >> that's probably 60 or 70 miles away and it's probably 14 feet high. >> it looks close. >> yes. building size bcks. >> that's what you don't want to hit when you're snow boarding. >> the mountains here will have

drills to practice. >> there's a steep learning curve to flying down here, reduced control at high altitudes and unpredictability of turbulence. slowly but surely, it's minus 20 outside. >> this is the southern most active volcano on earth. antarcti antarctica. great white space at the bottom of the world. >> we're passing. you can see the main crater in just a second. >> the conditions endured by the first british antarctica

explores in the lengths of time they endured them are well, horrifying, to imagine. they made their journeys in wooden ships. manng equipment across glas sh glaciers, mountains and seas when rations ran out. >> what's our altitude now. 1302. >> about 22 miles is kate where a colony of about 2,000, marine oncologists have been studying

this colony for 20 years. >> wanted individuals that are 20 years old. >> why penguins, what brought you to penguins initially. >> they do everything with no secrets. if you're creative enough, they'll give you the answer without a lot of guessing. what really interests me is the relationship these penguins and how they fit in. during the '90s, were increasing much faster. in the last ten years colonies started increasing again. we think it's because fishery or tooth fish. they eat the sa, so now there's more fish available for adults to capture. >> those are the competition,

therefore more the same grade available. >> i had to let a few go in the water, but they're looking for some indicator that they're fish down there. >> finally, they make the plunge. >> they're very agile. they don't look at the first flush, but watching them, they've got a lot of moves. >> increasingly, people want to see penguins. they're much loved by children everywhere. a lot of people like them and the penguins up close. the environment without impacting them in a way. is that a good thing. >> the thing about ant aarcticn. the only advocacy has to come from the public. it's very valuable how these tours and people have ownership.

they've been there and see it. >> what do you see coming back other than the work? >> i wanted to come as very severe place and, you know, nature was a king. daunting. having a chance to be humbled by something greater to think an b.

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not all of antarctica is covered with ice. 60 miles out of town are the dry vallies. the 1% of the continent filled with snow fall. scott called it the valley of death and it feels like mars. they use to test out equipment from martian exploration here.

desolate but beautiful. the glaze shcier, the wall of i right there where it seems to have stopped short pulled back showing off the beach and the frozen lake. here is the most oldest and legendary fuel camps. everything comes in by helicopter. the base here supports a small team of scientists and staff working on a variety of long-term projects. it's most legendary for this woman. she's been coming here for 19 seasons, said to be best cook on the continent. this in an environment where so-called fresh siefreshies, it of sheer appreciation. staying over is a rare privilege enjoyed by few, like dr. michael

goosef. >> what are you looking at here? >> everything that lives here lives in the soil, mostly the animals that live here, but also the micros that the animals eat off of. this is a marker to tell us to stay on these trail. these soils so sensitive, if we walk off the trail, we can jack up the soil organisms. like that guy. >> they thought these soils were sterile, but we disspelled that myth. when the streams flow -- why does this area look like this? why it's like this? >> the polar plateau where most of the ice accumulates starts to spread out. but the mountain form a barrier of the ice sheet hits the mountains and can't get through. the other thing there are these

winds that come off and drop downn to the plateau and rush towards the edges of the continent and gushing through the vallies. >> we call it the banana belt. it's warm, costal. >> life, considering the limitations and difficulties, it's a weekend of luxurious by continent standards. out here, every bit of waste is separated an collected. one peas in a bottle and pours in barrel where it's collected and shipped back to america. life here, most definitely, has its advantages. ray and her staff always to eat things delicious. homemade bread appear throughout the day. tonight it's pork tenderloin. >> that looks good. >> grilled mahi sticks and

shrimp marinated in chilly sauce. homemade sour dough bread and beet salad. >> look at all the salad. >> what cannot be fresh is nonetheless delicious. cranberries in the salad, roasted vegetables. one might find itself enjoying a dock trail or two. it's an amazing spread. >> what are you guys doing here? what are you looking for? >> collecting water samples in the stream and collecting samples of the algae. so we can create this rainbow in the streams. >> when scientist explore were national heroes. there were discovery, not a good climate for facts, though. >> may interpret our facts here.

we don't get to make up our own facts. >> they believe the flint stones is pretty much an accurate betrayal of history. >> you want that clinician, the science to mess up and we don't do a great time of back home. >> i get this criticism, you need to do a better job presenting your research. i get that. but i'm a professor, i present information. they weren't all this awesome stuff. they're thoughtful. they make the world better. but they don't tune any. >> but we live in a terrible reality. you better handle five minutes out on that. >> 140 characters. >> pretty much. >> yeah.

yeah. >> rampage of involve involve or something like that. it's extremely interesting. >> in a battle between the algae and -- who is going to win? >> pour it out. i'm betting on algae. this time we've all chosen to come out here. what do you put up with these people. >> everybody here is such incredible people, i can't help it. i can't find anyplace like this. 30, 40 years later i'm still in love with the place. >> it gives real -- it gets

really challenging. i think that can make a difference. >> the meal was really delicious, thank you. this is sort of the last place on earth where pure science seems to be celebrated and every level of society are people are making great sacrifices in pursuit of knowledge, that sounds great. where i come from, but it's an entire continent of seekers in a world that's increasingly hostile too and everything you're all about, it's right, wonderful. wouldn't that be great if anyone played as nice like we did. collaborati collaborating. >> dream on, buddy.

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we're triering to do the same type -- we're trying to do the same type of missions with the c-130, which is usual.

>> it's a fun job. >> in just a few hours, we crossed the fly up the glacier into the heart of antntarctica. the polar plateau. >> it's 135 miles. scott walked that. >> the first explorers that got here and came close raced across the continent striving to be the first. he beat scott by 34 days in getting there. the widely used hisuskies pulle across the site. this south pole, what you miegts not know or -- what you might know know is the south pole is

high 9,000 feet above sea level. it's cold, real cold, you build the comfort number. >> you look at space station or middle of well, campaign. it can be harsh out there with winds reaching as high as 50 knots and temperatures regularly dropping below 12 degrees fahrenheit. >> chef brian is responsible for keeping them all fed. he's been coming here for about five seasons, wintering over the three of those. again, what makes a lot with a little. >> what do you think, all of the people choose to come to this place. everybody saw it. it's cool because you think, i've done some pretty cool things. >> dr. stewart jeffries is a

specialist. >> second year for the money. third year you don't fit. >> you don't pitch and quickly supply. >> i feel like i'm on a space station keep coming back. >> it's good. i like them. >> after a hard day. exactly what you need. >> they'll burn like 6,000 calories in a day. >> we eat pretty good down here considering where we all are. every friday has been -- this week filet mignon and crab legs. >> typically five weeks. >> how do you deal with

vegetarians. >> it's usually whoever shows or what's going on at the time. >> i think it was a complaint one day about the music. they played it over and over and over. we listen to german talk radio, too. >> what do you do here. >> we're looking at inside. the only ones looking for vegetables. top two layers. >> sure. >> yeah. >> beneath the station is the subterranean world. 2,000 feet of tunnels, 30 feet down. carved into the walls imprompting shrines, depicting personal messages, remembers

left behind by long-gone workers. the frozen constantly moving and shifting network of passage way. >> requiring continent maintenance, it's important he let us know. >> we're in a process now of taking the depth off the walls and the ceiling. it's a lot of work. >> the lowest recorded temperature at the south pole is 117 degrees below zero. >> we're roughly minus 59. i could tell you that it scorches the lungs and creeps through your heavy way. >> we've melted it and enormous down there with 12 million gallons. it takes that to make it on

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this is the bicep in the dark sector lab ten meters across mapping thousands of degrees of sky. today they're installing the most advanced camera of its kind. >> it's the third generation, it's 16,000 and weighs about 2,500 pounds in a couple days we'll pull it up into the telescope and try and see if we can hit the skyith it >> it's like -- astro fizzist, the black hole near the center. >> no one has looked at them. if i can build the telescope the size of the entire earth. you can see with enough resolution. we're basically taking every similar ticketed in world.

crawl space in the entire earth so that we can take picture of center of our galaxy. >> so we're continually hopeful. the atmosphere is extremely clear. you can snap the guy, day in and. there's six months a year and it takes it through shortcoming. >> i are grew up in the kennedy you life. the whole nation can wait and get it. nobody use it. i mean, have you seen that change because i felt a change. >> yeah. it's true. that there is an increased skepticism of objective reality these days, but this science standards on thousands of years of human crude. >> whose interesting. >> who is most likely to back down. >> there's no immediate answer to that question. >> when you're asking basic

questions about the fundamental nature of matter, time, space, those choose there's no question. we i always thought of this basic research trying to understand the universe is one of the most hopeful things that humans do. we just want to know. >> what's at the other end of that? would you like to know? at a time when science is held at open contempt when painfully acquired data is decleleted wit computers if it conflicts with policies. these guys are looking at deep stuff. where do we come from? how does it all work? how far can we go? what are we as humans are

capable of? what's on the other side? oh chilly. my face hurts. oh! it really is the asset of the world.

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>> anthony: she delivers food. there is 500 coming back. >> the human waste does go out. retros and all equipment. they make sure splosupplies are moving on and off safely. >> working and unload and reload. >> oh yeah, that'll do it. >> russell freedman is the

executive chef at mcmertyl. >> as soon as this -- >> children and puppies. >> exactly. we scattered through the winds and regroup if august. >> anthony: oh yeah? at the end of the season, there is however a vibrant party culture. w where people work hard, they party hard, responsibly, of course. they do go hearty. the weather, the best parties and there i much competition in this department.

one can, it turns out to have a very good time at the end of the world. [ applause ] >> lets get another order here. ♪ >> i . >> anthony: i am liking this song. this is the world's most and most in-depth dj, signing off. thank you for listening. ♪

>> an tar -- arctic ka, it never gets old. >> anthony: there is a curiosity for everybody that comes here. explorations and learning, the search for a greater understanding. the pursuit of pure knowledge. whoo! >> my favorite storm. oh! ♪

>> test te . . . . . . > i love it. i got it. i got it. but, you know, i did not realized that as a kid, my mom had a gun and it was on the top shelf of her closet. s the just -- my dad is from you cannot be from there and not have a gun. i asked my dad, do you have a gun, come here, follow me in the house and i pulled the books and send me a wall opened and there was an elevator that i did not know about. lets go see it.