Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

Lonely Planet review

The U.S.'s new Elevated Station, built at a cost of US$165,000,000.00 and due for completion in early 2008, replaces 'the Dome', as the old station, housed under a geodesic dome built from 1971 to 1975, was known.

The new 128m/420ft-long building, raised on 36 stilts 4m (12ft) above the snow surface, is designed so that it can be jacked up by a full storey - two times - to avoid the destructive snow drifting that has crushed two previous stations at the Pole. The 5,575 sq m (60,000sq ft) structure will accommodate its 150 summer and 50 winter residents in decidedly better comfort: amenities include labs, conference rooms, music practice rooms, a two-storey basketball court and a hydroponic 'food growth chamber' (greenhouse) to raise the 'freshies' (fresh veggies) cherished by the station's winter residents. A huge gleaming aluminium stairwell - known universally as 'the Beercan' - links the Elevated Station to a sub-ice complex of storage tunnels, garages, warehouses and the station power plant.