A tour of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station - Part 2

Part 2 of the most thorough and complete tour of the Elevated Station that I could possibly give you (without boring you to death). Here I walk you through the entire first floor.
Part 1: • A tour of the Amundsen...
Part 3 (sub-ice levels): • South Pole Station Tou...
Link to station map: drive.google.com/file/d/1KRtC...
If you're looking for something less thorough but snappier, check out my TikTok channel @ JoeSpinsTheGlobe!

[@MichaelHolstine]

I was one of the first people to stay in the station (winter-over '03) when there was barely more than a beer can, galley and some living quarters (heated, anyways). All the rest was in the dome or skylab. There is still a lot that is recognizable and the tour definitely made me feel nostalgic. Thank you for showing me what the "new" station turned into.

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

Ah, amazing. You were one of the few to experience both stations. Glad i could take you down memory lane.

[@froggy0162]

@@thinkcasting3182 And every cent is a worthwhile investment in science. An incurious country is a waste of space…

[@thinkcasting3182]

@@JoeSpinstheGlobe As the country is careening toward $40 trillion in national debt and $250 trillion in unfunded liabilities your attempt to trivialize the costs down there falls on deaf ears. Your electric bill for that building alone is how much? $3.1 million/year? I assume you're not burning bunker fuel because of muh global warming scam, right Joe? So ultra low sulfur diesel with DEF, delivered to South Pole should be about $8/gallon. A burn rate of 45 gallons/hr, 365 days/yr. is a $3.1 million dollar electric bill for ONE building at your elite little country club. What are your total operational costs, including salaries? $30 million/yr?

[@michaelhoffmann2891]

Same here. What season were you there? I was there 2003.

[@MichaelHolstine]

@@michaelhoffmann2891 first flight in oct, 2002 to second flight out (after winter) Oct, 2003. looks like you were there in Nov, 03 just after I left.

[@peterzerfass4609]

The imperial design on the communications room window is hilarious XD

[@NardoVogt]

I love that one nerd put the imperial logo from Star Wars on the satellite communication office

[@lyndonlives638]

There is something that is absolutely perfect about the fact that a South Pole Station has a large and intricate string map of 'Dark' up on the wall of the movie lounge. 😆

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

Got some big curious brains down here

[@darksunrise957]

It made me laugh out loud. It's so comically fitting for the kind of people who would work at the pole

[@JoshuaDanger]

Dark got soooo confusing 😂

[@dodge33w]

I work for 6 months out of the year in an arctic pump station for a pipeline and it’s crazy how similer it is to your guys Antarctic research station. Minus obvious differences such as uses and such. The popcorn machine is also very important to us as well😂

[@johnkalin1656]

Only difference is there station is creating super weapons apparently according to Eric hecker who was there from '10 '11

[@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer]

​@@johnkalin1656stop smoking weed

[@yourbudbuddy.]

Why is there a bike in that video? (Serious question) can't imagine it gets much use lol

[@wisdomSP]

KZbin is really amazing. It gives you the opportunity to share your experiences and gives us a chance to see something we may never see otherwise.

[@wisdomSP]

I sub now. Thanks!

[@sithra74]

The Galactic Empire symbol with Antarctica in the middle on the satellite communications room door was interesting.

[@LastMumzy]

Great tour! Btw I dunno why but the frozen bicycle at 19:22 surprised me. Just the thought of someone riding around the south on a bike makes me laugh.

[@TheFern2]

Ex-Navy and offshore worker mainly industrial controls and automation I spent several months in isolation from civilization but in the oceans. Looking up at night it really makes you feel like we're a tiny spectacle in the universe. I enjoy these tours, it amazes me how the poles are in this planet yet they're so isolated. It reminds me a lot when you had to make the best while being away from your family. I would have loved to serve a few tours down there in my younger years. The station is very similar to a ship in terms of everything needed to survive, except for a big gym lol.

[@maxulic]

12:46 Love the imperial sign on the glass xD

[@Nighthawk20000]

Kinda reminds me of a summer camp! Honestly looks very cozy, I think I'd enjoy the community environment a place like this fosters. You lose a lot of this kind of connection with people once you're done with college.

[@badbadthingss]

I work at a boarding school in nepal it's like this for me. Communities, rotating groups of people, all living and working together to make stuff work

[@thomasharhen2168]

I seen the bicycle frozen at the end of this video, that's pretty funny,I'm sure it doesn't get used much! Lol

[@alexandresofman3600]

All of a sudden I fell in love with the Antarctic and the station. I've seen other documentaries but they are not that good. You can tell Joe did it once or twice. I absolutely love how the station has literally EVERYTHING to not just survive but to have a fulfilled life on the South Pole. 4 generators? One can provide enough power to run a station for a few days tells you how much these guys prepare for the unthinkable. The basketball court blew my mind, as did the Gym. Many other interesting parts of the station that you will have to see for yourself. Amazing. Especially in comparison to the Russian station which looks the same way as when it was built in the 70s.

[@ADAMSMASHRR]

I wish hospitals would use that wall patterning for internal navigation. I love how this building feels built like a ship.

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

It has a lot of nautical inspiration (it's the galley not the cafeteria, they're the berths not the bedrooms). Mostly cuz it was built by Navy CBs and logistics all handled by military early on

[@deanwilliams433]

Brandon looks like he has a lot of experience with indoor greenhouses.

[@DanimalUpchurch]

Never thought there'd be so much to do there. Like a indoor summer camp. Sign me up

[@simonl.6338]

I actually imagined it this way but it again reminds me of the way that most science fiction movies depict spaceships wrong. All this scifi dark lifeless chrome etc., if there was an actual big spaceship with a large crew it would look somewhat like a mix of this and the ISS. The only movie that got the feeling slightly right is Alien in my opinion, that one really feels like human beings live there. Imagine you're drifting through endless space, you'd definetly need a library, some funny post-its on the walls, a movie room or some arts and crafts, not this lifeless environment you see mostly.

[@keithfowler2013]

I just keep thinking of 'The Thing!'

[@Leatherargento]

Thank you so much! I'd never have gotten to see any of this without your tour!

[@brunneng38]

Even though I’m amazed at all the things at this facility and that the designers of it tried to think of everything they could to make this a pleasant experience for the employees, the gym at the end is what really impressed me.

[@dominictarrsailing]

love the checker pattern on the walls and the circular windows in the doors, makes it feel i bit like a '50s imagined moon base, which isn't far off. Also really interesting to learn about the volunteer roles, and the turn-taking roles like the dishwashing. There must really be a sense of "we are in this together" especially during the winter, also as evidenced by the over winter group photos going all the way back and the way Joe constantly says "we" and "us".

[@markcrowell2727]

The most surprising aspect of the tour (incl Part 1) was the music room!!! The sports gym was very cool, too.

[@marklucas3140]

Oh my God! That's crazy that you guys got so into Dark that you made a paradox chart and then left it on the wall. I've seen the first two seasons three times now and the third season twice. OF COURSE scientists and engineers would get sucked into that show! So cool. I was frustrated with the ending until more recently. Now I'm just happy that they quickly finished up the plot before Netflix started smacking everything with the cancel hammer indiscriminately.

[@dlordwfb]

It was nice to spot a copy of one of Iain M. Bank's "Culture" books all the way down there, he would have got a kick out of that.

[@hrithikdiwakar8021]

Love watching videos of Antarctica imagining what life is like over there! Keep em coming!

[@zmelon]

Quite impressive, Joe‼️ Thanks for the tour‼️👍🏻

[@danielleussler4328]

Awesome video! It's a shame you couldn't go in satcomm, it's actually really cool in there. I was in IT when I was at Pole, and we'd do standup meetings in there daily/weekly, over by the comms workbench (which is to the left, when you enter). To the right, there's even more controlled access (you have to sign in and out) to get to the datacenter, which looks a lot like a smaller version of what you showed in your Ice Cube video. There's also the sat engineer office, where the ground stations out in RF are controlled from, and a tiny little room for the IT manager's office. If you look on the station diagram just outside it that's on the wall, that entire area is actually marked as being a darkroom for film photography; when the Elevated station was initially drawn up, nobody thought there'd be much use for a server room at Pole, but they were sure that 35mm film photography would be popular!

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

Ha that's really interesting about the dark room! I was in sat com fairly frequently, and saw all those places except for the data center

[@johnkalin1656]

Bro what is Raytheon doing there spill it you would be a legend or just let us know Eric hecker is full of ish

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

He's full of ish

[@danielleussler4328]

@@johnkalin1656 Eric and I both hung out at the summer camp lounge at Pole. I liked the guy, but he was full of shit then and he is now too.

[@DaveTexas]

Thank you for making these videos! It’s so fascinating to get to see what’s inside that station. As an extreme introvert, this place would be like heaven to me over the winter. So few people to deal with! I’m one of those people who loved COVID lockdown, never leaving the house, able to get so much work done because no one ever bothered me. Sadly, health issues would make it impossible for me to ever work in a place that isolated. It’s fun to think about it, though, and your tour has allowed me to feel like I got to visit the station.

[@SkiVail]

Absolutely incredible! But would we be able to get a tour of the under ice section as well!?! Would love to learn more about the operations side, such as the vehicle bay, generator sets etc.

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

Under ice video posted!

[@SkiVail]

@@JoeSpinstheGlobe Awesome! Thanks!

[@GingerNinja1]

Great suggestion! I'm otw to part 3 tour & will have to look for the ice station afterwards!

[@MarcoPolo-fy4qr]

Nice they gave Scott his props, he definitely deserved recognition.

[@mattvjmeasures]

A wonderful, comprehensive tour. Thank you so much.

[@simondavey7787]

Thank you for these insightful videos. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed Festive season.

[@danieltaylor4819]

Beautiful, well thought out facility.

[@kozytime3232]

Thanks for the gift of the video! Merry Christmas to you!

[@Robertonnz]

Lovely...thanks Doctor Joe

[@Dav-Your-Fav]

Love these videos!!! Keep em up ma man!

[@danceingdave3]

Great job Joe. I've seen a few Amundsen-Scott station YT vidoes before, but with diagrams yours is the best. Well done!

[@jayt6933]

I LOVE your videos bro….. keep up the great work man.

[@seanotron4559]

Awesome. Yay! I've been trying to imagine what this station would look like for years, now I know. Much appreciated. You guys rock!!!

[@dyus_hardaway]

Big thanks! so enjoyed your tour

[@tomumn4216]

Awesome 2 love it glad to see people that care about our future thank you😏

[@___Me_]

I kind of missed the flame throwers during the tour. I"m sure you keep some of those just in case, never know what"s lurking beneath the snow :D

[@johnbeans2000]

Don't forget the dynamite sticks!

[@mmhuq3]

Another classy video- thank you

[@TMD3453]

Love it. As does my inner introvert used to Midwestern winters. Read about this in 3rd grade in the ‘70s and obviously it’s changed!! Thanks !

[@RayClosel-hf6cx]

Love the tour thanks for the trip down holiday camp…hilarious!

[@someguy9778]

Really impressive what they have done at the pole. The station is well made and appears to have everything you could need.

[@99dynasty]

Soon enough we will watch a similar tour on the moon

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

Hope so

[@tombenson5957]

@@JoeSpinstheGlobe I would love to see a university class take a stab at "converting" the design of your station, to be placed on the moon. Assume it's placed in a giant lava tube or cave, and covered by a pressurized bubble to hold in the air, your station seems otherwise to look like exactly what a full-time science station, staffed by 50-200 people on the moon should look like. Sure it would be heavily modified, the number of rooms and types of function wouldn't change. People still need the same social areas, food, work areas, etc.

[@trcoklesev5017]

I hope not. I love exploration but I believe less damage would be done if the ones to explore would be robots. It's no doubt that specialized robots can do much more than a humans and for way cheaper. Sending people to space is a waste of money and isn't good at anything but fuelling humanity's ego.

[@oberonpanopticon]

@@trcoklesev5017 how can you say you love exploration then follow it with that??! Also, why not send people to the moon? What damage are you talking about?? it’s not like we’ll be interfering with the local ecosystem or disturbing the natives! Sure, it’s expensive in the short term (even though space exploration takes up less than half a percent of the US’s GDP), but in the long term it vastly lowers the probability of our extinction and grants us access to effectively infinite resources and living space. Earth is our cradle, and we can’t stay here forever (seriously, what do you expect us to do if we never leave earth? Burn all the fossils fuels then die?). I also think there’s an argument to be had over whether or not specialized robots would be more effective than human exploration.

[@ncsupi]

Moonbase Alpha provides a realistic simulation of life on a natural satellite.

[@warmunky3797]

Great vid, defs the most comprehensive Station tour I've seen! LOVED the little location graphic that pops up when you enter a new area, to give us a better idea of where you are, very nice touch. Thanks for sharing Joe, awesome vid m8!

[@kairon156]

Very cool tour. Thanks.

[@priscilam.9808]

This is absolutely amazing! Im not too far as im currently living in South America. There is a crazy heat wave going on so it is nice to see some snow in the video. Thanks for sharing this with everyone. 😊

[@ryansmurda1552]

This was amazing! I had no idea how big this place was. Really enjoyed watching

[@mikkoj1977]

Wow.. wery well done tours both 1 n 2. Impressd how good care they take of people over there.

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

Thank you 😊

[@pauledwards5573]

Just watched it for the second time very interesting I'd love to live there!

[@liamh9814]

I love this! I’d love to work at a place like this and having an insight into it is fascinating.

[@HELPINHANDSUK0612]

amazing love to spend a wekk or two there see the and fell the life you guys live keep it up love the videos

[@Vinny0101]

Fascinating

[@DonniyKhristanto]

Wow you have plants in south pole amazing

[@joefraga7377]

Great! Everything one could need.

[@petedelepper7585]

This kicks sooooooooooooo much butt. Thanks for sharing!

[@emilybeaty27]

Great video!! I loved the fat bike at the end haha

[@GlorytoGod549]

The greenhouse is definitely my favorite part of the station, a lot of yield in a little space.

[@briansalway9529]

Thank you Brandon

[@-yeme-]

Im surprised how little of the place is dedicated to the actual science. I understand that stuff like ice cube is off site but I didnt realise that the main building was almost exclusively accommodation and facilities

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

Yep, a LOT of support required to be in this environment for extended periods

[@Whoami691]

I love the maps and flags of antartica everywhere, it just feels so surreal, we don't often hear much about it so to be in a place where you are studying it must be amazing. All the artifacts from your previous vid, looking out the window to see the vast icy landscape. I would love to be there in the winter. I have always been a bit of an introvert and a night owl, it seems perfect. Hell i will be your janitor, and i can look after plants. :) I would love to work there, itjust seems like a home away from home. Another world.

[@syntaxerorr]

Great video!

[@amyferrill770]

I'm addicted to McMurdo! Thanks for the video's.

[@joytaylor6784]

Wow would love a holiday there,looks so cozy inside,just remember to take you're thermals lol❤❤❤

[@Vaxtris]

Is ‘The Thing’ a popular choice on movie night? Lol

[@Songbirdstress]

Got to be epic!

[@cosmicinsane516]

Man biggest regret was passing up a job offer for a maintenance position there. In the long run I’m happy with my job now, I can’t imagine I’d have stayed that many tours down there. But would have been a wonderful experience.

[@bunnydango]

what kind of qualifications did you have to get that kinda offer?

[@cosmicinsane516]

@@bunnydango Nothing that special, just HVAC and building automation. They frequently have opening for various maintenance type positions. I imagine it’s a pretty high turnover.

[@rsvp9146]

I've always been fascinated with polar exploration and spent a good amount of time traveling. I dont think I'd have a reason to go down there (although I fix German sports cars for a living) but man this was a cool tour. I've also been a serious rock guitarist since I was 7 years old. Seeing the music room there... WOW. thats some nice equipment. Maybe I ought to look into doing.. something.. down there. Thank you for the detailed tour.

[@gusteg83]

So big and cool place 😮❤

[@joshboone7662]

How amazing is it that there are no bugs or critters in the greenhouse!!

[@sammy5576]

this is so cool

[@warmunky3797]

@12:45 is that an homage to the Star Wars Galactic Empire on that door?? lol. I was like WTF I recognise that symbol from somewhere!! haha. Nice little easter egg there if it is! ;)

[@ErikTheAndroid]

With all those rooms dedicated to entertainment, I am amazed that you guys get anything done :p

[@andyh5666]

Nice vid series, very enjoyable. I use those exact same LED growing lights (for different purpose 😅) .

[@gottuso]

"Not used very much..." I would be in that sauna every damn day! :)

[@GingerNinja1]

I just found your channel today when I saw a short on the "below ice," station. You did a great job on the tour, omw to part 3 now! I'm curious about the other housing (row buildings that house 600 or so people.) I have 22 yrs in nursing & never thought about y'all having to cover denistry out there, but makes sense though! I absolutely LOVED the green house & those who volunteered to help feed others fresh vegetables & some fruit too!

[@CarlineMullins-te9hg]

Very interesting 😊

[@brandonhamilton833]

Why did youtube wait over a year to suggest this?! Awesome videos!

[@vadimkorob2689]

Such a paradise for socializing introverts :)

[@Mike_Y.]

Pretty cool

[@zapfanzapfan]

19:15 Ok, who managed to bike there!? 🙂

[@redwireless]

The force is strong with the SatCom folks...

[@JoeSpinstheGlobe]

I found their lack of bandwidth disturbing

[@zapfanzapfan]

@@JoeSpinstheGlobe Ha, ha, ha!

[@McMurdoStation]

Thanks for the mention of Martin Pomerantz. I saw the picture in the case and immediately thought of him. And then you mentioned him, that was great. Pomerantz chewed me out a few times but he also gave me my favorite compliment of all time. He was a force of nature. I wintered at McMurdo 82/83 and spent 2 weeks at Pole working with him. I'm curious if where I worked with him is where Pomerantz Land is now.

[@sugoifarainjapan7432]

Antarctic is interesting but a whole new world for us, it seems. Thanks for the great tour. How awesome would it be to receive a letter/postcard from the Antarctic. 😁

[@subbywan1422]

Working down in Antarctica is very much on my bucket list. I'd love to do a year or two in the ice and snow!

[@dontaskiwasbored2008]

The brains of some of the people in these comments are freaking cooked. I cannot believe that people can watch lightly edited, casual footage of a guy showing off a base near the south pole, and call it fake or BS. It's wild and I welcome evolution to do its part, please.

[@maximusaviationchannel]

Its like you're on another planet. So cool.

[@lennybuttz2162]

Pretty cool.

[@dougww1ectebow]

Always fascinated with Antarctica as I've missed out on a couple of chances to work down there, for various reasons. Still would love to see it in person.

[@WizardOfWhoopee]

850 miles from McMurdo to S-Pole. Amazing those old explorers walked, dragging sleds of gear.

[@COYOTE_N8]

Super cool just watched #1. I'd love to stay there haha seems awesome. Away from civilization

[@littlemeg137]

Interesting to see what's at Amundsen-Scott, now. Very different from my uncle's 35mm slides of the old dome and other structures from when he worked for Holmes and Narver in the '70s.

[@melaninfactor7857]

This was a very nice tour. Thank you for your time and sharing the video.

[@mr7354]

thanks, I wanna live/work there too! I'm surprised at the amount of windows, but I guess the natural light is good to have (when available)

[@TheCCBoi]

I love the random frozen bike.

[@RoulinBrooks]

13:02 at the Satellite Communications Office. That's the logo of the evil Empire in Star Wars. Nice.

[@2727daqwid]

6:45 Somehow, for me the hydroponics are the most interesting part of the tour lol. It looks absolutely amazing in there. You guys should have a cafeteria around that room :D

[@cccaaa9034]

The whole time I watched this I kept thinking about what would apply or not to a moon or mars outpost. Very interesting.

[@phoditmuddaess]

mans is really standing in -40 degrees in a shirt unfazed