As many of these kinds of things do however our trips to the South Pole turned out to be a life changing event and although I had not prepared much for the adventure it quickly overtook me as I now look back on it, it was an adventure of a lifetime. A sage once said “… youth is wasted on the young” and that is true to some degree. I maybe did not appreciate it as much at the time as I have later in life when realizing the things we did and experienced and how we quickly grew from boys to men.

Floating ice glaciers as big as mountains, penguins, elephant seals and killer whales living in their natural habitats and a sun going round in a circle all day and never disappearing below the horizon stick out in my mind. Also we learned values and life skills that contributed to who we are as adults. Early responsibility, taking actions when necessary, overcoming personal fears, being accountable and responsible and to never, never be late for your next bridge watch! (45 years later my wife still complains that I must now arrive 15 minutes early for everything.)
Most of all however I think we learned interpersonal skills and how to work together as teammates, how to respect authority and do what you were told to do with no backtalk or grumbling (at least not publically). How to get along in tight quarters for long periods of time and how important a sense of humor is and how important you own personal integrity is and to do the right thing no matter the situation.

Even though I never dreamt about going to the South Pole before I went, I now dream about being at the South Pole after having returned. How quiet and bright it is outside at 2AM in the middle of the “night”. How magnificent the glaciers were and how beautiful and smart the animals were surviving in the icy waters. Very few other human beings had ever been there when we worked and explored there – it was very pristine, one had a chance to not only connect with nature but also see the footprints of the early brave explorers, e.g. British explorer Robert Scott’s hut is still standing, supplied and ready for new explorers a 100 years later protected by the frozen tundra. Tour operators now highlight trips to Antarctica as “once in a lifetime” adventures and they truly are. My advice now … dream about Antarctica and don’t miss the opportunity to go if you can!