Last Degree - Facts & Figures

Arrow straight tracks help minimise extra distance creeping in through navigational errors...and give a sense of aesthetic pleasure

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The last degree refers to the 60 nautical miles between 89 and 90 degrees South. This is 69 statute miles or 111 Km.
Teams are dropped off at around 89 degrees South and around 90 degrees West which is at an elevation of 2780m, hence the need for a slow start to the sledge hauling and camp tasks to allow the body sufficient acclimatisation time.
The Pole itself is at 2835m. This is not the high point of the Polar Plateau which reaches around 4000m further East
The first successful team to reach the South Pole were the Norwegians led by Roald Amundsen who arrived on December 14th 1911, 35 days ahead of the British team led by Robert Scott.
These days a variety of teams make different journeys from various starting points around the continent every summer season (November - January). The shortest ski option is the ‘Last Degree’.
Most teams take 6-9 days to make the Last Degree journey averaging 7-8 hours a day (with 7-8 short breaks) once they are acclimatised.
The temperature at the South Pole when we arrived in mid January was -27C with 5-10 kt winds.
From the South Pole a 3.5 hour flight in a DC-3 Basla takes you back the 600 Miles to Patriot Hills and then onwards to Southern Chile via a 4 hour flight in a Russian Illyushin 76.