South Pole Traverse
Approximately 995 mi flagged route over compacted snow and ice in Antarctica that links McMurdo Station on the coast to the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, both operated by the National Science Foundation of the United States.
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McMurdo Station
United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand–claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica.
Criticism has been leveled at the base regarding its construction projects, particularly the McMurdo-(Amundsen-Scott) South Pole highway.
Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station
United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth.
There is a snow road over the ice sheet from McMurdo, the McMurdo-South Pole highway, which is 995 miles (1601 km) long.
Leverett Glacier
About 50 nmi long and 3 to 4 nmi wide, draining northward from the Watson Escarpment, between California Plateau and Stanford Plateau, and then trending west-northwest between the Tapley Mountains and Harold Byrd Mountains to terminate at the head of the Ross Ice Shelf close east of Scott Glacier.
Leverett Glacier is on the route through the Transantarctic Mountains for the McMurdo – South Pole Highway, an overland supply route between McMurdo Station and Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station.
Fatbike
Off-road bicycle with oversized tires, typically 3.8 in or larger and rims 2.16 in or wider, designed for low ground pressure to allow riding on soft, unstable terrain, such as snow, sand, bogs and mud.
Maria Leijerstam became the first to cycle to the South Pole, across the South Pole Traverse road on a tricycle with fatbike tires.
Maria Leijerstam
British polar adventurer.
During the trip, she followed the South Pole Traverse, which led her on a steep climb through the Transantarctic Mountains, over the 2941 m high Leverett Glacier and 500 km above the Antarctic plateau.
Transport in Antarctica
Transport in Antarctica has transformed from explorers crossing the isolated remote area of Antarctica by foot to a more open era due to human technologies enabling more convenient and faster transport, predominantly by air and water, but also by land as well.
The South Pole Traverse (McMurdo–South Pole highway) is approximately 1450 km long and links the United States McMurdo Station on the coast to the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station.
Ice Maiden Expedition
British Army expedition in which six women from the United Kingdom became the first female team to ski across the Antarctic continent using muscle power alone.
Starting at the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, they skied up the Leverett Glacier following the South Pole Traverse route to the Scott-Amundsen South Pole Station, arriving on 17 December 2017.
Road
Linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles and pedestrians.
Antarctica has very few roads and no continent-bridging network, though there are a few ice roads between bases, such as the South Pole Traverse.
Transantarctic Mountains
The Transantarctic Mountains (abbreviated TAM) comprise a mountain range of uplifted (primarily sedimentary) rock in Antarctica which extend, with some interruptions, across the continent from Cape Adare in northern Victoria Land to Coats Land.
The Leverett Glacier in the Queen Maud Mountains is the planned route through the TAM for the overland supply road between McMurdo Station and Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station.
Archibald McMurdo
Vice-Admiral Archibald McMurdo (24 September 1812 – 11 December 1875) was a British naval officer born in Scotland, after whom Antarctica's McMurdo Sound, McMurdo Station, McMurdo Ice Shelf, McMurdo Dry Valleys and McMurdo–South Pole Highway are named.