'Tis the Season to Visit Antarctica Caption: The Kapitan
Khlebnikov cruise ship is a former Russian icebreaker which has
been converted to a cruise liner. It makes frequent trips to
Antarctica. This photo was taken in McMurdo Sound. CREDIT: Mike
Usher/National Science Foundation If the talk about the 100th
anniversary of the discovery of the South Pole has given you the
travel bug, go ahead and cast your gaze south … all the way
south. Right now is the middle of the Antarctic tourism season.
One hundred years ago on Dec. 14, Norwegian explorer Roald
Amundsen became the first human to reach the South Pole. Today,
30,000 people travel to Antarctica each year during the
continent's summer tourism season. As little as $3,000 will get
you to the frozen continent; for $30,000, you can get there in
style. The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators
has more than 100 international companies that ferry adventurous
passengers to one of the harshest environments on Earth.
Antarctica's wonders — the physica