{1}{1}25.000
{2486}{2536}This is the hut at Cape Evans
{2538}{2641}where Captain Scott|and his party spent the winter of 1911.
{2643}{2695}The freezing Antarctic temperatures
{2697}{2760}have kept everything exactly as it was -
{2762}{2856}food, equipment|and, perhaps most poignant of all,
{2858}{2910}clothing and bedding on the bunks.
{2912}{2999}It's as though|the explorers left yesterday.
{3011}{3064}And this is how it was
{3066}{3195}around that same table|on June 6th, 1911, Scott's 43rd birthday.
{3197}{3260}He and his team wintered here
{3262}{3330}so as to be ready,|as soon as the sun reappeared,
{3332}{3383}to start the trek to the pole.
{3404}{3494}They lightened the long dark days|with their own entertainment.
{3496}{3566}But these were serious-minded men.
{3568}{3655}For some, reaching the pole|was of secondary importance.
{3657}{3723}They had come to make scientific discoveries
{3725}{3813}in geology, biology, glaciology, meteorology -
{3815}{3897}and they had a surprisingly|well-equipped laboratory.
{3985}{4052}And that is still here, too.
{4147}{4234}Photography was in the hands|of Herbert Ponting.
{4236}{4315}He took cine film|as well as still photographs.
{4317}{4376}He had his own cramped darkroom
{4378}{4452}in which to develop and print|his huge glass plates.
{4498}{4585}They had with them|large stocks of tinned food.
{4603}{4705}We now know that this was not nearly|as nutritious as it was supposed to be.
{4707}{4758}That and other vitamin deficiences
{4760}{4844}contributed to the disaster that was to come.
{5274}{5364}As they waited, they knew that,|further along the coast,
{5366}{5416}the Norwegian Amundsen and his team
{5418}{5479}were waiting to try and beat them to the pole.
{5523}{5580}0n 1st November, at the beginning of summer,
{5582}{5630}Scott and four companions
{5632}{5766}left this hut and set off|on the 800-mile march to the South Pole.
{5801}{5878}They wore clothes of wool|and cotton like these.
{5880}{6002}They travelled on long wooden skis|with simple bindings,
{6004}{6090}and they transported|their equipment and food
{6092}{6153}on sledges which they pulled themselves,
{6155}{6283}having decided against the dogs|which Amundsen was using.
{6285}{6367}They reached the pole on 17th January,
{6369}{6467}only to find that Amundsen|had got there 34 days before.
{6469}{6557}0n the way back,|they encountered dreadful weather,
{6559}{6597}ran short of supplies
{6599}{6684}and died in their tent|of starvation and exhaustion
{6686}{6739}11 miles from a food depot
{6741}{6827}and less than 100 miles|from the safety of this hut...
{6893}{7004}Today, some 80 years later,|a great deal has changed.
{7006}{7103}Modern fabrics keep you warm|during the worst of conditions,
{7105}{7204}satellites in the sky|make communication and navigation easy
{7206}{7270}and, almost every day in summer,
{7272}{7329}an aircraft takes off from the ice near here
{7331}{7385}and flies directly to the pole.
{7610}{7754}Captain Scott marched for 79|exhausting, back-breaking days
{7756}{7798}before he reached the pole.
{7800}{7880}This plane will make|exactly the same journey
{7882}{7937}in less than three hours.
{7939}{8028}And today alone, there are|four other flights like this.
{8079}{8138}As you fly along Scott's route,
{8140}{8203}it is not only the sheer distance|that impresses you,
{8207}{8298}it's also the appalling|difficulties of the terrain.
{8300}{8425}At first, Scott used a combination|of motor sledge, ponies and dogs,
{8427}{8510}but after 409 miles he abandoned them all.
{8514}{8606}Thereafter, he and his men|hauled the sledges themselves,
{8608}{8676}each man pulling 90 kilos.
{8775}{8888}The decision not to use dogs throughout|was probably their undoing.
{8890}{8937}Amundsen, by doing so,
{8939}{8986}made the journey much more quickly
{8988}{9040}and with much less physical effort.
{9042}{9106}So when Scott and his companions|reached the pole,
{9108}{9178}they found Amundsen's abandoned tent|already there,
{9180}{9302}and inside it a note for Scott|to deliver to the King of Norway
{9304}{9379}should Amundsen himself fail to return.
{9553}{9638}Scott, when he arrived at this exact spot
{9640}{9749}and found the Norwegian flag|already planted by Amundsen,
{9751}{9789}wrote in his journal:
{9791}{9891}"Great God, this is an awful place."
{9893}{9931}And so it must have been
{9933}{10027}to those five exhausted,|bitterly disappointed men,
{10029}{10107}with the dreadful return journey|still ahead of them.
{10115}{10178}Today, some 80 years later,
{10180}{10239}neither explorer would recognise the place.
{10315}{10423}This summer, over a hundred|scientists and support staff
{10425}{10547}will live and work protected|from the worst of the weather
{10549}{10589}by this dome.
{10614}{10694}Beneath it are smaller, insulated buildings,
{10696}{10782}for the dome by itself|is not sufficient protection from the cold.
{10825}{10896}It stands 16 metres high.
{10898}{10944}It's like a space station,
{10946}{11030}an isolated capsule|floating on slowly-moving ice
{11032}{11097}nearly 3,000 metres above sea level.
{11168}{11224}All supplies for the pole station
{11226}{11274}have to be brought in by air.
{11327}{11386}Even in summer, it is so cold
{11388}{11453}that the supply aircraft,|after they have landed,
{11455}{11528}have to keep their engines running|to stop them from freezing.
{11601}{11669}The fuel they bring is transferred
{11673}{11771}into vast bladders which will|last the station through winter.
{11868}{11942}The South Pole is the best place on Earth
{11944}{11990}to observe the heavens above.
{11992}{12071}The atmosphere is totally clear|and free from pollution,
{12075}{12191}and the stars don't disappear|below the horizon as they do elsewhere,
{12193}{12258}so they can be observed continuously.
{12286}{12352}(H0WLING WIND)
{12506}{12563}Working in Antarctica
{12565}{12623}demands a special kind of scientist.
{12625}{12673}You may have the most brilliant mind,
{12675}{12717}but that may be of little use
{12719}{12806}if you can't pitch a tent|or restart a diesel engine.
{13151}{13235}Most of the stations are built|on the edge of the continent,
{13237}{13291}like the Australian base at Mawson.
{13293}{13375}They stand on rock instead of ever-moving ice.
{13549}{13633}There are other living creatures|with which to share your life.
{13635}{13727}35 miles from Mawson|are Emperor penguins
{13729}{13802}which also, like you, will sit out the winter.
{14024}{14085}When the last supply ships have left,
{14087}{14159}the wintering crews|will see no other human beings
{14161}{14220}for six whole months, perhaps more.
{14264}{14334}They must find a way of living together
{14336}{14438}in a place where, for some of the time,|there will be no morning, no evening...
{14444}{14479}and no escape.
{14483}{14565}Routine is all-important|and there's plenty to do -
{14567}{14614}not only scientific work
{14616}{14687}but all the jobs necessary|to keep the station running.
{14689}{14773}Looking after the dogs|is a much sought-after job.
{14775}{14860}It's refreshing to see|living things other than humans.
{14923}{15001}Food becomes hugely important...
{15003}{15080}and the cook is one of the most critically|watched members of the community.
{15531}{15643}Most bases have at least|a year's supply of food in reserve
{15645}{15685}in case of emergencies.
{15732}{15844}And most also have a building|away from these living quarters,
{15846}{15883}fully stocked with food
{15885}{15960}in case of the worst disaster of all, a fire.
{15996}{16082}For no humans without shelter,|in conditions like this,
{16084}{16149}could survive for more than a few hours.
{16217}{16281}As winter advances, the day shortens,
{16285}{16402}the sun skims closer to the horizon|and eventually drops below it.
{16404}{16477}Now, there will be|little or no sunlight whatever
{16479}{16528}for 37 days.
{16632}{16672}Midwinter Day.
{16674}{16780}Mawson Base, as every other,|marks it with a great party.
{16826}{16900}Entertainments that have been|practiced for weeks in secret
{16902}{16948}are now performed in public.
{17236}{17310}(INDISTINCT SINGING -|"WALTZING MATILDA")
{17541}{17641}# You'll come a-waltzing,|Matilda, with me... #
{17890}{17966}0utside, the darkness is broken
{17968}{18054}only by one of nature's|most extraordinary spectacles -
{18056}{18148}the Southern Lights,|the "Aurora Australis".
{18693}{18797}As the sun returns,|so do the Adelie penguins.
{18869}{18972}This traditional colony|is only a mile from Mawson Base.
{18974}{19036}It's now one of the best studied of all.
{19061}{19135}A wire-fenced corridor|with an electronic beam across it
{19137}{19221}ensures that some of the birds,|as they go to and from the sea,
{19223}{19286}are automatically counted and weighed.
{19322}{19399}But a few must still be caught|and measured in detail
{19401}{19464}to check the colony's progress.
{19894}{19957}Some are given prominent markings
{19959}{20002}so that they can be identified
{20006}{20100}among their near-identical companions,|even at a distance.
{20168}{20244}It is, it must be said, rather disfiguring,
{20246}{20300}but it will disappear at the next moult
{20302}{20374}and it hasn't lessened|the affection of the bird's partner.
{20677}{20756}Dogs have been used here|since Amundsen's day,
{20758}{20809}but dogs are ecological aliens
{20813}{20878}and it has been decided that they must go.
{20880}{20928}Many regret that.
{20930}{20972}Dogs are great companions
{20974}{21053}and they can detect one of the major|hazards of Antarctic travel -
{21055}{21155}a snow-covered crevasse -|and stop before they all fall in.
{21157}{21238}No motorised sledge can do that.
{21257}{21361}This team will be sent|to Minnesota in the U.S.
{21363}{21446}Its departure will mark|the end of a great chapter
{21448}{21526}in the short history|of mankind in the Antarctic.
{21638}{21677}They will be replaced
{21679}{21734}by motorised "quikes".
{21835}{21929}There is a limit to the amount|of fuel such vehicles can carry,
{21931}{22018}so they can't cover|such great distances as a dog team.
{22020}{22072}But they do travel faster.
{22102}{22167}It used to take two days with dogs
{22169}{22223}to reach Mawson's Emperor colony.
{22225}{22281}Now it's only a three-hour drive.
{22283}{22404}All year, even throughout winter,|scientists visit this colony
{22406}{22487}to monitor its progress|as part of a long-term study.
{23047}{23148}There is a serious purpose|behind this rugby tackling.
{23152}{23219}The bird is to be fitted with a transmitter
{23221}{23303}that will send regular signals|by way of an orbiting satellite
{23305}{23390}to a monitoring station in Tasmania.
{23392}{23476}It too is given an identifying mark.
{23641}{23695}If this bird is like others,
{23697}{23802}it is now setting off|on a 100-mile march to open water.
{23804}{23851}And when it gets there
{23853}{23965}it will dive to an astonishing|depth of 450 metres to catch fish,
{23967}{24060}all the time recording information|to say where it is.
{24098}{24151}Hundreds of miles to the north,
{24153}{24248}a grey-headed albatross is|providing similar information.
{24250}{24316}It too has a transmitter on its back,
{24318}{24410}which revealed where it collected|the food in its stomach
{24412}{24484}that it's now bringing back to its hungry chick.
{24618}{24653}It belongs to a colony
{24655}{24752}that has been studied|for the past 15 years by a British team.
{24756}{24857}The old method of weighing birds|was with a simple spring balance.
{24933}{25004}But now the researchers use a new device.
{25007}{25129}Electronic scales are concealed|inside a fibreglass nest.
{25206}{25310}From now on, there will be|no need to manhandle the chick
{25312}{25355}just to get its weight.
{25392}{25472}The scales transmit|a reading every ten minutes
{25474}{25592}to a nearby hut with a scientist|and recording apparatus.
{25606}{25667}This shows that one of the parents brings
{25669}{25822}500 grammes of squid, fish, lamprey|and krill to the chick every three days.
{25824}{25888}And signals from the satellite
{25890}{26001}reveal that the adult travelled|several hundred miles to do so.
{26272}{26322}To film this series,
{26324}{26363}we drew heavily on the discoveries
{26365}{26426}made by scientists all over the continent.
{26430}{26492}Guided by their satellite data,
{26494}{26570}we aimed, among other things,|to record in pictures
{26572}{26658}just what those albatross|and penguins did in the open ocean.
{26660}{26757}That involved developing cameras and lenses
{26759}{26821}to cope with these hostile conditions,
{26823}{26896}and finding cameramen|who could cope with them, too.
{26928}{27008}Swimming in the open ocean|in near-freezing seas
{27010}{27062}may be second nature to an albatross,
{27064}{27122}but it's a daring thing for a cameraman to do.
{27268}{27316}The reward for him is sights
{27320}{27378}that have never been filmed before.
{27496}{27567}0n board our ice-strengthened vessel,|the Abel-J,
{27571}{27681}we carried boats,|diving gear and video apparatus.
{27683}{27744}As well as free-diving cameramen,
{27746}{27846}we had remotely-controlled cameras|mounted on the inflatables.
{27992}{28092}0ne of our priorities|was to find a swarm of krill.
{28094}{28157}After weeks of searching, we did.
{28311}{28383}And so had a pair of humpback whales.
{28555}{28666}The remotely-controlled video cameras|gave us unique pictures.
{28734}{28815}They recorded in unparalleled detail
{28817}{28885}the whole of the whales' fishing technique
{28887}{28947}from the moment they released|their curtain of bubbles,
{28949}{29010}hemming in and concentrating the krill...
{29051}{29099}to the final catch.
{29384}{29492}We also had another vessel,|a small, steel-hulled yacht,
{29494}{29533}the Damien II.
{29535}{29590}She had a retractable keel,
{29592}{29665}so could operate in waters only a metre deep
{29667}{29767}and go into shallow bays|where no other vessel had been before.
{29972}{30054}Jerome Poncet is the skipper|and owner of the Damien.
{30056}{30118}With his biologist wife,
{30120}{30158}he has spent ten seasons
{30160}{30248}exploring every cove and bay|on the Antarctic peninsula,
{30250}{30318}and knows them in a way no one else does.
{30700}{30770}He was able to land camera teams
{30772}{30849}on tiny, remote and uninhabited islands.
{30861}{30965}Each night, a radio hook-up linked|all the camps and the ships,
{30969}{31083}which were often separated|by hundreds of miles of ice or ocean.
{31085}{31165}{y:i}Abel-j, this is Bailey Head|{y:i}reading you loud and clear.
{31167}{31278}{y:i}This is Abel-j.|"To confirm your message" - 
{31280}{31390}{y:i}two tents badly damaged,|{y:i}one tent, broken pole. Over.
{31462}{31529}A camera on a jib arm.
{31531}{31628}It gives a splendid high-angle view|of a penguin colony
{31632}{31704}and enables you to move alongside
{31708}{31761}an individual penguin on its perambulations.
{31763}{31857}But the whole thing weighs 120 kilos,
{31861}{31931}and carrying that over snow fields and cliffs
{31933}{32022}reduces even the strongest|camera team to gasping wrecks.
{32176}{32249}To get unbumpy pictures on the move,
{32251}{32378}Paul Atkins used a special mount|called a steadicam.
{32380}{32478}That way, he was able to move|smoothly into really close quarters
{32480}{32582}with tricky - and dangerous - subjects,|such as fighting fur seals.
{32977}{33071}Blizzards often brought|land-based operations to a halt,
{33073}{33192}but there was still work|that could be done, underwater -
{33194}{33261}if you can dig out the air cylinders.
{33272}{33339}Diving under the ice is very different
{33341}{33383}from doing so in the open ocean,
{33385}{33434}as cameraman Mike Degruy explains.
{33468}{33518}{y:i}I'm generally a fair-weather diver.
{33520}{33605}{y:i}I like warm weather, sunshine,|{y:i}palm trees and hammocks.
{33607}{33691}{y:i}I jumped into a seal hole,|{y:i}pushing the ice away as I entered,
{33693}{33733}{y:i}and they handed me my camera.
{33735}{33776}{y:i}Surprisingly, I wasn't too cold,
{33778}{33882}{y:i}except around my mouth,|{y:i}which instantly froze and became numb.
{33912}{33988}{y:i}Suddenly everything was quiet|{y:i}and I found myself
{33990}{34068}{y:i}looking at easily one|{y:i}of the most extraordinary scenes
{34070}{34135}{y:i}I had ever, ever experienced.
{34184}{34284}{y:i}I dropped down through a hole|{y:i}and was completely surrounded by ice,
{34286}{34349}{y:i}a tunnel maybe 20 feet across.
{34351}{34442}{y:i}Everything above me|{y:i}on the land was roaring with wind.
{34444}{34512}{y:i}Down there there was absolutely no sound
{34514}{34584}{y:i}except for the distant trills of Weddell seals.
{34793}{34873}Weddell seal researcher Amal Ajmi
{34875}{34917}works underwater, too,
{34919}{34963}but she doesn't get wet.
{35051}{35128}She makes her observations from a capsule
{35130}{35197}suspended 10 metres beneath the ice.
{35205}{35296}From there, she records|the sounds of the seals
{35298}{35379}while noting on a tape recorder|their movements.
{35401}{35471}{y:i}There's a lot of activity, a lot.
{35611}{35739}{y:i}There's a pair next to the hydrophone,|{y:i}probably the loudest animals.
{35789}{35917}{y:i}There's one single seal that is on my left
{35919}{36018}{y:i}and it seems to be watching|{y:i}the mother and pup
{36020}{36072}{y:i}that were near the hydrophone.
{36311}{36441}0ther researchers have been studying|a colony of Emperor penguins for many years.
{36443}{36524}They watch them underwater|from within a protective cage,
{36526}{36562}for where there are lots of penguins
{36564}{36628}you can expect|to find dangerous penguin hunters -
{36630}{36687}leopard seals or killer whales.
{36759}{36816}And this is a leopard seal,
{36818}{36890}a huge animal, nearly four metres long.
{37021}{37095}A remotely-controlled camera properly placed
{37097}{37169}will record the exit of the fleeing penguins.
{37460}{37536}But even out of water|they are not out of danger.
{37550}{37611}Another leopard seal waits for them.
{38237}{38304}Many people reckon that the leopard seal
{38306}{38394}is the most dangerous killer|in Antarctic waters,
{38396}{38436}and that it would be suicide
{38438}{38481}to get in the water with one.
{38483}{38570}But the camera team were|determined to film them hunting
{38572}{38628}without the encumbrance of a cage.
{38630}{38732}Peter Scoones and Doug Allen|were the first to try.
{38772}{38854}{y:i}I'd been underwater with all|{y:i}the other species of southern seals,
{38856}{38900}{y:i}so I had this feeling
{38902}{38981}{y:i}that the leopard seals|{y:i}wouldn't actually attack us,
{38983}{39043}{y:i}at least not without some warning.
{39081}{39162}{y:i}We thought we could recognise
{39166}{39217}{y:i}if their behaviour did slip over the borderline
{39219}{39284}{y:i}from curiosity to aggression.
{39528}{39587}{y:i}It produces a fair rush of adrenalin
{39589}{39629}{y:i}when a 12-foot seal appears
{39631}{39764}{y:i}and almost takes the entire front|{y:i}of the camera into its mouth.
{39968}{40034}{y:i}You have to feel sorry|{y:i}for the young penguins.
{40036}{40131}{y:i}They just don't stand a chance.|{y:i}It's like a cat with a mouse.
{40185}{40221}"And here I was" - 
{40223}{40289}{y:i}the cat owner|{y:i}being presented with the prey.
{40484}{40545}{y:i}But I shouldn't deny the sheer excitement
{40547}{40587}{y:i}of filming so intimately
{40589}{40643}{y:i}one of Antarctica's top predators.
{40764}{40829}{y:i}This drama is a symbol of Antarctica
{40831}{40898}{y:i}and I'll always count myself|{y:i}privileged to have seen it.
{41161}{41227}It's still less than a century
{41229}{41333}since the first man set foot|on the Antarctic continent,
{41335}{41423}yet today, hundreds of scientists|live and work here,
{41425}{41477}winter and summer.
{41479}{41537}Increasing numbers of tourists arrive
{41539}{41574}and, every year,
{41576}{41668}modern technologies|make it increasingly easy
{41670}{41719}for people to survive here.
{41721}{41835}Yet there are still very few|footsteps in the Antarctic snow.
{41837}{41931}Mining has been banned|for a further 50 years
{41933}{42027}and the Antarctic Treaty|remains relatively effective.
{42033}{42092}At a time when it's possible
{42097}{42195}for 30 people to stand|on the top of Everest in one day,
{42197}{42331}Antarctica remains a remote,|lonely and desolate continent,
{42335}{42384}a place where it's possible
{42386}{42477}to see the splendours|and immensities of the natural world
{42479}{42519}at its most dramatic,
{42521}{42626}and to witness them|almost exactly as they were
{42628}{42742}long, long before human beings|arrived on this planet.
{42744}{42798}Long may it remain so.