What does it take to reach the South Pole? Running the risk of extremely low temperatures of up to -90 degrees celsius where skin sticks to steel and ice crystals forms in one's breath, it takes physical endurance and determination of the highest order to traverse the icy plains of Antarctica.
The need for inter-dependence is crucial because the harsh Antarctic conditions
requires the combined efforts of a group to overcome. Take the situation
during a blizzard : one man stands no chance against the storm, but a team
working seamlessly together can survive.
Close contact with Antarctica brings realisation of the power of Nature. Despite the progress of mankind She is still able to overpower every effort that we put in against her wiles and vagaries. We need to respect this, to work together with Nature instead of against it because it is the basis of our lives, governing all that we build.
Looking at the conditions that the team has to contend with in Antarctica, anyone can derive the lesson of being quick to act in changeable conditions and to understand the significance of adaptability. Also there is a need to think very much ahead when contemplating every action, because all minute details hold massive importance to survival and success. To be able to do all this we have to stretch creativity and imagination to the utmost, that is, besides having academic knowledge we need also to apply it to everyday practice. Only when knowledge is integrated into life is knowledge a service to life. Once this is achieved, no problem is large enough to become a deterrent to anything.
The Antarctica
expedition therefore opens the gateway to a vaster, greater kind of attitude
to life. It has the capacity to inspire the individual, encouraging the
ability to design and build entirely new ideas or objects that is essential
to the new millennium.