How To Pack For A Trip To The South Pole

As I type this, I’m sitting in the Los Angeles Airport, about to board Quantas Airways flight 12, with service to Sydney, Australia. From Sydney, I’ll take an Etihad flight to Christchurch, New Zealand, and then after a few days or orientation and gear issue, will continue on Air Force flights through McMurdo to the South Pole. I’m going to be living at the south pole for a couple of months, and given that it’s one of the most isolated places in the world, packing to live there was a major consideration.

I only had 7 days notice that I was getting the job in Antarctica and deploying to the South Pole, so putting together all of my gear, and figuring out how to pack it was a frantic operation. In order to stay organized, I created this comprehensive spreadsheet detailing everything that I’m bringing. I’m posting it here for your reference. Ideally I was hoping to do a video explaining my choices on everything, but just didn’t have time. So here goes. Take a look at the list, and let me know if you have any questions on any gear, or have a replacement suggestion… Antarctica Packing List PDF