17 December 2003 Click image for full size!
Today, the first helicopter I've seen at the Pole arrived. No, they aren't scientists, they're tourists! Yes, if you have a lot of money, you too could visit the Pole. I believe that their original plan was to arrive here in the morning and then leave by the afternoon, but apparently they are staying overnight. Since they aren't connected to any of the projects here, they aren't allowed to use any of the facilities here. They aren't even allowed into the new station (it's considered a construction zone and therefore off limits to all civilians). I think they're allowed into the dome (supervised of course!) and can pick up some souvenirs of their flight, but other than that, I don't think they have a lot of contact with anyone here. I think that the NSFs official position is to discourage tourists any way they can. Of course if you throw enough money at anything, then any rules can be bent a little.