The 2000-2001 South Pole season is one of big changes with  the new station building progressing rapidly. Meanwhile many people working at the South Pole during the summer season live in the summer camp in "Jamesway" buildings as shown above.

Note: the above postcard showing a Chilean Air Force Black Hawk helicopter at the South Pole Station the previous year has been postmarked in Punta Arenas, southern Chile and bears a cachet of the Chilean Air Force Polar Flight.  The card has the two South Pole backstamps as shown at right.

At right we can see the reverse of the above cover with the variuous markings added.

The above envelope is autographed by Darryn Schneider  of the AMANDA team. 

AMANDA is an acronymn for Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array.

AMANDA consists of a series of holes in the ice as shown above which uses the ice as a trap for Neutrino or Muon particles

Darryn Schneider

The view at left shows the tent surrounding the drill equipment at AMANDA.

The view at right shows the AMANDA team lowering the array equipment down a hole. Darryn Schneider is at left.

Note: The above postcard was cacheted with the South Pole large datestamp of 31st December, 2000 on the front at top left and then postmarked the following day on the first of January, 2001 thus being the first and last mail of the Millennium. As the South Pole is on the prime and all other meridians including the International date line this item is certainly the first and last items posted anywhere. The view at right shows the reverse of the postcard featured above.

We see at left Jerry W. Marty autographing some of the above postcards.

Jerry is the senior National Science Foundation Representitive at the South Pole Station responsible for all the scientific work on the station. He is also responsible for the construction of the new South Pole Station.

Note: The 2 man Origin Xpedition walked from Patriot Hills to the South Pole arriving on the 27th of December 2000. They stayed at the Pole for just over 24 hours during which time they autographed (in pencil) some envelopes as above before returning to Patriot Hills by foot. We have a separate page here showing the teams arrival at the South Pole.