In the background you can see the ski camp, with a bunch of skiers waiting the day or two before their plane comes and picks them up. It's almost the end of ski season, and the station will close for the winter in less than a month.

That metal post n the foreground is the geographic South Pole. It's mostly there as a scientific marker. There's also a ceremonial South Pole which is candy-striped with a mirrored ball on top. I'll visit that in a week or two for my hero shots, which is what the obligatory South Pole pictures are called.