The 300 Club is a small number of individuals who have endured a temperature difference of within minutes. The group originated at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

and has since been established in North America. Ceremonial South Pole

Participants in the Antarctic 300 Club wait for a winter day when the temperature drops to . This can happen in April to September (see

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

). Because such cold temperatures may last only minutes, interested parties have to prepare in advance and be ready to act quickly. 300 Club participants spend up to 10 minutes in a

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

heated to . Then they quickly walk naked to the

Ceremonial South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the geographical pole, two points where Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmo ...

wearing only boots. They walk around the marker and return to the station. Participants move fast enough to minimize frostbite, but not so fast that they inhale so much cold air that they freeze their airway and lungs; properly clothed bystanders are often present to provide help if needed. After this, participants usually warm up in the sauna again, often with the aid of alcoholic beverages. After joining the 300 Club, members are entitled to wear commemorative patches. The first 300 Club outside of Antarctica was established on January 30, 2019 near Minneapolis, Minnesota during a

polar vortex A circumpolar vortex, or simply polar vortex, is a large region of cold, rotating air that encircles both of Earth's polar regions. Polar vortices also exist on other rotating, low-obliquity planetary bodies. The term polar vortex can be used to ...

. With an outside temperature of , three men heated their backyard sauna to and sat inside for 10 minutes. Upon exiting the sauna, they sprinted around a flagpole planted in honor of the South Pole tradition and took a brief roll in the snow before returning to the sauna.

In popular culture

Dr. John Bird's award-winning book, ''One Day, One Night: Portraits of the South Pole'' chronicles life and science at the station, including the 300 Club.

The 200 Club

Another version, called 200 Club exists at the Russian

Vostok Station Vostok Station (russian: :ru:Восток (антарктическая станция), ста́нция Восто́к, translit=stántsiya Vostók, , meaning "Station East") is a Russian Research stations in Antarctica, research station in ...

located at the

Pole of Cold The Poles of Cold are the places in the southern and northern hemispheres where the lowest air temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured ...

where temperatures regularly reach as low as . To join the club one must first endure the heat of the sauna at and then spend at least 200 seconds outside the station at −80 °C. The number 200 refers to the temperature variation in Celsius.

References

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External links

South Pole experiences warmest year on record in 2009

* ttps://oldenoughtoknow.com/the-300-club/ Travel account of entering the 300 club
300 Club
Rites of passage United States Antarctic Program

In popular culture

The 200 Club

See also

References

External links