It’s summer near Antarctica’s Pole of Inaccessibility, the most remote part of the most remote continent on earth. Temperatures hover around -35 degrees Fahrenheit and the thin atmosphere holds little oxygen, but an international group of scientists will spend four weeks working here to solve a long-standing mystery: How did a massive hidden range known as the Gamburtsev Mountains form in the middle of Antarctica? This will be no picnic—working in a place so inaccessible and barren is like establishing a base on another planet. Expedition members will encounter conditions so extreme they can’t fully acclimatize, even after weeks of habitation, and will function at only 50–80 percent of their normal capacity. But they hope the suffering will be worth it: Data they uncover could answer fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of Antarctica and, by extension, the climate experienced on earth today.