Scouting in the Antarctic is maintained by a single troop of

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

and also by visiting Scouts from other nations who are participating in expeditions and research projects.

Permanent Scout Group

The southernmost Scout unit of the world, the ''Grupo Scouts 1556 "Esperanza Blanca"'', is at the

Esperanza Base Esperanza Base (, 'Hope Base') is a permanent, all-year-round Argentine research station in Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula (in Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula). It is the only civilian settlement on the Antarctic mainland (the Chilean Vil ...

at the tip of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

; it is affiliated to the Scouts de Argentina. Originally, the group belonged to the ''Asociación Diocesana de Scouts Católicos Argentinos Castrense'' (Diocesan Association of the Catholic Scouts of Argentina - Military Diocese), an independent Scout organization with links to the

Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'Europe The International Union of the Guides and Scouts of Europe - Federation of Scouts of Europe (Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d’Europe, UIGSE; also known as ''Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'Europe – Fédération du Scou ...

Scouts participating in Antarctic expeditions

Charles Hoadley Charles Archibald Brookes Hoadley CBE ( Burwood, 1 March 1887 – Footscray, 27 February 1947) was an Australian geologist. Early life and education The son of Abel Hoadley and his wife Susannah Ann née Barrett (he was the tenth of the ...

, who founded one of the first Scout Groups in

Footscray, Victoria Footscray ( ) is an inner-city Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong Loca ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, was a member of the

Australasian Antarctic Expedition The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was a 1911–1914 expedition headed by Douglas Mawson that explored the largely uncharted Antarctic coast due south of Australia. Mawson had been inspired to lead his own venture by his experiences on Ernest ...

led by Sir

Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was a British-born Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...

from 1911 to 1914. Hoadley was a member of the Western Base Party. Cape Hoadley was named after him upon discovery by the exploration party.

James William Slessor Marr James William Slessor Marr (9 December 1902 – 30 April 1965) was a Scottish marine biologist and polar explorer. He was leader of the World War II British Antarctic Expedition Operation Tabarin during its first year, 1943–1945. Biography ...

was one of two British Scouts who were selected from 1,700 Scouting applicants to accompany Sir

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarcti ...

on the 1921

Shackleton–Rowett Expedition The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition (1921–22) was Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic project, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. The venture, financed by John Quiller Rowett, is sometimes referred to as t ...

. The expedition was curtailed following the death of Shackleton, but Marr later joined the 1929

British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition The British Australian (and) New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) was a research expedition into Antarctica between 1929 and 1931, involving two voyages over consecutive Austral summers. It was a British Commonwealth initiative, d ...

. The other Scout, Norman Mooney, left the expedition ''en route'' due to illness.

Paul Siple Paul Allman Siple ( ; December 18, 1908 – November 25, 1968) was an American Antarctic explorer and geographer who took part in six Antarctic expeditions, including the two Byrd expeditions of 1928–1930 and 1933–1935, representing the Boy ...

took part in two Byrd expeditions of 1928 to 1930 and 1933 to 1935, representing the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

as an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

BSA Antarctic Scientific Program

Following the example of Paul Siple, Eagle Scout Richard Chappell was selected to join the researchers of the

United States Antarctic Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...

to mark

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; ), also referred to as the third International Polar Year, was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War w ...

in 1957–58. Mark Lienmiller was similarly selected to go to the Antarctic in 1978 for the 50th anniversary of Byrd's 1928 expedition. This was repeated in 1985 when Doug Barnhart was selected. These placements proved so successful that the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

announced that once every three years, the

would sponsor an "Antarctic Scout" to join the Antarctic Program commencing in 1987, with the aim of "providing students with opportunities to participate in research activities outside the college or university setting".

Scouting Antarctic expeditions

Three Scouts of

Scouts Australia Scouts Australia is a trading name of The Scout Association of Australia, which is the largest scouting organisation in Australia, with over 50,000 Youth Program Participants, and is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. It ...

Ian Brown Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and the only continuous member of the alternative rock band the Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the band's initial split in 1996, he be ...

, Keith Williams, and

Peter Treseder Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, were the first

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

to walk unaided to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

, and stood at the Pole with the

World Scout flag The world scout emblem, used worldwide by Scouts and many Scout organizations within the Scout Movement is the fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a commo ...

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

1998. It took them 60 days to reach the Pole, pulling all their food and gear with them. "We gained our zest for adventure in Scouts. Scouting is fun and you learn to adventure safely," they said in a message broadcast from Antarctica to Scouts at the 1997/98

Australian Scout Jamboree The Australian Scout Jamboree is a national jamboree (Scouting), jamboree overseen by Scouts Australia. They have been held regularly since 1934, except for 1942 and 1945 due to World War II, and in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia ...

.Page 17 World Organization of the Scout Movement – Triennial Report 1996-1999 In January 2019 Joe Doherty, a member of Hampshire Scout Expeditions, became the first Scout in the world to ski to the south pole and kite ski back. It took 66 days and covered over 2000 km. The team originally consisted of 5 members, but due to injury and other commitments, Joe went on a guided expedition there and back. Joe skied with 1 guide and two clients to the pole and kite skied back with the guide, from Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions (ALE). They carried all their own supplies, weighing up to 120kg at times. In December 2021 Venturing Crew 774 of Orange County Council, CA, USA (part of the Boy Scouts of America) participated in an expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula. They traveled aboard the Plancius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions. During the cruise they assisted with marine faunal collections, working with scientific divers from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, camped on the continent, kayaked, and worked on rank advancement and leadership training. 20 youth supported by 19 adult volunteers participated. In January 2022 a ten strong team of Scouts (8 from Kent and 2 from Scotland) sailed to the Antarctic Peninsular as part of the REQUEST2021 Antarctica Project. This was to commemorate the 1921 - 1922 Shackleton-Rowett "Quest" Expedition for which Scouts James Marr and Norman Mooney were selected as cabin boys by Sir Ernest Shackleton.

References

External links

Information on the Esperanza Base group

*https://scoutinginantarctica.org/ *https://www.request2021.org.uk/ * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scouting In The Antarctic *Antarctica Culture of Antarctica Argentine Antarctica