Scott's Hut

Nearly a century after Capt. Robert Falcon Scott explored the southern continent, experts are working to save the British explorer's wooden hut (pictured on Ross Island, Antarctica, in August 2006) and three others in the area from slipping under the snow forever.
The sanctuary measures 50 feet (15 meters) long and 25 feet (7.6 meters) wide and was built to house up to 33 men.
Scott and his crew stayed at the hut before their ill-fated Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole in January 1912. Scott and four others died after being beaten to the pole by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.
"Had we lived," Scott wrote in March 1912 in a message found with his body, "I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.”

Leaving Terra Nova

Captain Scott and three of his companions prepare to explore Antarctica's Western Mountains in a September 15, 1911, photograph.
Though most people will never visit the huts, the Antarctic Heritage Trust says the buildings have intrinsic value that make them worth preserving.
Scott's hut won't be completely renovated—just maintained to ensure it survives for future generations, according to the Antarctic Heritage Trust's Morgan. About 300 to 400 tourists visit Scott's last home annually.
"They're icons from a stage of exploration of worldwide significance,” Morgan said. "They are unparalleled.”