This is an opinion column

Mo Brooks is a retired congressman from north Alabama and a long-standing conservative voice in state and national politics. He now writes an opinion column for AL.com.

CODELs (short for “Congressional Delegation” trip) help office holders better understand the world and foreign affairs so that better policy decisions are made. All of my CODEL trips were once-in-a-lifetime experience, but the one to otherworldly Antarctica uniquely stands out.

Days 1-2 Travel

Days 1 & 2 were long travel days. Washington to New Zealand takes 26+ hours door to door. Our bio-clocks are badly messed up by crossing the Pacific Ocean, roughly seven time zones and a date line.

We flew business class on the long flight leg to be more rested and alert on arrival. The other flight legs were main cabin. After arrival, we saw Christ Church earthquake damage before arriving at an American facility to be briefed on travel plans and fitted with cold weather gear.

“Antarctic cold weather gear” is nothing like “America cold weather gear.”

First, we dressed up in “America cold weather gear” – fine for Maine, the Dakotas, and Montana winters: heavily insulated gloves, boots, pants, jacket with hood, thermal underwear, and the like.

We then put over it a bright red layer of “Antarctic cold weather gear”: heavily insulated and much larger bunny shoes, pants and jackets with hoods, face masks, goggles, huge mittens, and the like. The goal was to reduce skin exposure to zero.

After inspection, we stripped off our gear and readied it for transport.

We stayed overnight in an apartment-like unit.

Day 3

I served 12 years on the House Science, Space & Technology Committee overseeing the National Science Foundation and various scientific endeavors so I was tasked to help inspect America’s Antarctica facilities.

But getting there is a challenge. Antarctica weather is mercurial and dangerous. We fly on an American military C-130 cargo plane fitted with skis that lands on the McMurdo Ice Shelf. The “airport” has lights embedded in the ice to mark the runway and roadways. That’s about it.

Since heavy fog or snow can cut visibility and increase crash risk, there are two “Go”/”No Go” decision points. One is before leaving New Zealand. The second is halfway to Antarctica. If weather is bad, you fly back to Christ Church.

On Day 3, a “No Go” decision was made because the weather risk was unacceptable, so we killed a day visiting Akaroa, a former French colony on a protected bay. The New Zealand scenery and the ice cream I bought in Akaroa were both excellent.

Day 4

The plane’s “passenger compartment” had nylon strap, rigid, right-angle seats on the walls. You face passengers on the opposite wall. In between is gear storage. The “restroom” is behind a curtain. No modesty allowed.

You wore ear muffs or plugs and had to holler to converse with passengers. That’s a major difference between military and commercial aircraft.

I laid down on my back on rear floor space, facing the ceiling. Even through three layers of insulation, my back was COLD because the C-130’s skin had little insulation to protect us from far below zero exterior air.

At flight midpoint, our pilot told us the weather risk was acceptable so we flew on.

Roughly seven hours after departure, we landed on ice. The remnants of a 1970 Lockheed C-121 Super Constellation crash were noticeable nearby. It was minus a wing and other parts.

We boarded “Ivan the Terra”: a bright red bus with huge tires designed to minimize travel risk over ice.

Antarctica’s scenery is stark. The only natural colors are blue (the sky), white (ice and snow), shades of gray, and, rarely, red (bird beaks and Blood Red Falls). That’s it. There is zero plant life!

Days 5-7

We spent the next few days meeting with National Science Foundation scientists about the research they were doing, inspecting American facilities, and viewing Antarctica’s unique geography.

NSF Research

One discussion stood out on global warming and sea level rise when a scientist hypothesized that modest global warming might cause GLOBALSEA LEVELS TO FALL NOT RISE!

That’s the exact opposite of what America is regularly told in the news media.

The scientist’s hypothesis was that warmer air carries more moisture, which in Antarctica means more snow, that Antarctica’s interior snow mass can take hundreds of years to reach the sea, and that, since Antarctica has roughly 90% of the Earth’s ice, the effect of greater snowfall in Antarctica may more than offset the melting snow masses of Greenland, Iceland, and elsewhere.

I defer to others this hypothesis’ merit.

The South Pole

The McMurdo Station to South Pole flight was 3-4 hours. The view is flat and white all 360-degrees. It’s flat because you are standing on 9,000 feet of ice that covers land features far below!

Scattered about are various man-made things: a small shack (the airport “terminal”), a barber shop pole with national flags (for photos), a bronze stake in the ice that marks the “real” South Pole (which moves yearly), America’s large research facility, and a smattering of other man-made structures. That’s it. Nothing else.

When I took off my outer mittens to take photos, it was so cold (40 degrees below zero) my hands hurt after about 30 seconds. And that’s during the South Pole’s summer!

The Dry Valleys

We helicoptered to the snowless Dry Valleys. Dry winds whip down the mountain side and quickly evaporate fallen snow. Many of the rocks I examined were black and unusually heavy, suggesting metallic content (perhaps iron, although I saw no rust marks).

Shackleton’s Hut

Earnest Shackleton explored Antarctica during the early 1900s and is famous for his “Endurance” expedition. His Endurance ship was crushed by ice and its crew spent 20+ months fighting Antarctica’s harsh climate. It’s a remarkable story of human survival.

We helicoptered to a Shackleton supply hut (part of a different expedition). It was in remarkable condition. No rot or decay and still stocked with early 1900s supplies and pre-World War I newspapers.

Blood Red Falls

We helicoptered to Blood Red Falls: a geologic oddity. The red is from iron oxide in the water.

Happy Feet

While helicoptering from the Dry Valleys to Shackleton’s Hut, penguins were sighted so we landed near sheer ice sheet cliffs that fell to the sea. Emperor Penguins let us approach within 10’ before they got antsy. A nearby flock of curious Adele Penguins rushed at us from a couple hundred yards away: waddling, jumping, and sliding on their bellies. They showed no fear. They were excited to see us. It was cool.

Days 8-9 The long travel home and final thoughts

I averaged flying 10+ hours per day during the 9-day Antarctica CODEL. That’s exhausting. It didn’t help any that my McMurdo Station dorm-like room was lit up by sunlight 24 hours a day, or that the sun’s rays hit my bed at about 1 AM each morning.

I learned a lot from visiting Antarctica. Most startling was the isolation and extreme weather American scientists endured to conduct scientific research.

For the science buffs, we inspected the IceCube Neutrino Observatory (a cubic kilometer detection matrix extending over a mile under the South Pole ice sheet), the MAPO/QUAD (10 meter) and DSL/BICEP/SPT telescopes (used for astro-physics research generally, examination of cosmic microwave backgrounds left from the “Big Bang”, primordial gravitational wave research, etc.), the Crary Science & Engineering Center (where scientists and students briefed us on their numerous research projects and experiments), the Science Center, the Berg Field Center (which supplies field gear for those conducting research in the Antarctica wilds), the McMurdo Station and South Pole station’s logistical and operational support services (particular the military’s supply role), and the power, water and waste-water treatment facilities.

Needless to say, conducting scientific research in Antarctica is a costly and logistically challenging endeavor.

When I first ran for Congress in 2010, I had no idea what a CODEL was.

Now you do.

So, if you want to go on a Congressional CODEL, run for Congress!

Mo Brooks served on the House Armed Services Committee for 12 years and the Foreign Affairs Committee for 6 years.