The Great Read: The Hole in the Ice at the End of the Earth
Ten people. Eight weeks. Three thousand feet to pierce a fast-melting Antarctic glacier.
The New York Times
The Great Read
May 11, 2026, 2:01 p.m. Eastern time

On weekdays and Sundays, we recommend one piece of exceptional writing from The Times — a narrative or essay that takes you someplace you might not expect to go.

A person standing by a small pyramid-shaped drilling rig on a vast expanse of ice. The sun is low on the horizon behind.

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

The Hole in the Ice at the End of the Earth

Ten people. Eight weeks. Three thousand feet to pierce a fast-melting Antarctic glacier.

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