The Princess Elisabeth was the brainchild of Hubert, who was the first Belgian to visit the North Pole in 1994 and once traversed Antarctica on foot in a grueling 99-day journey. The government chipped in €6 million; Hubert—"a strong leader who makes things happen," according to Steffen—raised some €16 million from private investors and saw the construction through. The station was completed in 2007
It's summer in Antarctica, the season for science. But at Belgium's futuristic research outpost in East Antarctica, not a single Belgian researcher is at work. A protracted dispute between the Belgian government and the private foundation that built and operates the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station has resulted in the cancellation of this year's Belgian expedition to Antarctica. While the country's polar scientists stew at home, the foundation's president, celebrity adventurer Alain Hubert, is manning the station with a small crew.
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