This is true however very few tourists who visit Antarctica actually ever do more than step out onto the ice or the shore for a fairly short amount of time, oft

This is true however very few tourists who visit Antarctica actually ever do more than step out onto the ice or the shore for a fairly short amount of time, often not even at all (just cruising along the coast). Those that actually venture inland are few and far between. If you can get a slot with one of the contractors for the USAP, you'll almost certainly get a chance to do a lot more than the average tourist.