On Friday, Feb. 8, news leaked on the internet from various sources that Kate Upton would be gracing the cover of the forthcoming Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for a second consecutive year.

What is surprising about Upton’s cover spread is the fact that she isn’t anywhere near a beach or somewhere you might expect, rather the 20-year old model is indeed in Antarctica.

With a headline reading “Kate Upton goes Polar Bare”, she can be seen wearing a white-bottom bikini and a white coat while revealing much cleavage.

And while Sports Illustrated had tried to keep the photo shoot under wraps, TMZ.com actually managed to get their hands on a few pictures from the Antarctica shoot, where Upton was said to be braving the element in weather that was said to be 35 degrees below zero.

As noted by Forbes.com, the issue will be on newsstands on Feb. 12 while being officially unveiled to the public the night prior on “Late Night with David Letterman”.

Upton will serve as the ninth model to pose for the magazine cover twice. Kathy Ireland appeared on the cover three times while Elle Macpherson had five cover shots.

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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com