A Strange Place to Live

It is a strange thing to become accustomed to such extreme conditions. But the human is a hardy animal and we can adapt to most situations. It has been two weeks for a lot of the folks here including myself. People are settling in and life here is feeling more normal. People walk to the bathrooms from the Jamesways in shorts and sandals or in my case bare foot.

No doubt it is cold here still. no matter how accustomed you become the cold is a powerful force that will remind you at the tip of your nose, ears, hands, feet and sometimes even the core. But this even becomes routine and you simply learn how to deal with such issues. Chemical hand and foot warmers and the suffocating balaclava or neck gaiter are some solutions. But in the end the human must be hardy and simply endure. A beautiful thing.

Even though conditions are cold here we are all pampered beyond my imagination. The food is amazing and there is never a shortage of hot drinks or any other amenity for that matter. The store is always stocked, there is an incredible assortment of movies, two work out rooms, a bouldering cave, a gym, video games and a music room with an incredible assortment of instruments.

This is quite an amazing place to be. Probably one of the few, where construction workers mingle with great minds of physics and astronomy. A place where great people come together to live and work helping to establish a greater understanding of our universe through the advancement of science.

Soul Food: My Home at the South Pole

Living at the South Pole has sunken in and it is wonderful. I feel quite at home in this harshest  of harsh environments. Soul food, is daily life. 

Last monday marked my first full day at work. It was a mellow day after a station tour that took us into the underground ice utility tunnels and we spruced up the non-smoking lounge.

Our work has to be mellow for at least a few days so we can acclimatize to the high altitude, which has been hovering around 10,400ft the last few days. The extremely dry air is something else that continually effects you. There is a constant need to be drinking water. Which, by the way is some of the purest and ancient water you could drink. All being made from frozen ice. 

The ice is melted with hot fluid from the large diesel engines that heat and power the station. Ice is melted down forming a long cylindrical shaft that once empty will be turned into a human waste repository. This has been the method for storing human waste for a long time if not always, but there are plans for a waste treatment facility sometime in the future. 

Frostbite is something we all deal with here. It can be difficult to be covered up all the time. on Wednesday after shoveling snow all day clearing out drilling equipment for the Ice Cube project, I had a white spot on my nose. There was little that could be done, but after work when taking photos my nose froze to my camera and tore off the skin. So double bonus! But, I am pleased with the photos so it was worth it. 

The week has been a hard week of shoveling snow off and around various buildings and equipment. The weather has been fluctuating from the balmy negative 13 degrees to negative 43 or colder. Today has been windy with wind speeds up to 25 knots. This makes being outside a bitterly cold experience. 

Sundays are most peoples day off. So the station has a much more relaxed atmosphere and there is a lot of movie watching and game playing going on. Most people end up sleeping a lot as well. Something about being down here just wears you out a little. 

Arrival at the South Pole

Friday November, 6 I arrived with my fellow travelers at the South Pole via an Air Force LC-130 cargo plane. The trip over from McMurdo was surreal. The plane handled smoothly floating through turbulence rather than shuttering as jets seem to do. We all sat in two rows that ran the length of the plane. These jump seats were made of nylon and rigged in place. Large pallets of cargo were stored in the middle on rollers. The landing was so soft many of us were shocked that we were already on the ground. 

As the plane taxied to a stop we all gathered out belongings and zipped up our extreme cold weather gear. We were here! The air of excitement was overwhelming. As we exited the plane the crew instructed for us to exit to the front and right of the plane so we would not get to intimate with the propellers. 

The bottom of the stairs confronted us with the bold reality that we all faced for the next four months. It was bitter cold and dry. I couldn’t help but cough a little with my first few breaths of the frigid air that seemed to bite a little when it hit the lungs. Instantly my breath began to freeze in my beard. There was a short walk over to the new station where we were greeted and given an orientation before we were released for lunch and rest. 

After an great lunch, I headed out to summer camp, which is a cluster of Korean War era heated Jamesway tents. Inside the half round tents, there are dividers giving each person staying there their own little personal space. The tents are comfortable and surprisingly warm. The little room I call home has a window and is at the end of the tent. A nice quiet spot. Many of these rooms have been upgraded by their inhabitants with desking space and artwork. The room I inherited will require a little work to become more functional, but this work will be a benefit to all those who stay there after me. How exciting!

Extreme Cold Weather Gear

Yesterday afternoon it was our turn to head out to the Clothing Distribution Center and collect our Extreme Cold Weather Gear. A shuttle picked us up from the fancy and well designed little hotel and took us out to the airport. At the aiport is the Antarctic Center where there is a tourist museum/experience center and then the practical buildings for the folks heading down to Antarctica.

After a briefing from the kiwi Raytheon rep we split up by sex and went to our respective rooms to go through out two orange duffle bags that were filed with our neccessary gear. After completeing an inventory we tried on all our clothing. Anything that did not fit needed to be exchanged now as there is little inventory on the ice.

A geneneric gear list includes:
Parka
Balakava
Hat
Glove Liners
Insulated Leather Work Gloves and Mittens
Goggles
Socks
Expedition Long Underwear
Insulated Carhart Overalls and Jacket with Hood
Extreme Cold Boots

All this must packed back into two duffle bags one will accompany us on our flight down with a basic cold weather setup we will wear and any cary on items such as computers or books. We are all geared up now and simply waiting for a flight to get us down to the ice.


Photos are not coming along as I had hoped. I am taking plenty but my computer is not functioning properly. I plugged the charger into the wall with an adapter and the lights began flickering. Now my computer will not charge. I hope to have the issue resolved soon. For any future travelers New Zealand does not use 110 voltage!

First Stop Christchurch

Every great journey starts somewhere. This one started in Denver where my co-workers and I attended orientation and afterward led me to Christchurch, New Zealand. The 30 hour trip down here went quickly and was surprisingly comfortable. In fact it went so fast that I felt as though I had not earned the distance traveled. Staring down at the great ocean below I couldn't help but think how tremendous it must have been to finally arrive at land after a long tiring boat journey. One must feel the true distance between lands. How great it must be to savor the new lands. But, that was not my journey, not this time anyway.

Ironically, later that evening I sat in a indian food restruant and it felt like I was sitting in Sante Fe or Taos, NM. The wood floor had the look of old pine floors from the western U.S. and the colors were earthy greens and oranges, it felt as if I had only taken a flight from one state to another in the U.S. However once leaving the aiport I felt on guard and tense, like I felt in South Africa. I believe it is the amazing physical/ cultural infrastructure similarities between the countries. I soon came to find that this place is nothing like South Africa. The people here are kind, friendly and it seems to be very safe.

Today I am headed out to the CDC (the Clothing Distribution Center) to get issued ECWs (Extreme Cold Weather Gear).