Thanks and Giving

-18.2F (-27.9C)
Wind chill: -42.7F (-41.5C)
Wind speed: 13 knots

We had a small heat wave two days ago with it getting as warm as -13F! It was excellent timing as I woke up and realized that it was colder in my Jamesway than it had ever been and my light wasn’t working. I dressed quickly in the dark and made my way to the main station where there seemed to be organized chaos with several people dressing and working urgently. There had been a power outage and we were now running on back-up generators while they fixed the problem. The power was only down for 45 minutes as we have very skilled engineers and maintenance crews, but it served as a reminder as to how vulnerable we really are at the South Pole. The Jamesways are now fully occupied and aren’t on any back-up generators. It would only take a few hours for them to become bitter cold, uninhabitable, and create dangerous situations with the limited shelter areas. Most people slept right through the chaos. For all of us it gave great comfort knowing we have excellent people who continue to make this place run on this harsh continent.

(Galley Crew, L-R) Will, me, Carol, Leah, James Brown, Michelle, Joel, Francie (missing: Eli, Laura, Jake, Nicole)

Thanksgiving at the South Pole is celebrated like any other family celebration, with lots of food and wine! Everyone in the galley worked especially hard to make this holiday feel as close to home as possible. Turkey’s were cooked throughout the week in three different ways, traditional roast, deep fried, and smoked. I was as surprised as you to find out we had a smoker here. It’s an outdoor, medium-sized, portable smoker that held 4 turkeys at a time and the wood was flown in with our usual supplies. Just as all of us have our own family traditions, I’m quickly finding that most returning Polies have their own traditions as well. One gentlemen stops in the kitchen every year and carves up all the turkeys. The rest of the galley crew was busy making roast vegetables, green bean casserole, real (no flakes here) mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and salad. Earlier in the week, volunteers stopped in and made apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies. We served appetizers of baked brie, shrimp cocktail, and baguettes with olive and sun-dried tomato tampenade.

Several people volunteered and decorated the dinning area to create a more formal atmosphere. The windows were blocked out to appear night-time, real linens were used, lights were dimmed, candles lit, and servers poured wine and dished pie. In the galley, we were chaotic but well orchestrated as all of us struggled to find space to prepare what we were assigned. I was in charge of the roast vegetables, cranberries, salad, and whip cream. We made massive quantities of food for 3 separate dinner seatings. I, along with everyone else, was exhausted but it was the type of exhaustion that comes with immense pride and satisfaction. The toast for each meal really summed it up. It went something like this: “Today we give thanks and celebrate all of our families back home as we celebrate with our new family away from home. We also toast those who pioneered this new frontier as they were setting up the first research station at the South Pole 50 years ago in which Thanksgiving marked only day 4. Without the support of our friends and family back home and those first pioneers, we would not be able to be here today to continue the important quest of the international scientific efforts today.” The evening ended with everyone dancing the night away with JB playing DJ.

This year I am thankful for this opportunity and everyone’s unending support! I’m also thankful that my friend, Eli, has made it back to the South Pole healthy and ready to go back to work. I’m thankful that I have so many people caring about me and watching over me at every turn, in person and in spirit.

27 Mothers

-37.9C (-36.2F)
Wind chill: -49.2C (-56.6F)

I apologize for my sparse blogging, but I have been very busy these past several days at the South Pole. My body has been slowly adjusting to the harsh conditions here once again. They medi-evac’d the 7th HAPE person last week, which is a record since Raytheon has been the contractor of the NSF Antarctic operations. What that means to me being one of the first evacuees and one of the first returnees is that the corporate office is watching us carefully for any signs of acclimating problems. Extra precautions were taken and I was asked to rest an additional day. I first worked two half-days and started full days of work as of Monday (that would be your Sunday). The satellite hours are now 2:30am-2pm, but are worthless after 1pm as the satellite is low on the horizon and the signal is poor. (The South Pole web link is only working during these times as well.) I usually wake up at 6am, (go to the gym, get breakfast, get ready for work, check in at Medical) and work from 8am-6pm. I only have a few minutes here and there to quickly check the internet. I have Wednesday’s off (Tuesday’s for you) in which I’ll be diligent about updating everyone on my adventures.

For those of you confused about what time of day it is for me compared to you, here is a simple way. For CST, subtract 5 hours from your current time and that’s what time of day it is at the Pole (MST, subtract 4 hours; EST, subtract 6 hours). Then I'm usually a day ahead unless its in the wee hours of the morning (e.g., 3am) then we are on the same day it would just be 9pm for me.

Antarctic was featured on Good Morning America last week. Apparently they did a 2-minute live spot from McMurdo and aired a segment of everyone from Pole gathered around the South Pole saying “Good Morning America.” I was still on “medical leave” but was able to see clips of everyone around the Pole.

The Antarctic Sun published some facts about the Raytheon contractor population this week that I thought you’d be interested in. Out of 863 RPSC working at McMurdo, Palmer, and South Pole Stations as well as the 2 research vessels, the Nathaniel B. Palmer and the Laurence M. Gould the following statistics apply: Race: white 94.67%, black 0.70%, Hispanic 2.90%, Asian/Pacific Islander 1.51%, Native American, 0.23%; Gender: female 32.33%; Age: mean 37 yrs, mode (most common) 28 yrs, youngest 18 yrs, oldest 68 yrs. The most popular name for males is David and for females is Susan. The top three most-represented states are Colorado, Washington, and California with 48 states being represented. No one claims being from Delaware and Rhode Island. Number of people I’ve run into from McMurdo & Pole from North Dakota: 3. The current population of the South Pole is 231. (FYI: Every Antarctic Sun details what those research vessels are up to. Also, in this week’s edition you’ll find details of the underwater sea life in the Antarctic that I’ve briefly talked about in earlier posts.)

My mother is an amazing woman who has the strength and ability to do the job of at least 27 ordinary mothers. At the Pole, I have been so touched and overwhelmed by everyone’s caring and sincerity in my well-being that I feel as if I have 27 mothers and they are lurking around every corner. One of my “mothers” saw me walking to the gym and scolded me as I’m not supposed to be working out, yet. I’m just walking and stretching, I tell her. Do your doctors know, she replies? You better go and tell them. JB watches me in the kitchen and continually asks are you drinking your water? Don’t overdo it and work too hard. (What kind of a rare breed of a boss tells you not to work hard?) JB commented on working too hard so often that it’s now a running joke between us. I get tons of caring advice every day and many inquiries into how I’m feeling. It’s not the type of “how are you feeling” just to be polite and not care to hear an answer, but the kind when people really want to know and they stand there and listen as I relate to them my latest temporary hypochondriac ailments. I now over-analyze every bump and hurt being I missed the symptoms last time. This Thanksgiving I am very thankful for my mother traveling with me and caring for me at the bottom of the world even if it is in the form of 27 pseudo-mothers standing in her place. With this kind of family you are never very far from home.

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday instead of Thursday. This way, the majority of people will have 2 consecutive days off for the holiday. In the galley, we’ve been busy preparing for the feast for several days now. We solicit volunteers and hold pie baking parties and potato peeling parties. We dig out the fancy linens for the tables, serve wine, and block out the windows with card board so it feels like night time. It’s my understanding that several people dress up for the occasion. Those of us in the galley will get an extra day off next Saturday when all of the station managers will cook.

Yesterday, (Tuesday) is the PM sous chef, Will’s, day off. On this day, it’s only Francie and I in the afternoon in the kitchen who are responsible for supper. Along the two DA’s on shift, Leah & Michelle, it’s the only time of the week where we have an all female kitchen crew. Since this is the first Tuesday I’ve worked, this is the first this has happened. I volunteered to come in early to make soup and ease the workload of those getting out lunch and to get a jump start on Will’s duties as well as my own. After the morning crew left and a few hours into the all women PM crew, when one person commented on how great she felt at work. The best she had felt in a long time. We all agreed we felt a difference in the air, a difference of the energy in the day. We attributed it to the positive energies of the women working cohesively together and being on the same wavelength. We blasted music over the kitchen speakers and working and dancing the day away. Absolutely nothing against men, but just as men need a “boy’s night out” or an “all male weekend,” we women need our time to connect and feed off each other’s energies. It felt great! I’m especially proud to report that JB commented supper was “awesome!” I was also taken quietly aside by a few people who commented that it was one of the best evening meals they had at Pole. This goes to strengthen my theory that positive attitudes and energies are directly reflected in the food you cook. Despite all the positives of yesterday, the atrophy that had set in over the past 2 weeks combined with the long hours and heavy work on the feet and back, I feel as if I’ve been hit with a Mac truck today.

Today is my day off and it’s my first official one in which I’m now healthy enough to be able to do normal activities. I’m moving back out to the James-ways today. I haven’t seen my room in over 2 weeks I’m a little concerned that I may find a squatter. I’m very excited to go there as I’ve been sleeping and living in the same two changes of clothes for the past 17 days. I haven’t been outside for the past 7 days and despite the frigid cold, it looks really beautiful out there and I miss being out. I’ve long run out of my daily supplies which I can now replenish with access to my cache back in my J-way room. I’m going to relax on my day off by getting a new razor blade, shaving my legs in the sauna, taking a nap, and watching a movie. Believe me, on this harsh continent, it’s all about the little things.

I’ve had a few friends asking me to further explain the James-ways, Summer Camp, and what we do for entertainment. Now that I’m able to be out and about more, I’ll start working on explaining these things in future posts. I’ll be able to take more pictures to help explain life at the South Pole, finally walk those 40 yards out to the real Pole, take you on a more complete tour of the station, as well as tell you about how we keep entertained. If you have questions or are curious about life in Antarctica or at the South Pole drop me an email or just write a comment and I'll address it in future blogs.

Frosty Boy

South Pole
-31.6C, -24.9F
(wind chill: -44.2C, -47.5F)



People are talking about the heat wave today. It has been colder than normal temperatures and today brought lighter winds. I overheard one guy say he only wore a "light jacket." It's amazing how the body adapts very quickly to the weather. It's all relative. When I was in McMurdo, it was -15F and felt very warm to me. I even saw some mud that was in the direct sunlight. The weather is like anything else. You adapt and you actually DO get used to it, even in these very cold temperatures. It should even warm up to 0C around late Dec/early Jan!

Stacia, one of my fellow HAPE evacuees, and I made it back to the South Pole without incident, although we almost missed the plane. In the wee early hours, long before our transport time of 7:15am, someone decided to pull the fire alarm. Now, we’ve all been through many business mandatory fire drills, but those in Antarctica are different. First, when you evacuate a building you need to put on as much gear protecting yourself from the elements as the firemen themselves. Second, the 24 hr blinding sunlight fools your mind into thinking it’s the middle of the day. Going back to your darkened room and trying to go back to bed after you peel off your layers is a major chore. Stacia and I were asleep for only a second when the transporter called our room wondering where we were. For the second time in 6 hours our hearts leapt out of our chests as we jumped out of bed, threw on our 17 layers of ECW, and stumbled and wobbled as fast as any stay puffed marshmallow men can up a steep hill to the transport. The transport bus whisked us out to the ice runway, or ski-way, just as I was coughing up another lung and undoing all my recouping efforts.

This LC-130 ride was different than the first three. Stacia and I were the only passengers. There wasn’t even any cargo besides our personal bags. I asked why such an empty flight to the Pole? The crew explained that we were transporting several hundreds of pounds of fuel in the wings for the Pole. I guess if we crash, it will be a warm landing. The 5 person crew let us hang out in the cockpit for as long as we wanted and shared bags of M&M’s with us. We were able to stretch out and sleep on those oh, so comfy netting chairs. Being from North Dakota and the great expanse of the outdoors, I’m pretty certain that I’ve peed more outside than I have inside. So, I am just as shocked as you to realize that I’d developed this strange aversion to peeing conditions. It must be a girl thing. Nonetheless, I sucked it up and with such a small audience I had to brave the LC-130 bathroom. I was relieved to discover the rumors weren’t true! Aside from the lovely green shower curtain and the feeling of going in the middle of a room, it was better than most bar bathrooms. There was even a very nice, warm heater blowing up the, well, you know, to keep everything toasty. I could have sat there all day.

I love the friendly, small town feel of the Pole! My executive chef, James Brown, was out in the -80.3F wind chill once again to greet me off the plane, give hugs, and carry my bag. It was so cold that is was an instant ice cream headache all over the body along with all the air being sucked out of you. I panted the short walk to the main station and the tip of my nose that was exposed got frostbite in less than 2 minutes. I was settled in a big, comfy room in the main station as part of the new acclimation plan and then wondered into the galley. Right away when I was recognized, someone yelled into the galley “Stephanie’s back!” and then I continued to receive hugs and well wishes and “welcome back” over and over again and not just from galley workers, but from everyone. It felt great to be “home”! It’s truly amazing how quickly you connect with people you normally may not when you’re thrown down the same path.

After all of the “welcome backs,” the hugs, and the questions answered about HAPE and the drama of the medi-evac, the first thing everyone had to tell me was about Frosty Boy. “Did you hear!? Frosty Boy is back!” Once again, when life is broken down into its simplest elements and is very routine, the tiniest, smallest things make everything else bearable. “Did you hear? Frosty Boy now has chocolate and twist!” Frosty Boy is the soft serve ice cream machine. They’ve never had chocolate before. I very much start to feel like I’m in 6th grade when I round another corner. “Frosty Boy was down last week and they had to get a special part. There was almost a riot.” They had Frosty Boy in McMurdo and it was so popular that they always ran out and so it was only available for a few days after the weekly food delivery, and they didn’t have chocolate. I walk down a hallway “Hey welcome back! Did you hear about the Frosty Boy?”

I just don’t understand the obsession. It’s more popular than coffee. These days it averages -45F (-80 wind chill) and most people work all or part of their day outside. I work inside and have never had a Frosty boy, here or at McMurdo, and all I can think about is pouring the hottest, scalding beverage down my throat to warm up. If I’m lucky, I’ll get blisters. I don’t want to eat something that is freezing cold and looks exactly like you just walked outside to a snow bank with a giant spoon and a bowl. If Frosty Boy ran for President of Antarctica he would win and I highly doubt there would be negative campaign ads or any competition for that matter. In fact, if Frosty Boy would promise to never break down, he could be King of Antarctica. I stopped to greet one of the station administrators and said “Do you realize that the entire fate of successful operations and scientific missions at the South Pole is dependant on Frosty Boy?” He answered “Oh, believe me, we know!” I wonder if they’ll decide to put more money into the Frosty Boy than the Pole telescopes. I wonder if it’s eligible for National Science Foundation funding. I wonder if good ole’ Frosty could use that money for his political campaign. Maybe Frosty would be more warm hearted that some of American’s politicians.

Take 2

I can't sit still or seem to hold a thought in my head! Medical has cleared me healthy to return to Pole! I'm scheduled on a flight tomorrow morning. It must be a cargo flight as there are only 2 passengers. My friend, Eli, is still recovering and with any luck, she will only be a few days behind me on returning to Pole. Medical has a plan for slowly integrating me back into altitude, so once I arrive it will be another 4 day vacation. Good thing I have many books to read. I must wear my Norwegian stubbornness and independence out in the open a little more than I thought. While I was recovering, the friends and family who know me best sent emails making certain that I was being a good patient and listening to the doctors. I promise this time! I will be a model patient! I will seek counseling on getting over my aversion to peeing in cans and funnels. I will drink lots of water. I will take my Diamox. I will not sneak to the gym and start exercising before I'm supposed to. This time, I will be at the Pole for longer than 5 days.

Solitude

They cleared me a few days ago to slowly start incorporating back into work. It just feels really good to finally be able to do something, anything. I started to become very frustrated a few days ago because no one seemed to have any answers on recovery from HAPE. There has been precedence, but without any recent large studies of the general population, the opinions on recovery are all over the map. The one prevailing universal opinion is that those who had it once are much more susceptible to get it again. I do understand that Medical has our best interests at heart, but it's difficult to be healthy again and not be able to do what you were hired to do.

After much reluctance and a day of pouting and being crabby, I’ve begun to assimilate once again into the McMurdo culture. I can’t explain the eagerness and desire to be working at Pole. It could be the fact that my mind has enveloped the idea since June and small deviations from that plan are frustrating. Or it could be that it is very difficult to find peace, quiet, and solitude at McMurdo. McMurdo seems to be the place where many people go who never wanted college to end. The North Dakota in me instinctively seeks out quiet and space in the midst of crowds and chaos. Living in Chicago for 10 years it’s hard to imagine how I could enjoy 5 million neighbors and how quiet and space would be easy to accomplish compared to 1,100 neighbors at McMurdo. In fact, it’s easier to find it in a larger environment. At any point I could choose to be alone in a coffee shop, bookstore, or on a walk as no one knows you and you won’t be disturbed. I don’t necessarily need the quiet to find peace and relaxation, I simply need anonymity. You lose yourself in the faces of strangers and find yourself in your fierce independence and desire for self-discovery. After you decompress in your solitude, you then have the choice to be social. At McMurdo, there are very few areas where you can sit and your thoughts not be disturbed. I now share my dorm room with 4 other girls and after living alone for the past 7 years I feel stressed and crowded. Since there are few lounges, only one coffee shop with limited hours, and one dining area, you are always running into someone. There is no such thing as a private phone call. You lose the choice of being alone or social and finding the balance of both. I’m starting to much prefer walking in 80F below wind chill to my crappy little 8x6 J-way space at the Pole compared to the constant comings and goings of my dorm room. At the Pole, there are many more nooks and crannies in which to hide and fewer people to hide in them. You then have the choice to come out of your Zen quietness and be social. In this sense, North Dakota is very similar to Chicago and the South Pole. You have the expanse to find your solace in a quiet field or a long drive and the choice to seek out the communal. You have the ability to customize the amount of each to fit your own personal diet.

I ran into someone recently coming back from Wintering over at the Pole. She was eager to get back to America after 7 months of total darkness and isolation. After living with only 64 people for that long she was frustrated with being in McMurdo for a day until her flight departed. She said it was just too crowded for her. I’ve determined that feeling “crowded” isn’t necessarily in the number or population of people in an area, but the lack of choice in being alone or social when you need to. Since they cleared me to start working again, I finally found my solitude in quietly retreating to a corner of the galley to dice up 200 lbs of chicken. No one bothered me for hours.

Recovery

The South Pole marker outside of my medical bed window.

I’ve always been a good sleeper and love my naps, but this is getting ridiculous. I slept approximately 18 out of 24 hours on Tuesday, the day after we arrived back at McMurdo. The first day of recovery I was very dizzy and winded. Today I am much better and able to stay awake for longer periods of time. My lungs are all cleared up; Medical is just waiting for the rest of me to recover. Eli was released from Medical the next morning.

It’s very strange being back here at McMurdo. First, it seems like I’ve been gone for a month. Second, I know very few people here anymore. And third, it seems Eli and I have a sort of minor celebrity status. There are a few friends here who were with me in Denver who were never going to work at the Pole. They are all surprised to see us back and had many questions. Then there are complete strangers who keep coming up to us and asking us how we feel. The best I can figure is they were on the plane and we just don’t recognize them. The few people we did know on the plane keep smothering us with attention. I ran into a fellow Denver trainee, Stan, and he said we were the talk of the town. The galley in McMurdo had to send someone to help replace us until we get better and now the galley is calling for volunteers to help out. Seriously, I’m very uncomfortable with all the attention!

I received an email from my galley crew at the Pole. They said word got out in the 200 person community there that we were sick and so volunteers are flocking to help out as much as possible. (Awwww, that’s so North Dakotan of them! I’m very touched.)

Medical at the Pole has a plan for transitioning me back to altitude once I get better. Immediately when I get there, they will house me in the main station and put me on O2 for 48 hours with little or no activity. They will put me on Diamox. They will then limit the O2 and monitor how I adjust and adapt. If everything goes ok, they will then slowly transition me back to work with only a few hours on and then a few hours off. They will slowly increase out workload until we are full time and healthy.

I am bummed I didn’t get a chance to take many pictures during my 5 days at Pole to post for everyone to see. I was just too tired. The ones I did take were from my Medical bed window. I had a great view of the actual South Pole and the horizon! I’ll post pictures of Pole as soon as I can. They are reluctant to say when they plan on sending us back.

Medi-Evac

Nov 5, 2006
Sunday/Monday
Day 5/6

Ok, they give us multiple warnings about Altitude Illness and I did pay attention. But I guess somewhere along the way, the symptoms get mixed up between what is normal acclimatization, what is a cold or flu (what they call “the crud”) and what is Altitude Illness.

I had a low-grade headache since the day I got to Pole. Ibuprofen had been making the headache go away and I had been drinking tons of water (just not in the evenings). On Saturday morning I was still curious why it was so difficult for me to walk to the main station. It seemed to be getting harder not easier. I was so tired and cursed the new, very large snow pile in my way that increased the distance of my walk. Towards the end of my shift on Saturday, I noticed tasks started taking me longer to get done as my brain wasn’t working right and allowing me to figure simple things out. I was so tired and had woken up the night before gasping for air.

After work I was too tired to walk home so I found a couch in the lounge and watched a movie. My headache grew and grew and now ibuprofen wasn’t helping. I finally made it to my J-way to sleep, but lying down made my head hurt worse so I slept sitting up. I starting coughing and wheezing, but didn’t notice much as my head was bothering me most of all.

As I got dressed Sunday morning to go to work, I noticed that my heart was racing just to put on socks and I was tired beyond any tired I’ve felt before. My head kept pounding and it took me over and hour to get dressed. The walk to the station was a walk from hell and was exhausting beyond anything I’ve experienced! My bag felt like a million pounds. I rested at the foot of the steps before making it to the door. I was early for work so I found a couch and slept for an hour before getting to the galley.

I thought about asking for a day off, but had heard people complaining about how tired they were so I thought what I was going through was normal. Even though my head wouldn’t quit hurting, I thought I could make it through my shift. I then became confused about what to chop and how to do it (it’s not good to be confused with a knife in your hands.) I stopped to get more water to make my head stop hurting. My headache was getting so bad that I started crying and then my friend, Sara, noticed that I wasn’t making complete sentences so she paged Medical and made me go

Once in Medical they had my blood O2 levels at 72 (normal at sea level is 98). They gave me O2 right away and my headache almost disappeared immediately. I thought I was all fixed up, but that was only the beginning. They listened to my lungs and took chest x-rays and diagnosed me with HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema) as a complication of Altitude Illness. One of the immediate treatments is Viagra, as it is a vessel dilator, along with albuteral treatments and a few other steroids. They kept me in Medical and on O2 for 24 hours and continued to monitor my lungs. They were mostly cleared up by the next morning, but a few rattles remained. They took every measure possible to make certain I didn’t exert myself in any form.

My friend and fellow galley worker, Eli, showed up at medical about 10 hours after I had arrived. She had been fighting symptoms for as long as 3 days which also included vomiting and nausea. She was formally in the military and thought that she was just fighting the crud. The best way to treat HAPE or any level of Altitude Illness is to get you to a lower altitude as soon as possible. Within 2 hours of Eli being in Medical, they had decided to Medi-evac her to McMurdo on the first flight in the morning. Me? They were waiting to see how I was doing in the morning to determine if I needed to be medi-evac’d as well.

What is Altitude Illness? As you go to a higher elevation in such a short period of time (for me it was sea level to 11,000 ft in 3 hours), your body has to adjust to the decrease in oxygen. In doing that, it gives off more Co2 than usual and your acid/base levels shift. Some people don’t compensate for this very well and don’t adjust. If left untreated with simple O2, you can start to produce a lot of lactic acid and your organs then start to leak and produce fluid. The fluid builds up in the lungs. If it continues to be untreated, you can develop pneumonia and/or essentially “drown” from the fluid. Another complication which is really serious is HACE (high altitude cerebral edema) in with the fluid builds up in the brain. This is definitely a sure way to get immediately medi-evac’d to McMurdo.

The May Clinic out of Rochester is here doing a study on trying to predict who is more susceptible to Altitude Illness. I hadn’t signed up to participate in the study, but Eli did. You can read all about it in this week’s Antarctic Sun and they do an excellent job explaining all about Altitude Illness.

Now before everyone yells at me for not taking the Diamox you should know that Diamox isn’t a miracle pill that prevents Altitude Illness. It has been proven to help in the transition, but it’s not foolproof. Eli took her full prescribed dose of Diamox and still got very sick. The symptoms worsen extremely fast. Everything escalated very quickly within 12-24 hours before making it to Medical.

They decided to medi-evac both of us out and that was quite the site! (I'm the one in the green coat & red hat.) I was feeling better and am not used to this level of attention, was quite embarrassed, and couldn’t figure out what all the fuss was about. Really, I felt fine! They flew in a flight nurse and a paramedic from McMurdo who had never been to the Pole and were very excited! (glad I could help them see the Pole) They were taking pictures of the Pole and us. They had outfitted the LC-130 with military stretchers, packed tons of emergency gear on board, and cleared half the plane for us to be comfortable in. The other half of the plane was Winter-over passengers returning to NZ, thank goodness Eli and I knew most of them. The doc and PA at the Pole were also taking pictures of the medi-evac situation, I’m guessing for training purposes. I felt as if the paparazzi were after me. We were both ambulatory and walked to the plane although they made us keep our O2 masks on for the entire trip.

We checked in at Medical and given a full evaluation. They kept Eli for another night for observation and sent me to the dorms with strict instructions to only be up for meals and bathroom otherwise bed rest and daily check-ups until they give us the ok to work again.

Galley Work

Nov 3, 2006
Friday
Day 3

I’ve been working my shift in the galley for 2 days now and it is really fun! Don’t get me wrong, the work is very hard, especially since we are all still adjusting to the altitude. I’m stiff, achy, and am usually fighting a headache at the end of my shift. I’m also so tired that I dread gearing up and walking back to the J-ways. I work an 8am-6pm shift as a prep cook. I prepare all the food for the AM Sous Chef and the PM Sous Chef. Normally how a typical kitchen is structured is there is only one Chef. Chef means chief in French. Under him is the Sous Chefs who are in charge for everything prepared during their shift. The Chef is usually busy placing product orders, doing paperwork, doing admin stuff, as well as sticking his head in the kitchen and cooking. Then you have production cooks and prep cooks who execute many of the tasks to be done.

I’m very fortunate in that my shift spans the AM and PM shifts, gets a taste of all of the meals of the day, and I get to work with all of the people from all of the shifts. We have an excellent crew and really work as a team in getting everything completed for the 200 or so people who are at every meal. Most of us in the galley have been with each other since training in Denver and have really bonded. I think any crew in any discipline is most successful when their personalities complement each other and they have big hearts that wish to see everyone on the team achieve their best. It really feels that we have that with this group.

The food here is excellent if I do say so myself! The Chef gives us creative latitude in all that we cook. We follow a general menu plan, but are able to create our own soups and pasta salads and add in any details we feel necessary. At McMurdo when I was helping in the galley, I was given a box of cauliflower and told to make a cold salad from it, however I wanted. I made a salad similar to my mom’s. Some of the other cooks tasted it and said in their North Carolina drawl “That your momma’s recipe? Is your momma single? I’d like to marry her.”

There is only one small walk-in freezer directly attached to the kitchen. The rest of the frozen goods are kept outside on a type of patio. Again, there is a huge freezer door leading outside, but this time, your freezer has no walls and is the entire outside. The galley is on the second floor so all goods are hoisted up to the patio by pulleys on palates. I’ve had to make many trips to this outside freezer and most of us don’t take the time to put on our coats, we just do what we need to do quickly. The only mistake, which I will never make twice, is to grab the metal, outside freezer door handle with my bare hands.

The AM Sous Chef hasn’t been adjusting well to the altitude and so the outgoing Sous Chef from the Winter crew has told me that we are to take over her duties until she is better. She instructed me to start planning out and be ready to execute the soups and salads for the coming week. I’m very excited as there is definitely a sense of pride when your creations are on the line to be served.

Pee Cans

Nov 2, 2006
-40C, -40F
(Wind chill -75F)
Day 2 at Pole


The main station has only recently been built and is located about 300 yards away from the J-ways. I made my way there yesterday and started exploring. Since I’m still adjusting to the decrease in oxygen and to wearing all the ECW gear (in McMurdo it was warm enough to only wear some of it), the walk is exhausting and seems to take me about 30 minutes. I’m surprised to see this side of the main station covered in particle board. I guess down here you don’t have to worry about aesthetics or your neighbors complaining about your lack of siding.

The station is built high off the ground so you need to climb a large flight of stairs to get in. The main door is a giant walk-in freezer door, but this time the freezer is on the outside. Once in, it reminds me of a space station on Star Trek. Everything is metal (although sometimes colorful), the doors have round porthole windows in them, and everyone walks around in heavy boots that clang on the floor. The station is 2 floors with a central, very wide, hallway on each floor. The station is sectioned into what they call “pods” which to me is just one long hallway as I can’t tell when I’m moving from one pod to the other.

They’ve just completed work on a state-of-the-art workout room overlooking the gym. There is also a large game room with pool and ping-pong and every board game imaginable, 2 large lounges with giant TV screens and many, very new and plush couches. They have a giant selection of DVD & VHS movies. There is a small, indoor, hydroponics greenhouse which was currently growing cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes. The greenhouse has a small couch so you can sit and relax. There is a quiet reading room with recliners and many books and magazines. The small post office and store are located on the first floor and are only open 1 hour a day. The main station also houses the computer lab and several research laboratories for the beakers (science guys) and administration offices. Off some of the pods are several berthing units in which everyone gets their own room. The rooms aren’t much bigger than the J-way rooms, but are definitely more comfortable just by location alone. I believe the main station houses approximately 100 people, mostly admin personal, seasoned veterans, dignitaries, and Winter-overs.

The galley is the best place in the station. I don’t say that just because I work there, but the view is amazing! There are many windows in the dinning area that look out directly on the South Pole marker and out at the horizon. The skiway is just off to the left so you can also watch the LC-130’s land. Beyond that, it is all horizon, snow and ice as far as the eye can see. The kitchen is an open kitchen style that lets you interact with everyone walking down the line.

Many large, clean, empty food cans are stacked up outside along the galley wall. This is the first place you’re taken once you come in from the J-ways. They are placed here for people to take with them to their J-ways as a pee can. When you wake up at 3 am and have to use the bathroom, who feels like putting on 20 lbs of gear, walking through a few snow drifts in blinding sunlight while doing the pee dance just to make to the bathroom? (They really frown on peeing outside here, besides; it’s so cold you’ll freeze your whoo hoo off before you finish peeing.) Once you’ve made the trip to the BR, you can’t fall back to sleep as the sunlight makes your body think it’s early afternoon.

I quickly learn there is an art to selecting the perfect pee can and once one is found, it is a hot commodity. I also quickly learn that the topic of pee cans will dominate most conversations in the next 48 hours, so hence; I get to boringly relate it to you as I know you’re very interested. (Hey, if I have to deal with it, so do you.) The metal food cans are always abundant, but not popular as all your neighbors can easily hear you. The ideal pee can is one that is plastic with a lid and a handle. As I’ve said, it’s very dark in the J-ways and lids are good for that reason. For girls, the pee can should have a wide opening as we are not as talented as the boys in aiming.

Working in the galley I’m at a prime shopping place for pee cans. We get a handful of mostly men each day searching for the right vesicle. They ask us to transfer salsa or olives to another container so they can use that one. I imagine those heavy equipment operators outside all day don’t have many options of places to stop. I’ve scrubbed out my share of containers slighted for the ill fate of bathroom buddy. During the subject of pee cans, one is certain to bring up that you are to never put your pee can on the floor of the J-way. The J-way floor is cold and by morning, all contents will be frozen. I tested the concept with water, and they were right.

Personally, I hate the idea of the pee can. I don’t know why. I guess bedpans and urinals have been used for centuries (probably since beds were invented) and were even the mark of the wealthy who didn’t have to get out of bed, but instead had servants to empty their containers. I just don’t like it for myself. Just the thought of squatting in my room is, well, gross and I just don’t want to do it. I once again devise a system to avoid the pee can. I hydrate all day but stop in the early evening. I still don’t take any Diamox. It works and I make it through the night although usually doing a very fast pee dance all the way to the BR in the morning. (Even though I hate the idea, I did secure my own pee can in case of emergencies.)

It’s the little things your miss from home. A warm BR is one of them and not having to walk in -80F wind chill and through snow drifts to get to one. And it’s only day 2. It's very amazing, when things are broken down to the most basic (shelter, food, work), life still finds a way to make drama, issues, and lengthy conversation out of the simple and mundane (e.g., pee cans).

South Pole!!

South Pole, Antarctica
Nov 1, 2006
-45C, -49F
(Wind chill -80F)
Day 1

I woke up at 5am this morning to prepare for the flight on the LC-130 operated by the US Air National Guard out of New York. The night before, you, your luggage, ECW, and hand carry bag were weighed and your luggage is checked in. You have to be smart in packing your hand carry because if the flight boomerangs (returns to original departure point b/c of weather), you may not see your luggage. I’ve known people to live out of their hand carry for a week or more until they get another flight.

There is a big group of us on this flight. Most of us have been traveling together since training in Denver and have become very good friends. For most of us, it is our first time to the South Pole. We are all very eager to leave McMurdo and start doing what we were hired to do and we are all very excited to experience the South Pole! We are driven in shuttle busses down to the ice runway, given sack lunches, and loaded onto the LC-130. This flight is very different from the C-17 transport from New Zealand. First, it is much smaller and there is only seating along the outside edge of the plane on nylon webbing slings. Our hand carry bags are strapped in down the center of the plane.

Take off is uneventful, although we are very crowded. You can see supplies and our luggage packed on palates in the back of the plane. Once leveled off, you can take off some of your ECW, walk around and watch through the windows as we travel over the Transantarctic Mountain range. By this time they’ve debriefed us many times on Altitude Sickness and given everyone Diamox which is supposed to help in the transition to altitude. You take one the night before you fly and then two twice a day for three days. One of the side effects is that it makes you pee all the time. You are also cautioned to constantly drink water. Everyone has a large water bottle strapped to their side as standard gear issue.

On the herc, the bathrooms are interesting, to say the least. Once we leveled off, one of the crew situates a thin, army green shower curtain coving a 2x2 ft square area in the front and says that one is for boys. In the back, another shower curtain is fixed coving a little larger area, about 4x2 and says that one is for girls. The boys’ bathroom is essentially peeing down a tube into a large container. For the girls, they are at least thoughtful enough to include a funnel at the top of the tube. Now, I’ve heard stories of this BR situation in advance and decided to avoid it at all costs. I hydrate excessively the day before, skip taking the Diamox, and don’t drink any liquids the morning of the flight. It worked! I never once had to pee down the funnel during the 3 hour flight!

The landing feels like any other landing except as we taxi to the drop-off point, the back of the plane opens up like a giant mouth and spits out all our bags and supplies. We all put our gear back on, grab our hand carry, and are ushered out the plane. They don’t turn off the engines at the Pole for fear of everything freezing over. As you walk off the plane, someone is there making certain you don’t take a wrong turn into the spinning propellers, although they say it will only hurt for a second. The executive chef, James Brown, is there waiting for everyone in the galley crew and gives us all hugs. The people who are Winter-overs (staying the whole year) are stationed in the main building. The summer crew is stationed out in the James-ways, or “Summer Camp”. James walks us out to Summer Camp. Even though your entire face and body are covered with the ECW, the wind and cold slap you in the face and take your breathe away.

I’ve heard stories about the J-ways but nothing could have prepared me. Every building on Antarctica thus far has been situated 3-5 feet or more off the frozen ground and ice. I imagine protecting it against absorbing the cold off the ice and also so it can be adjusted as the ice and ground move underneath. The J-ways are laid directly on cement slabs directly on the ice. The J-ways are military canvas Quonset huts about 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. I’m in J3, #2. Each J-way has a small 3x3 entry made out of plywood which is painted black. When I came out of the bright sun and into the entry, it felt I was in a cheap, old carnival funhouse. I was blinded by the darkness and expected to see carneys jump out who hadn’t showered in a few weeks. There J-ways are clearly from an era long past when the military had more of a presence here. They expanded them to be civilian housing when the South Pole population began to swell. It’s my understanding they are unoccupied during the winter. Once inside there is a main corridor running the length of the Quonset barely wider than shoulder width. My “room” is the first on the right. The door is a heavy wool army blanket and in the complete darkness, it takes me 10 minutes to find a lamp and plug it in. I’m the corner room of the J-way so 2 walls are the un-insulated canvas, one is my blanket/door, and one is a make-shift plywood wall. I have a window, but someone has taken much effort and time to board it up blocking out the 24-hour sunlight. I have a large foot locker that helps as part of the wall. I notice that at least I have a new mattress that is lofted several feet off the floor to give me more space. This is where I’ll be living for the next 4 months. It’s amazing to think that only one layer of army canvas separates my bed from -80F wind chill. I’m very scared to look under my bed as I believe there are disgusting remnants under there from the last 30 people who have stayed here. My accommodations here make the dorms at McMurdo look like the Four Seasons. Nonetheless, this is part of the adventure I signed up for, right?

The community bathrooms for the 15 J-ways is right in the center, or about 30 feet from my back door. There are small laundry facilities, and an outdoor, unheated supply closet (I wondered how those vacuums can function while in the cold all the time), and a closet that opens to the outside that only has a blanket for a door. As the snow drifts into this little closet, I’m told that’s where we can pick up our luggage in a few hours. Aside from the wind, ice, snow, and subzero temperatures I could be staying at the Epping Bible camp. It really has that sort of feel to it.

Next to the bathrooms another 20 feet away is the J-way lounge. My friend Michelle and I go exploring and find that this converted J-way smells and looks worse than any fraternity house I’ve ever been in. There is a couch covered with snow outside. The couches and furniture inside aren’t much better, but there is a stereo and a TV/VCR for movies. Exploring further, we find another make-shift plywood building that houses some weight lifting equipment and treadmills. Later, some of the guys cleaned up the lounge and I realize its adventurous potential as a fun place to hang out.

I am told that in the history of man kind, less than 10,000 people have ever set foot at the South Pole. I feel very privileged to be one of them.