Boondoggle At The Solstice
Happy Father's Day to all you dad's out there, and most especially to my own. He is one of my best friends, and I miss him and love him.
Writing has become more of a challenge. I knew it would, but it's still a little frustrating. A study done here a few years back revealed the impact of long-term polar living. Something called "T3 Syndrome" seems to haunt all of us here to some extent. Living in the cold and the dark for so long affects hormone production, thyroid function, and short-term memory. It's mild so far, but noticeable, and we all have to be on the alert for stupid mistakes. The human brain uses a lot of energy, too much for this place apparently. Certain brain functions get reduced once the body shifts into survival mode. My chess game is getting weak, but luckily. . . so is everyone else's:)
Being temporarily dumber does not stop me from enjoying poignant moments, but does make it harder to describe them. Guess I'll be relying on the pictures to help me along. Let's toss one in from last Tuesday:
Do you envy the people in this picture? So do I. They're standing on Black Island, some 9 hours!!! from the station by Piston Bully. Last week, a party headed out to the satellite uplink facility to make repairs. A single electrician went with them (not me), and luckily, so did our best photographer - Anthony Powell. Note his name in the right-hand corner of the picture. Antz (don't know why we all call him that) has an amazing digital camera, and he knows how to use it. His photos will be the true record of our winter here.
Here is another one of his shots from Black Island showing the main RADAR "golf ball" with auroras:
Auroras are damn hard to photograph because they move. You need a long exposure to catch them on film, but that long exposure also blurs them (since they don't stand still). Then there's the wind. It knocks over most tripods, and when it doesn't, it makes them rock like skyscrapers in an earthquake. To take a 15 second exposure, you have to hold your breath and push down on the tripod without wiggling it.
Then there's the cold. Almost every picture I've sent home came at a price. Sometimes, just a frozen nose, or numb feet. Sometimes, an agony like spreading fire inside your fingers. You cannot take a picture wearing heavy gloves. The gloves must come off to snap the shot or change settings.
Every single picture taken here at night. . . hurts.
(And I mention that because I'm not the only one down here with a camera. I've seen people put themselves in incredibly uncomfortable (and sometimes dangerous) situations searching for that perfect snapshot. The one that conveys everything.)
The trip to Black Island was what we call a "boondoggle". Don't ask me where the name came from. A boondoggle is a trip off-station when people get a chance to travel (as a working party). My trip to the A-Frame was not a boondoogle, because it was for recreation. The most sought-after boondoggle is a trip to the South Pole. You volunteer to unload the plane, and fly back to McMurdo that same day.
I will not get that opportunity myself. Planes won't reach the pole until two weeks after I leave for home.
> "ARE YOU IN TOTAL DARKNESS YET?"
Yes. We haven't seen the sun since early April. Our darkest day will be June 21st, the Winter Solstice. Every June 21st, McMurdo celebrates the eventual return of the sun with a Mid-Winter's party. We decided to have ours early, and celebrated last night. During dinner, we all stood for a toast to the 1956 crew of McMurdo Station - the original "Winter-Overs".
I haven't mentioned this yet, but this is the 50th year people have stayed the winter. The National Science Foundation is planning something special for us - the 50th winter-over crew, but no one knows what they're planning. Most of us guess a special commemorative coin is in the works. We'll see.
> "WHAT ARE YOUR QUARTERS LIKE?"
Four quarters to a dollar, just like home. We use United States currency here, although they used to print special Antarctic script. I was disappointed to learn that they no longer do.
But of course you meant my living quarters. My room was meant to sleep up to four. It's just a concrete rectangle with storage cabinets and metal bunk beds. I've hung some posters, set up a chess table, and play several games a week. Here is a picture of us standing just outside my bedroom door. . .
Comfy, isn't it? This is actually a shot of our enormous igloo. It took two trips to finish, but should now last half a year. The wind-chill on our second trip fell to negative 94ยบ, but we persevered :) I would love to go into detail about it, but must get some rest.
That's me, standing just to the left of the igloo.
I'll send more pictures of it soon.
Stay warm. . .
UNITED STATES ANTARCTIC PROGRAM
Writing has become more of a challenge. I knew it would, but it's still a little frustrating. A study done here a few years back revealed the impact of long-term polar living. Something called "T3 Syndrome" seems to haunt all of us here to some extent. Living in the cold and the dark for so long affects hormone production, thyroid function, and short-term memory. It's mild so far, but noticeable, and we all have to be on the alert for stupid mistakes. The human brain uses a lot of energy, too much for this place apparently. Certain brain functions get reduced once the body shifts into survival mode. My chess game is getting weak, but luckily. . . so is everyone else's:)
Being temporarily dumber does not stop me from enjoying poignant moments, but does make it harder to describe them. Guess I'll be relying on the pictures to help me along. Let's toss one in from last Tuesday:
Do you envy the people in this picture? So do I. They're standing on Black Island, some 9 hours!!! from the station by Piston Bully. Last week, a party headed out to the satellite uplink facility to make repairs. A single electrician went with them (not me), and luckily, so did our best photographer - Anthony Powell. Note his name in the right-hand corner of the picture. Antz (don't know why we all call him that) has an amazing digital camera, and he knows how to use it. His photos will be the true record of our winter here.
Here is another one of his shots from Black Island showing the main RADAR "golf ball" with auroras:
Auroras are damn hard to photograph because they move. You need a long exposure to catch them on film, but that long exposure also blurs them (since they don't stand still). Then there's the wind. It knocks over most tripods, and when it doesn't, it makes them rock like skyscrapers in an earthquake. To take a 15 second exposure, you have to hold your breath and push down on the tripod without wiggling it.
Then there's the cold. Almost every picture I've sent home came at a price. Sometimes, just a frozen nose, or numb feet. Sometimes, an agony like spreading fire inside your fingers. You cannot take a picture wearing heavy gloves. The gloves must come off to snap the shot or change settings.
Every single picture taken here at night. . . hurts.
(And I mention that because I'm not the only one down here with a camera. I've seen people put themselves in incredibly uncomfortable (and sometimes dangerous) situations searching for that perfect snapshot. The one that conveys everything.)
The trip to Black Island was what we call a "boondoggle". Don't ask me where the name came from. A boondoggle is a trip off-station when people get a chance to travel (as a working party). My trip to the A-Frame was not a boondoogle, because it was for recreation. The most sought-after boondoggle is a trip to the South Pole. You volunteer to unload the plane, and fly back to McMurdo that same day.
I will not get that opportunity myself. Planes won't reach the pole until two weeks after I leave for home.
> "ARE YOU IN TOTAL DARKNESS YET?"
Yes. We haven't seen the sun since early April. Our darkest day will be June 21st, the Winter Solstice. Every June 21st, McMurdo celebrates the eventual return of the sun with a Mid-Winter's party. We decided to have ours early, and celebrated last night. During dinner, we all stood for a toast to the 1956 crew of McMurdo Station - the original "Winter-Overs".
I haven't mentioned this yet, but this is the 50th year people have stayed the winter. The National Science Foundation is planning something special for us - the 50th winter-over crew, but no one knows what they're planning. Most of us guess a special commemorative coin is in the works. We'll see.
> "WHAT ARE YOUR QUARTERS LIKE?"
Four quarters to a dollar, just like home. We use United States currency here, although they used to print special Antarctic script. I was disappointed to learn that they no longer do.
But of course you meant my living quarters. My room was meant to sleep up to four. It's just a concrete rectangle with storage cabinets and metal bunk beds. I've hung some posters, set up a chess table, and play several games a week. Here is a picture of us standing just outside my bedroom door. . .
Comfy, isn't it? This is actually a shot of our enormous igloo. It took two trips to finish, but should now last half a year. The wind-chill on our second trip fell to negative 94ยบ, but we persevered :) I would love to go into detail about it, but must get some rest.
That's me, standing just to the left of the igloo.
I'll send more pictures of it soon.
Stay warm. . .
posted by Mike Bair | 10:08 PM
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