Station Tour - B3 Comms/admin offices/B2 Science lab

Comms, where we keep in touch with radio contact with the outside world.

On the upper level, at the far end of station, just across from the gym and the conference rooms is the Comms room tracks planes and helps USAP planes land during the summer. However, our runway is an uncontrolled air space so technically any plane can show up and land at any time. There are a few tourists flights each year. I assume Comms tries to prevent unannounced landings. During the winter, we don't have anyone in there all the time and windows are closed up because there are no planes in or out. When winter finishes up, we'll have some volunteers step in to handle those duties.

Admin offices and some South Pole artifacts.

Beside Comms, we have a long hallway of small private offices for the important folks. During the winter, only one office is used. During the summer, 5-6 are. Around the corner from there, is the standard room of office supplies that every office building ever has with printers, pens, etc. We call ours Kinko'.

Kinko's

The facilities bullpen

Next to Kinko's are more offices for the Facilities department and a bullpen for their drop in folks. The bullpen room is filled with technical drawings, CDs with more technical drawings, and a plotter. That plotter has brought a lot of joy to station as we use it pretty up the cardboard that is covering up all the windows.

B2 Science

About a third of the way down the hall is a huge science room. Its filled with computers, instrumentation, a small lab, and lots of other stuff that I can't identify. For the most part, they scientists take of their own needs. I have spent a little bit of time upstairs there so that I could learn to turn on the LIDAR (bright green laser) in case of a missing persons event. Think of 'the light' calling the bugs in Wreck-It Ralph. This covers about 25% of station so far.

B2 Science

Station Tour - B3/B4 Conference rooms and gyms

Our workout gym on the upper level. One of my favorite parts is the Average Joe's Gym sign (from the Dodgeball movie) that I put up.

South Pole station is the newest station that the US Antarctic Program maintains. It has the nicest facilities by far.  We have a huge gym with 3 treadmills, 2 bikes, 2 ellipticals, a rower, yoga mats, and tons of weights. I started up a small lunch time cardio group. We throw on an episode of the 1990s series Northern Exposure and we watch a single 45-minute episode six days a week. Having the social group has definitely kept me going on days when I am feeling lazy.

When I was in Antarctica before, I ran a few marathons. I have not been able to find that kind of running in me now. I think part of is being 10 years older, but a lot of it is also the elevation. We are technically at 9,301 ft, but the atmospheric pressure makes it feel like 10,000 to 11,500 ft. While I can run shorter distances at speed, I really start sweating and breathing hard with any distance of running that takes me over 50 minutes. It has been frustrating, but maybe this is a chance for me to learn to age gracefully =]

Some folks track their cardio and try to match the 850 mile distance to McMurdo over a season or lift as much cargo as the planes carry up each year. I am not tracking either. I am just trying to be consistent.

Our Big Gym

On the lower level, right under the workout gym, we have our Big Gym. Over the summer, it gets a ton of use with soccer, volleyball, and basketball. However, this winter, our Big Gym is getting very little athletic use. We use it every morning for a small group stretch and then twice a week for abs classes. A few folks use it on their own. There's talk of getting pickleball started, which would be a treat. Mostly, we use it for parties and the big screen experience.

Playing video games in the converted 'Big Gym'

Right near the workout gym, we have two conference rooms. There isn't anything fancy about them, but there is a lot of neat historical memorabilia in them. I feel the same way about most of my meetings down here as I do back in the states and try to avoid these rooms. When IT meets, the 3-4 of us meet in our galley lounge, which is a much more informal and fun environment.

Our large conference room

Our small conference room

Station Tour - Part 1

 Almost my entire world from February to November. The start of the runway is the groomed spot on the right. The science buildings are almost all out of the photo, but just followed the groomed lines to get to them.

When I arrived, I never had time to blog a proper intro to station. I was tired, quarantined, and trying to get up to speed on my job. Five months in, I think it is finally time to get to it. The photo above is an aerial view of the entire base. We live and mostly work in the four-pronged E at the bottom of the photo.  That 'E' is the elevated station that was finished in 2010. The buildings just above it our summer camp where a few offices are during the summer. Beyond them is a ton of storage berms that we try to get organized and keep clear of snow, but it is a perpetual battle.

Map of the upper level of the elevated station where I spend most of my time.

 

Map of the lower level of the elevated station.

Map of the arches that are accessed via the vertical tower, commonly called the Beer Can.

This is a high level map of station. My room is half way down on the right of the last prong of the E. I get great view of the pole when it's light out, which won't happen again until August. If you follow the prong back up to the 'back' of the E, that is where the galley is and where I eat. I shower in a bathroom on the walk between the galley and my room. I work just across from the third prong. That means that I spend 90% of my time (sleep, work, shower, and eat) in 25% of the elevated station - the right side upper level. 

On the lower level of the elevated station, I spend time in the Big Gym, greenhouse, and B3 movie lounge.

If you go down the unheated vertical tower for 94 steps, you get to our power station, logistics arch for handling supplies and cargo, the fuel arch, and the Vehicle Maintenance Facility.  Outside of that, you have to spend way too long getting dressed to go to different buildings. Some folks go out every day, some folks only go out once every two weeks. I find myself not spending nearly as much time as I want outside and regretting it, but I'm getting better at it.

The elevated station upper level hallway.

When you first enter South Pole station from the plane, you go up to the upper level. This hallway is the view you get. Whenever you leave any room on station, it drops you into this hallway. The far end of this hallway is where the photos of every winter over crew since 1957 is.

The elevated station lower level hallway.

This is the view of the lower level hallway. That door leads to the all important popcorn machine and coat room.

For the next few days, I'll try to just walk from one end of station to the other taking photos to give an overview.

In the Middle of No Where

 When I arrived at the South Pole, I was struggling with the dryness, altitude, and learning my new job. Consequently, I did not really do an intro to the South Pole Station. I am going to try and use this week to do that since you likely can't be amazed by aurora photos this week since you hopefully got to see them yourself.

Map of Antarctic research stations

 Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is located about 850 miles from the nearest US station, McMurdo Station on the coast. The nearest base is the Russian's Vostok base, 802 miles away. Vostok has the record for the coldest temperature on Earth at -128.6F in 1912. There isn't much in between on the polar plateau, which is what this last photo is meant to show you. You can't hop in a vehicle and just drive to the next base unless you are towing a ton of fuel with you. We are truly alone for the winter.

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and the nothingness of the polar plateau.

Last Flights - March 1st

The last two planes we'll see until November. The one on the left is the last flight. The other one is taxiing and creating a dust cloud in the distance.

This year, the last two flights left station on March 1st. Normally, they leave and station closes in mid-February.  Our last passenger flights did leave around mid-February. However, the South Pole Traverse that brings most of our cargo and fuel down for the year was late getting to the Pole. One of the last two planes was waiting around to provide support for it. The other one was just using the Pole as a pit stop on their way to the British Rothera Research Station and then on to Chile and Canada. Unfortunately, the weather was so bad near the coast that they were stuck with us for almost two weeks when they would have preferred to be on their way home after long seasons.

The next to last flight flying past the South Pole Telescope (BICEP) and MAPO projects.

After the next to last flight above left, we had a couple hours before the actual last flight left. When I was at McMurdo, folks gathered at the chalet and toasted to the start of winter. At the Pole, a few of us did something similar. Fifteen of us piled into a van to drive a couple miles down the runway to  where the actual last flight would take off from.

Riding out to watch the last flight leave.

Once we were there, we found our vantage points, did some gut checks about being here for nine months, and messed around with our camera settings. When the plane left, it did not really weigh on me. I think that was because I have experienced this before at McMurdo and because I was still mentally drinking from the fire hose at work. Learning so much did not really leave me with time to think about being 'stuck' here for 9 months.

The last flight accelerating for takeoff.

The moment the skis are just starting to lift off to leave us here for 9 months with no physical contact with the outside world.

My favorite part of watching the last flight was walking back to base with Brian K instead of getting in the van. It was a couple miles and my longest hike at the time. I had been spending so much time inside trying to learn my new job and acclimate to the altitude that I had not been venturing outside as much as I normally would. It was so nice to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Saying goodbye and celebrating the start of winter.

Full moon fever

 

The full moon over the polar plateau.

For the past week, we have had a full moon. It is extra special to be outside because we get twice as much light because the snow reflects the light back up. It's a treat to be able to walk outside and see things without a headlamp. Most of the times, we are outside a head lamp is required and you can only use red lights because white lights mess up the scientific cameras.

Auroras over the polar plateau during the full moon.

The auroras are supposed to be strong this year. The forecast is for "a quicker, stronger peak of activity with solar maximum expected between January and October 2024." The fact that we can see some auroras even when the full moon is out has a lot of us excited for what is to come.

The full moon hidden behind stockpiles of our food for the winter.

Board games clean up and B1 Lounge

The board game Risk with some local additions (check the bottom of the board)

At South Pole Station, we have a few rooms dedicated to recreation because all work and no play makes folks grumpy. We have 2 lounges with TVs, one with a pool table, a library, and a winter-only coffee bar lounge in our galley. 

The photos from today are of the B1 Lounge. It has a pool table, darts, books, and an enormous shelving unit of board games, card games, and puzzles. This week, we cleaned up one of the board game closets. We moved duplicate and triplicate games to another space, taped up boxes, and organized the games by type - strategy, classic, and party. I know these games were organized two winters ago, but the trick with any organization project here is that when next season's folks might not care about the system or bother to keep it.

On the more fun side, each week there are a couple board game nights. I have been averaging two game nights a week. To date, I think we have played Kingdom, Splendor, Spades, Rummikub, Dominion, Plunder, Hanabi, Monopoly Deal, Phase 10, and likely a couple more that I cannot remember. If will be interesting to see how that list grows as the months continue. If anyone has some scans of Dominion Expansion packs, some folks are avidly wanting to try them out.

The B1 Lounge

The board games.

Our puzzles, jigsaw, 3D, and mind teasers.

Card games and more board games.

I was very, very excited to find a copy of Hanabi already on station..

Passover Seder

 

Being down at the South Pole can be tough. We miss a lot of annual events that we are used to celebrating with existing friends and family. While there are only two Jewish folks that I know of on station, 17/41 showed up to celebrate Passover on Monday. It was a pretty cool to see so many people come out. 

We did not do the full 4-5 hour meal. We skipped over lots of parts, but the heart of it was all there. The cup for Elijah, inviting him in with the station door open, the stolen afikoman, and, perhaps my favorite, raw horseradish root instead of horseradish for the Maror. Wow, that really cleared up the sinuses. Thankfully, KLS has been preparing me for years for this by feeding me raw garlic cloves.

2024 South Pole Passover Seder

2:45pm - how much light do we get in the afternoon?

At 2:45pm, this was taken from the same location and direction as the morning photo.

Without any fancy camera tricks, it is quite dark outside. At 2:45pm, the photo above is pretty much accurate of what the human eye can see. You can maybe make out a bump that is a building. 

Technically, we are in astrological twilight, which means the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon. The other twilights that we already passed are civil twilight (6 degrees below the horizon) and nautical twilight (12 degrees below).

In two weeks, we'll be in full dark.

One of my fellow winterovers between plumbing jobs, one of the Buff Boiz Karpet Kinz, Rawlynn E.

8:45am - how much light do we get in the morning?

 

The view from the elevated station at 8:45am.

 

When we take photos of auroras, we usually use long exposures to make the auroras pop more. It makes it look like there is more light than there really is.  I wanted to show folks what things really look like right now so here is a photo from 8:45am this morning. From the elevated station, about three stories up, I pretty much can't make out the near by snow or even the buildings in the distance unless there is a light on the building.

Personally, this is my first slower week at work. I am glad things are slowing down a bit so I can take a little more time for myself and get centered. Hopefully, I can find more time to get outside.

First Aurora Australis!!!!!!!

Auroras over the South Pole observation deck. All the boxes are some of our food for the winter that we are storing there because our elevator broke.

We saw our first Southern Lights / Aurora Australis today (aurora borealis is in the northern hemisphere). 

Just after lunch, someone said there were auroras outside. Catching them can be a fluke now because all of the windows are boarded up. I was getting ready for a nap, but mustered the energy to throw on a jacket and head outside to see the first auroras of the season. I am using a new camera and have not figured out all the settings yet. Figuring them out in the cold and dark wasn't as successful as I would have liked. I headed back inside after a quick five minutes to thaw out and run my hands under warm water.

Auroras over top of the South Pole station.

Auroras over the South Pole summer camp from the A4 exit.

After a few minutes getting dressed properly, getting some hand warmers, and messing with camera settings, I switched to another view point for the auroras with Andrew W and Brian K. I still struggled with the autofocus, but captured a few moments of beauty in the sky. If you haven't seem them before, they are like vertical clouds dancing in the sky. The fainter ones are often mistaken for clouds until you get to know what you are looking for. They are truly one of my favorite part of winters down here. I can watch them dance for as long as I can stay warm.

This is supposed to be a high aurora activity year and the South Pole is right under the aurora 'rings' where they are most active. I am very, very hopeful for them this winter.

Looking over at B1 berthing from A4 berthing.

Brian K catching his first view of auroas this winter.

The office

My office

Despite the fun adventure side of this job, I am really here to work and this is where the work happens. My desk is the one you can see the monitors on. I share the office with a network engineer who sits on the right. We both cover as a help desk for anyone that walks in the door.

The computer lab right outside my office.

Right outside our office is a computer lab. Most work centers don't have enough computers for all their employees so some come here to do small tasks. Others use it to stay in touch with folks back home. However, the program now lets laptops and cellphones connect to the Internet when the satellite is up so most folks use that to keep in touch with the home front. That is a huge change from when I was on the Ice 12 years ago. Back then, you were really disconnected except for email. Due to some major Internet upgrades, you can now use video chatting like FaceTime and Zoom.

I don't know all the details, but we don't use starlink here. They are using it a little bit at McMurdo. They have tested it here. One person said that it interfered with the science, someone else said it didn't. I don't what is accurate, but having non-stop Internet here would really change the experience for better and worse.

HIIT and closing up the windows

I am struggling to find the time to write the way I used to that really got into the nitty gritty so for the time being I am going to just put some random photos from each day.

 Weekly HIIT class in the big gym

Every Tuesday, our carpenter Andrew runs a HIIT class in our big gym. We have steady group of 4-6 that come out to suffer a little bit, try to stay in or get in shape, and try to keep off the 'Freshman 15' that can easily happen to us in our all you can get cafeteria.  This week we worked through some criss-cross jacks that felt like Irish dancing, goblet squats, sit ups, push ups, lumber jack swings, kettle bell squat lifts, and tossing the medicine ball.

Rawlynn was kind of enough to get a photo of me in the class doing my best lumberjack swing

The big event of the day was the boarding of all the windows on station because of the science that goes on in the dark of winter. We have some very sensitive cameras that would have their data corrupted by having even a single window unblocked. Everyone is issued head lamps with red lights so that they don't mess up the cameras' data.  My view of the geographic pole was good while it lasted.

Given the exacting nature of so much of the science, you might think that we board the windows up with custom blinds or something fancy. Nope. We use cardboard that folks have taken a utility knife too. Lots of them are decorated with fun photos of past friends, dogs, and beautiful places.

My room with a boarded up window.

Until tomorrow . . . hopefully