Lobster, Live Music, Racing and a new South Pole!
Ok, so I'm finally sitting down to write out this blog that is overdue.
Where did I leave off?? Oh yeah...
So work, in general, over the last few weeks has been pretty much the same. Working with the electricians and not venturing too far from the the dark underbelly of the station...the LO Arch.
Anyway, Christmas weekend was pretty relaxing, we had TWO days off instead of just one like usual. Even so, it didn't really feel like Christmas. Probably because I'm a long ways from home, and its light all the time. I guess I usually associate Christmas with having a lot of hours of darkness in the day. Anyway, we had a big lobster dinner in the Galley complete with an artificial campfire on the overhead TV screen. It was a good time.
Then we had The Race Around the World, which is a 2.4 mile marathon that circles the geographic South Pole. There were the serious runners that were in it for the prizes, then there were the rest of us who just dressed up in goofy costumes and interesting modes of transportation and "raced" for fun. There were roman chariots (that ran on diesel fuel), smoke breathing dragons, and even a mobile hot tub. I decide to bike around the world, but went for the non-conventional route. We secured a stationary bike to a snowmobile sled. I actually pedaled 6 miles in the 15 minutes that the snowmobile took to go the 2.4 miles. It was awesome and a lot of fun.
Another week of work went by, then it was New Years! Since our days off didn't fall on the right days, we celebrated on the 2nd. There was a huge party in the gym. I played in a bluegrass band called Gone Again with eight other musicians. We played somewhere around 15 songs. Other bands played that night as well, followed up by big dance party. Definitely a memorable night.
On January 1st we had the pole marking ceremony. During this event we moved the geographic pole to its new location to correct for the 10 meters of ice drift that occurs each year. The new pole marker was unveiled (designed by the last year's winter over crew) and we passed it around a huge semi-circle until it arrived at its new location. This was so we could all have a part in moving the pole. The BBC was there to film the ceremony and other things around the station for their new Frozen Planet series that will come out soon.
Oh, I guess I did make it down into the ice tunnels. They are utility tunnels that run under the surface, just carved into the ice. There are various "shrines" down there to different winter over crews including a frozen pig head with sunglasses on it and the Russian Sturgeon. The temp holds a steady -60 down in those tunnels, so you really had to bundle up to go down there!
Also, the Dome is on its way out. The Heavy Carps have been working on it during the night shift, so ever morning we get to see their progress. The dome should be gone this week.
Well, besides these events, life at pole has been pretty standard (as standard as being at the South Pole can be). Wake up, check the email and maybe make a phone call, eat breakfast, go stretch, start work, eat lunch, finish work, eat dinner, work on hobby projects and play music, then go to bed. All while being in one of the harshest places on the planet. But, ya know, by this point, you have to really focus to realize that you are in the middle of nowhere. If it weren't for the marker with the sign by it, you might even forget your at the bottom of the world. But, maybe that's because the weather has been so nice. One of my friends said she saw the temperature hit the zero mark one night. But the warm weather is short lived. We are back down to -20 and most likely we'll only get colder from here on out. I got a few weeks left here and then I'll be off to New Zealand!
Here's a short video of an epic sundog show we had the other night. All due to ice crystals blowing through the air. VIDEO
I hope the new year is treating everyone well!
