The Moon, Antarctica and The Academy Awards are places I have always wanted to go- but know that I probably never will. Luckily, my childhood neighbor Tyler Natoli is there now and I can live vicariously through him.
Why has it been your dream to travel to Antarctica? Why Antarctica?
It was never really my dream to travel to Antarctica, I never thought of it as an option or possibility. After I started doing research and working for the South Pole Telescope though, I started wanting to come down and work on the instrument first hand.
Tell me everything about your journey from Chicago to there…
I caught a midday 4hr flight from Ohare to LAX on December 29th, then a 13hr flight from LAX to Auckland, NZ the night of December 29th (but arrived in NZ on December 31st due to the time change). That afternoon I took another plane from Auckland, NZ to Christchurch, NZ and spent New Years Eve in Christchurch at a dumpy local bar. At 2am on January 2nd after a 4 hour delay I took a 5hr flight on a C17 (Air Force Cargo plane) from Christchurch to McMurdo Station, which is on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. On the morning on January 3rd I got aboard an LC130 (Air Force plane with skis) and flew halfway to the South Pole before the plane had to turn around because the windshield had developed a crack that had spidered out and shattered the outer pane of glass. On the afternoon of January the 4th I successfully made the 3.5 hour flight from McMurdo to the South Pole aboard an LC130.
Where in Antartica are you?
I am currently at the geographic South Pole. If you imagine the earth spinning around a rod, the ends of the rod would intersect the earth at two points, the North Pole and the South Pole, I am at the later. It is the southernmost point you can be at on Earth.
Is it like what you expected?
It is pretty much like I expected, very cold, sunny, and dry everyday. There is a sense of community at the station that I was not expecting though.
What is the weather like today?
It is about -35F with a wind chill of about -55F and a medium breeze. These are pretty typical temperatures for this time of year. It gets cloudy maybe one or two days a week, and otherwise is sunny 24hours a day.
Does the altitude effect you?
The first few days I was here I felt off, but now I have acclimated nicely, although I get out of breath here much easier than back in Chicago. The altitude here is ~9,500ft, but the air pressure here represents an altitude of more like ~10,500ft.
What is your job there? What are you studying?
My job here is to install and commission a new upgraded camera on the South Pole Telescope. My collaborators and I have been building this new camera for the last few years, and it represents the most sensitive camera in the world at the wavelengths we study (which are microwaves). We will use this new camera to look out into space ~13.6 billion light years and take a picture of the oldest light in the universe. This light was emitted when the universe was just 380,000 years old (it is now 13.7 billion years old), and shows us a baby picture of the universe.
Take me through a typical day there…
I usually wake up, get some cereal in the galley (mess hall) and then head out to the telescope to work until lunch. After lunch I head out to the telescope again until dinner. After dinner I either head back out to the telescope for some late night work or head to the science room in the station to do some computer work. Once or twice a week I take a night off to play pub quiz or mess around in the band room, but mostly I just work a lot.
What are your living quarters like?
They are kind of like dorms, with a communal bathroom, but individual rooms. The room that I stay in has a lofted bed (that is too short for me), a very small desk, a dresser, and measures about 6ftx10ft.
Did you forget anything that you should have brought?
I wish I would have brought more socks. I go through mine pretty quickly wearing the huge boots we wear for the cold weather down here.
Do cellphones work?
Absolutely not, as far as I know, there are no cell towers on Antarctica. They do not even allow wireless internet on the station out our fear that it will negatively impact the science taking place here. We only get internet for about 5 hours a day when satellites happen to pass over the base.
I read that you only get to take 2 showers a week…
It is true. We are allowed two showers a week, for two minutes apiece. Heating up water is extremely energy intensive, and down here energy is a commodity, so we try to limit the amount of water and electricity we use.
Who are you there with? Did you know anyone before you went?
There are about 200 people at the South Pole right now, about 12 of those people are working on the South Pole Telescope (SPT) with me. The twelve of us working on SPT are from four or five different institutions and have been working together for the last few years.
Is there any gossip you can share?
So you get a lifetime ban from the ice if you physically assault someone on station, a few weeks ago at a party a guy was coming onto a girl who did not appreciate the attention and decided to roundhouse kick the guy instead of giving him the cold shoulder. She was on the next flight out of the South Pole and is now banned from the ice.
Are there animals there?
There are no animals or native living things of any sort at the South Pole, however, at McMurdo Base, at the edge of Antarctica where I stopped on the way in, there are penguins and seals.
What do you wear? (Changed this from ‘What are you wearing?’ to sound less creepy)
Good catch. Each of us are issued a ~25lb bag of ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear in Christchurch before we get to Antarctica. In this bag is a super insulated pair of boots (affectionately called ‘bunny boots’), a pair of long underwear, a few pairs of wool socks, a light fleece jacket, a pair of fleece pants, glove liners, thick gloves, wool lined leather mittens, a neck guard/scarf, a balaclava (think of a ski mask on steroids), a pair of ski goggles, a pair of heavy duty Carhart overalls, and a giant red down parka (which is usually referred to as ‘big red’). For an extended stay outside, most of this clothing is actually worn, but for the 15min walk out to the telescope, just a pair of boots, the Carhart overalls, the red parka, a hat, and gloves are needed.
What, besides friends and family, do you miss about home?
Since we can only come down and fix/update the telescope for about 3 months a year, we end up working a lot while we are down here. I miss being able to lounge about and do nothing for a while.
What, besides friends and family, do you not miss at home?
Even though it is extremely cold here, I do not miss the Chicago winter. It is so cold here all the time that the snow never melts, which makes it much drier and easier to deal with then the wet heavy Chicago snow.
What is the food like there?
The food here is usually pretty standard cafeteria food, with small exceptions. About once a week there is a meal that is actually quite good, last week this meal was fillet minion wrapped in bacon. The meals are usually pretty sparse on fresh fruits and vegetables, but there are 4 solid meals (breakfast, lunch, diner, and a midnight ‘midrats’ meal) a day, and my favorite part about them is that I do not have to cook them.
Any foods (or drinks) you are craving?
Unfortunately I eat a lot of corn dog nuggets in my apartment back in Chicago, and although they are not elitist cuisine, I could use a late night corn dog snack every now and then.
What do you do for entertainment?
There is actually quite a bit of things to do down here for entertainment. There are two nice movie rooms and the base has a large collection of DVDs, VHSs, and yes, even Beta-Max tapes. There is a foosball table, a dart board, a pool table and a cabinet full of board games, and a band room that has a large amount of instruments. But one of the most popular items down here is the sauna, where the preferred activity is to melt in the sauna for a bit and then step outside into the sub-zero antarctic environment.
Seen any good movies?
One of my fellow researchers brought down a copy of ‘The Room’. It has been dubbed by many as the worst movie ever made, and while it is truly terrible, watching it with a group of people can be quite entertaining. People have organized a weekly viewing of this monstrosity of a film down here.
Are there any tv shows you are missing?
Luckily the TV shows I keep up on (Workaholics, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League) ended their seasons before I arrived in Antarctica.
Have you come to any realizations or ephipanies while you’ve been there?
While doing working on the telescope I had occasion to take a snow mobile pretty far away from the base (~5km). When I got out there all I was surrounded on three sides by a a perfectly flat frozen expanse as far as the eye could see, and it was completely silent. I do not know know if I would call it an epiphany, but it was a truly humbling experience.
I have been obsessed with Antartica for awhile- If I wanted to go there (obviously this would never happen, what would I have to do to be considered?
So it turns out that most of the people down here are support staff for the science taking place, only about 10% of the population are actually scientists. There are cooks, dish-washers, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, heavy machine operators, mechanics, iron workers, cleaners, firefighters, and lots of other skilled workers. Your best chance at coming down would be to get hired on as a member of the support staff.
If I was there, where would I smoke? Would I have to go outside?
There are no indoor smoking areas at the South Pole, so yes, you would have to bear the elements to smoke here.
How long will you be there?
I have been here for about 4 weeks, and I will be here for another 2 weeks.
Is there a hot tub of any kind?
No, hot water is too energy intensive down here, there is however a nice sauna.
Was Hoth your favorite planet in Star Wars? What was your favorite planet?
Sorry, I miss the reference, but I assume it is some kind of ice planet?
Where do you want to go next?
On the trip back to Chicago from Antarctica I will stop in New Zealand for a week or two. I am really looking forward to camping around this beautiful country and enjoying its summertime climate.
