Working Life in the Freezer
Someone phoned the other day and said ‘Where have you been I’ve been trying to reach you for the last few weeks, don’t you return calls’? ‘Not in Antarctica I don’t’ I said.
I was lucky enough to be contracted to work as lecturer and South Pole Guide for Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions (ALE) for the summer season at Patriot Hills their base, which is part of the Ellsworth mountain range in Antarctica.
Running into David Hamilton a guide for Jagged Globe at Heathrow, who was also working for ALE this season, we went from London to Madrid and then to Chile. From Santiago, the Chilean capital, we flew down this long narrow country, the azure blue Pacific Ocean on one side of the airplane, the red brown dusty snow capped Andes on the other. Flying towards the end of the World; Patagonia. Along the way we flew over Torres del Paine and saw the impressive granite spires and glacial lakes. We then arrived at Punta Arenas, the last city on the last piece of mainland Chile before Antarctica.
Punta Arenas grew rapidly between 1890 and 1940 thanks due to the wool industry and being a major sea port for ships traveling between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. Here was a place to take on goods and coal and enjoy shore leave. In it’s heyday it boasted over 700 hundred whore houses! It was a frontier city attracting people from all over the World especially from European countries, attracted by the commerce and opportunities of starting a new life. Today it is strategically important for Chile for being located so close to Argentina. It also enjoys a lot of tourists those traveling by cruise ships and those overland. Of particular interest to me were the many majestic buildings which were steeped in Antarctic history, such as the house where Shackleton stayed after the ill fated Endurance expedition and the former post office where Scott posted four hundred letters after the Discovery expedition. Any building that has historic interest has a useful blue plaque on details it’s Antarctic heritage. I particularly liked St James Church where Shackleton,, Crean and Worsley went to help raise funds for the rescue of his remaining men marooned on Elephant Island.
ALE’s office is based in Punta and using the airport was our way of getting clients into Antarctica. After meeting the other members of staff, we all had various tasks to under take. All clients get a two hour briefing about Antarctica and ALE and this is a good opportunity for guides to meet groups of clients. Mine were South Pole One (SP1) who happened to be predominately Russian. I arranged to undertake gear and equipment checks with them at their respective hotels. Then we had a group dinner, which is a good opportunity to get to know the clients better. As the runway at Patriot Hills is a blue ice runway which is crosswind runway, any wind speed above twenty knots per hour precludes a landing of the Iluyshin-76 D aircraft. This means that all clients are on call every few hours and we spend a lot of the days phoning them with weather updates. We waited six frustrating days for the wind to be settled enough to fly. There is no air traffic control at Patriot Hills and the landing of a Russian Ilyushin airplane on a two mile blue ice runway where it cannot brake, could quite possibly be one of the most dangerous commercial flight you can take in the World; I did it six times. Safety is of course paramount and no amount of frustration from clients vented on the ALE will make them compromise the safety of the clients, plane and air crew. After six days the weather was calm enough to make the flight. We picked up the clients from their hotels around town and went to the airport. Hastily we got them onboard. The Iluyshin is similar to a Hercules, essentially a cargo plane, no windows and lots of lifting gear to lift and carry cargo. The flight takes around four to five hours and when we land there is no view. Once the plane taxies and stops the door is open and we are bathed in a bluish light, followed by an icy blast of cold air. Snow and ice are the view from the airplane.
Patriot Hills is located around one and a half kilometres away and we help the clients with their bags and tent allocations. This was home for me for the next forty or so days.
Patriot Hills is part of a horseshoe mountain range in the Ellsworth Mountains and it’s highest point is around 1,250 metres. Of course I was working and not on an expedition so after a nights rest, I began looking after the clients. With the camp manager we arranged various days out and excursions, which included hiking around Patriot Hills, Nordic skiing, and geo-caching. In the evenings I delivered lectures in the main weather haven tent, on topics such as the history of exploration, Shackleton, Amundsen and Scott, Survival stories etc. I battled some nights with stormy weather which not only affected the computer monitors my slide show was shown on, but meant I had to shout over the wind as well.
What the SP1 group were waiting for (as well as me) was the weather to be settled enough to fly to the South Pole. Weather has to be good at Patriot Hills, a place called Thiel Mountains and the South Pole itself. Thiel Mountains is our refueling stop, for the Twin Otter ski planes. After few days the weather was good enough; low winds, good visibility and little or no cloud. SP1 received a briefing on the South Pole and the flight from myself and the camp manager, and the next day we were flying, after allocating the clients between two Twin Otters planes, were took off. The flight covered around 600 nautical miles flying over miles of white featureless snow and ice: it was awe inspiring. After Thiel mountains where we refueled we flew over the Trans Antarctic Mountains, impressive stone spires breaking through the grip of the ice. A few hours later we arrived at the Amundsen-Scott Antarctic Base.
It was noticeably colder here at the geographic South Pole, where there is an effective altitude of around 3,400 metres. The weather was -42oC with the wind chill factor. In front of us was the ceremonial South Pole; the ‘barbers’ pole with the flags of the original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty. Fifty metres away was the true geographic pole which looks like a giant steel pin. The brass ‘pin head’ is designed each year by the over wintering party at the base and is changed on the 1st January each year. The pin itself has to re-sited each year as the geographic pole moves approximately ten metres per year. The clients spent time taking photos at both poles, and we were met by a representative of the base for a tour of the new base. The old base, which is the silver dome is no longer used and we were shown into an amazing structure which is built on stilts. The reasoning is that snow drifts can go under the building; the last to bases have slowly become buried by the shifting snow. These stilts can also be jacked up if the snow drifts collect over time or there is settlement in the ice below. Up steel steeps we went through a thick steel do and an almost air lock chamber. Truly inside the base it was very warm compared to the outside, and we undressed out of our down trousers and jackets and were taken to the canteen for a welcome by the operations manager. He informed about the progress of construction of the base and what scientific research went on at the base. In the canteen we were given a much needed cup of tea and a deliciously naughty South Pole cookie.
The science undertaken around the base included seismology, as there is no disturbance from human activity tremors can be identified fifteen minutes before anywhere else in the World. There is the clean air programme, monitor air quality and pollution. The observatory searching the ‘Dark sector’ of the universe looking for signs of the big bang. Of interest to use, was the ‘Ice Cube Project’ where a 2,500 metre deep bore hole has been melted into the ice and sensing equipment is lowered into the hole looking for Neutrinos from space. If you are interested in the base or the science then www.usap,gov is the place to go.
We also were shown the communications room and the infirmary. There was even a gym and basketball court in the base! What was interesting was the growth chamber. A room where fresh salads and vegetables are grown for the up coming over wintering team. The summer staff numbers average around 250 members with the winter team being a skeleton maintenance number of around 50. I said to our guide ‘I suppose they don’t put the film ‘The Thing’ on then in the six months of darkness’. Actually she said ‘that’s the first film they put on and then the next night they put ‘The Shining’ on’. That shut me up. I tried to imagine walking around this base in the winter with darkness outside. She later said that there’s always one or two that don’t adjust to the winter; not surprising after watching those two films. We were also told about the exclusive 300 Club. During the winter when the outside air temperature drops to -100oF the winter team crank the sauna (yes, they even have a sauna) up to + 200oF. Then at this critical temperature, they run naked around the South Pole and back into the sauna!
After around three hours at the base it was time to fly back to Patriot Hills and after this six hour return flight there was a celebration dinner in the main weather haven tent. All the clients enjoyed this after a very long day.
SP1 departed after a couple of days on the Ilyushin and during my time in Antarctica I looked after a further three groups of South Polers. SP2 and SP3 were Japanese, and I was thankful I studied Japanese at university. I could only remember a few words and phrases, but the clients were appreciative of my efforts. The problem came when I tried to deliver my lectures, which were lost quite quickly on my oriental clients. Each morning I was greeted by ‘Conichiwa Mr Lee’! which was kind of nice.
The 21st December is a special day in Antarctica as it is mid summers day. We spent the day building ‘Snowhenge’ the Antarctic equivalent to Stonehenge, replete with alter at which we drank hot Gluewein (mulled wine). We even built a slack line and a toboggan slope. It was a great fun day.
At this time as well, we had built a marathon course for the Antarctic Ice Marathon. Runners from all over the World came to attempt this icy challenge, some of which even undertook a 100 Km marathon. I ended up marshalling at check point one, a cold proposition, and it was hard writing the runners’ times down without getting numb fingers. I really admired these people for taking on the coldest marathon in the World. Unfortunately for them not long after the day the marathon finished a ten day storm hit. Complete white out and strong wind. So much so that I had to escort the older Japanese ladies to the toilet tents, to stop them getting disorientated and lost in the storm. This ten day delay meant that the marathon runners were with us for Christmas Day.
Christmas Eve saw members of staff and a few guests ‘caroling’ around the guides tents, communications tent and the main weather haven. This was actually quite fun and we all enjoyed it. I had to get up very early on Christmas Day to phone the BBC and do a live Christmas message. The Presenter said if I had a special message for my wife, I thought she won’t be listening so I said something lack lustre. When I phoned her later in the day she tore a strip off me; she had been listening and said how I didn’t say the message with feeling, I said how would you feel, it’s 5.00 am here, and I’m phoning the BBC from inside a smelly toilet tent!
Christmas Day was reminiscent of those polar expeditions of the Heroic Age. Decorations and national flags adorned the weather haven, around a long line of tables replete with table decorations. The chefs and kitchen staff worked tirelessly and produced the most wonderful array of food. There was also plenty of beer and wine. Many members of staff and guests complimenting this with various bottles of whisky and vodka. It was a great day and one that will be remembered for a long time.
It was back to work on Boxing Day and I busied my self with activities for the clients and delivering lectures in the evenings. Though I did often have breaks from lecturing, by hosting a guest speaker evening and this was a chance for the scientists to tell us all about the work they had been doing in Antarctica. Other nights we put on DVD films and tried to find films with a theme relevant to Antarctica or their situation: Icebound, Eight Below, Ground Hog Day, Planes Trains and Automobiles etc. When the weather was more settled we were able to bring the Ilyushin in and get the clients out and it also meant that my clients to got to the South Pole with me again. I was part of the team including the base operations manager, to bring the Ilyushin in. This meant being at a point called ‘threshold’ (the beginning of the blue ice runway and signaling with a mirror to the plane. We could see the plane some fifty miles away and when the time was right, I pulled the pin on the signaling flare. It was an amazing moment brining in the plane and standing there watching it land.
Incoming on this plane was HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, and his entourage. The Principality of Monaco have just become a member of the Antarctic Treaty. I have to say it was a pleasure to meet him and I had many conversations with Prince Albert, he’s a pretty down to earth guy. My final group of clients (SP4) were nearly all from Europe and Russia with a Mexican and an American thrown in for good measure. Being the youngest group of South Polers, we did a lot more outdoor activities like skiing to the remains of a crashed DC6 some 8.5 kilometres from Patriot Hills. All that is left of the plane is the last four feet of the rudder, the snow like dessert sands has covered the rest.
I ended up going to the South Pole three times with my South Pole groups and each time was a special experience, I saw something or learnt something new at the base each time I went, and always felt privileged that I was here in Antarctica which is still today a huge wild place with a raw beauty. I was also very pleased to meet all the clients who without exception had all done amazing things in their adventurous lives.