Background

Going to the South Pole is one of the most unique experiences one can have on Earth. Spending a winter there is even more unique. This extremely remote location is accessible by plane, but only from November until the middle of February. These are the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere, and the never-setting sun radiates just enough warmth for planes to fly. The population for the warm months can reach over two hundred people at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. During the long, dark winter when the temperature can drop below -100°F, it is too cold for any tool of man to reach the center of the Seventh Continent. It sounds a bit like Big Brother or Survivor, but I, along with fifty-seven other people, will be stranded at the very bottom of the world for eight months. Astronauts would be easier to rescue if something went wrong.

I had the opportunity of meeting these fortunate souls in August, months before we were to depart for the Great White South. All that had been hired so far came together in Denver, Colorado. Raytheon Polar Services, the support contractor for the United States Antarctic Program, is headquartered there. RPS employees, including myself, along with scientists who received grants from the National Science Foundation convened for three events that are experienced only by South Pole winterers: psychological tests (to make sure we are all just a little crazy), a brief Colorado Outward Bound School (to make sure the personalities will mesh), and a week of fire-fighting training conducted by the Rocky Mountain Fire Academy (can’t call the Fire Dept. at the South Pole -- It’s just us!). It was great to meet all of the people with whom I will spend the winter: two Germans, two Australians, one Canadian, and the rest of us from all over the U.S. There were almost forty, but possibly up to fifty-seven will spend the winter (which would be a record.) Two of the most important people weren’t even hired yet: the cook and the doctor! Everyone was extremely friendly and very excited to go. About fifteen had already been to Antarctica before.

At Outward Bound, high in the Rockies, we did orienteering courses, team-building activities, group discussions, and enjoyed steaks provided by the meatpacking company with whom we shared the camp. The weeklong fire training was a great experience, which included dressing up in complete fire-fighting gear and putting out real fires. Hopefully we won’t see any of those at the Pole!

In addition to being qualified for their respective jobs and passing the psychological exams, prospective South Pole winter inhabitants must pass a rigorous physical examination before they are cleared to go. It will be great if all of us who met in Denver are able to make the Southernmost voyage. It’s a great group!