Sunday, March 4, 2001

"It’s Cold!"

You are about as likely to hear someone at the South Pole say "it’s cold" as you are to hear someone describe water as "wet." So what does it take for the weather to be characterized using the "c" word where the average temperature is -57°F (-49°C)? Well, this week marked the first time I heard a declaration of it being "cold outside" as the temperature dropped, reaching -79°F (-61°C) and shattering daily records for early March.

If you don’t think there is any difference between -40°F (-40°C) and -80°F (-62°), I assure you there is. Just as you might wear different clothes at 75°F (24°C) above than you would at 35°F (2°C) above, I dress quite differently at -80°F than I do at -40°F. I have actually grown rather accustomed to going outside in -40°F. At that warm of temperature, I usually just wear a baseball cap on my head if I’m not out for too long. On the other hand, at near -80°F I now wear a knit cap, face mask and pull over my parka’s hood. Where my hiking boots were good enough at -40°F, I now must don my very warm "bunny boots," even if I am out for a short time. At -40°F, I can jog as much as I like outside with no consequences. At -80°F, I must be careful not to run nor breathe too heavily, lest the cold might burn my lungs.

There are other noticeable effects of the plummeting temperatures. One always has visible breath when it is below freezing; but now every exhalation is like a smokestack of white accompanied by an audible hissing sound as water vapor instantly freezes in the air. My parka’s fur-lined hood already limits peripheral visibility; now the hoary mist blinds my limited view with every breath. Machines whose exhaust once produced a small sputter of white can now envelop the station in thick fog after a few minutes of operation.

Yes, I think it’s fair to say that it is now cold, even by South Pole standards. And if you think -80°F sounds abysmally frigid, remember that that is just the temperature. The dubious measurement of how cold it feels called the "wind chill" reached below -130°F this week. Luckily, when the temperatures really drop here so do the winds. The wind speed was never higher than 10 m.p.h. when the temperature was below -75°F.

It may be more traditional to hold a Mardi Gras party before the holiday, but our South Pole celebration was held the following Saturday. It was a fun party, but illustrated the vast difference between the winter and summer crews at the South Pole. The galley was fully decked out for the event, but never full of people. Most Poleys came, but not all at once, so there was always just a small group. Our dining area that seemed insufficiently small but ever teeming with verve through the summer now felt static and cavernous.

There are always decorations for holidays here, and Mardi Gras was no exception. We found masks, beads and plenty other adornments with traditional Mardi Gras colors. Poleys like to find just about any excuse they can to throw a party, so I’m sure there will be plenty more this winter. I think St. Patrick’s Day is the next one on the list. There is a definite lack of any natural green here, so I’m sure it will be a big deal for Poleys to go all out and show their green sides.