arrival on the ice

16 October 2022

I have arrived in McMurdo Station, Antarctica!  We flew in yesterday on an Australian Airbus A319.  While I missed the novelty and fun of flying in a C-17 US military cargo plane, having a window seat on the Airbus was awesome.  The weather cleared up just before we got to the continent and afforded amazing views of sea ice, glaciers and mountains.  My blood must have actually started moving quicker as I immediately had to shed some layers once I saw the continent.

After an hour or so of flying the great white south, we landed on the ice runway and were whisked onto Ivan the Terra bus for the hour ride to the station.  Looking around our group, it seems there are three types of people.  There are the newbies, they look wide eyed, amazed by the place but also not sure what they’ve gotten themselves into.  Some of them will have great jobs, some will have thankless jobs.  Then there are the returners, who are happy to be back – to see their friends and do the jobs that they like doing.  Then there are the crusty folks.  It seems they couldn’t care less about the wonders of Antarctica and want to be left alone so they can do their work and then go home. 

All in all, it feels like my last season was not 10 years before but just last year.  A switch has been switched in my head and body.  Old patterns of thought and movement come surprisingly quickly after having been dormant for a decade.  Though I used to have my own house that was rented for me by my employer, now it seems totally normal to be in a shared dorm room with a shared bathroom down the hall. 

The place hasn’t really changed.  And while many people have moved on in the last years, there are a handful of folks who are still here.  I’ve been here only about a day but it’s been fun to have mini reunions with old friends down here.  Friendships are formed fast, especially if they are formed at the field camps.  With a huge turnover rate from the stresses of Covid (about 700 brand new people will be here on station), people seem happy to see a familiar face! 

Many folks have climbed the ladders to management positions but I’m quite happy where I am.  The work week starts tomorrow.  I have trainings for most of the day but hopefully flying out of town in a helicopter (that someone else is flying) to the Dry Valleys.  All the best to you all back in the world of the plants!  More to come later!  And for those interested, it is currently mid-day and the temp is -16C/3F.