New digs

With the transition to the winter season, I have a new workspace: the Materials office! My computer/desk area is off to the right and not actually visible in this picture. But my lovely co-workers, H and K, ARE visible. Of the 48 people on station this winter, only 9 of us are women, and I have to admit I'm pretty thrilled that of those 9, three of us are our own department. It's a nice break from the testosterone to come to work every day.

Also, with SR's departure at the end of the summer, I have a new (1/2 the size) room. It's very cozy, though.

 And it's made even better by the fact that there are enough empty rooms in the wintertime that I get a second, adjacent room just to use for storage. I have somehow accumulated so much stuff that this second room is really saving me, being the place for all my clutter so that I can actually move around in my living room.

These spaces are where I'll be spending the majority of my time this winter. Well, when I'm not outside...or teaching yoga...or working the store...or hosting Friday night Cheesy Movie Night...or eating in the galley...or....

Weekly snapshot #17

I think this the first Tuesday we've ever had some weather blustery enough to show in the picture! It's getting chillier and chillier out, and today the wind was really blowing, so that you can't see the telescopes or Ice Cube very clearly.

And though we're still a bit away from sunset, the sun is definitely getting lower in the sky. I took this picture at 12:30pm, as well. Doesn't really look like what you'd expect noon to look like, anymore!

And then there were...48...

The last flight out of South Pole was scheduled for Saturday, Feb 13, and the station started emptying out in earnest at the beginning of February. The station population, which had been holding at 160 or so for most of December and January, began to plummet as first the SpiceCore drillers and scientists, and then the carpenters, and so on, all began to clear out in groups of a dozen or more. By the beginning of the final week of the summer, we were down to a station population of about 110, and departures of 30 people on Friday and again on Saturday would be getting us down to our final winter-over crew. But then, on Tuesday, our power plant foreman quit, and that is not a position that can go unfilled for the winter. So the station management began scrambling for a replacement they could get here and get trained in a week or so, and it became clear that to make this happen at least half a dozen summer people would have to stay through the weekend.

On Friday, about 30 people, including SR, headed out as scheduled. So that was a very sad day for me. Someone got this shot of me waving goodbye as he got on the plane.

And on Saturday another 30 people left as planned, and the station started going into winter mode. SO WEIRD to go into the galley and have it be nearly empty, or to feel like you could roll a bowling ball down the hall and not hit anyone. And there was a musical chairs of rooms, as I moved out of the double I'd shared with SR, and a couple who got together over the summer moved into that room, and one wing of the station was shut down to save energy, and people who had to move displaced others with lesser seniority in desirable rooms, and so on and so forth.

But there were still six people--upper management, power plant trainers, and other key personnel--on station so we didn't feel like winter had really started. They were scheduled to fly out on Monday, and on Monday afternoon a Herc (with a crew as eager as we were to get Pole closed for the season so they could head home to the States) departed McMurdo for Pole, and arrived here....and did a flyby of the station...and circled overhead for more than an hour waiting for enough visibility to land. But it was a very windy, nasty day...

...and though we were all dressed up to go outside for final goodbyes and all stood by for that hour+ hoping to hear that the plane had managed to land....

...finally they reached their no-turning-back point with fuel and had to abort, saying they'd try again tomorrow.

Which they did, and on Tuesday, February 16, "Getrdone 21"--the playfully altered name of the plane that would usually be dubbed "Skier 21" (for the first plane coming in on the second day of the week) made skis down on the South Pole runway at about 2pm. (You can see in the background of this picture the cloud of snow the plane kicks up on landing.)

Then, you can see in this picture the couple of orange bags that are about to be passed off to me: the final bags of mail we'll receive until November! The mail came off, the 6 final passengers and their luggage were loaded on, and Getrdone 21 turned around and took off...

...and then before heading north for good turned around and did a beautiful fly-by of the station to say goodbye and wish us well for the next 8.5 months of isolation. (Thanks to Rachel for this awesome shot of the fly-over!)

And then there were 48! That is the number of winter-overs we've ended up with when all is said and done, including a couple of unexpected last-minute drop-outs and the normal attrition and replacement and attrition-again that happens over the summer season. So, 47 other people who I'll see exclusively and relentlessly between now and November. It promises to be quite an experience, no matter what.

Winter--at least in terms of station operations--is here!

Weekly snapshot #16

It was a momentous day at South Pole because the station finally officially closed for the winter--later than it was supposed to, which is a story that will have to wait for my next post. So stay tuned. But in the meantime, here's your weekly snapshot. It was my first day in my new job in the Materials/Supply department and between that and the final plane of the season arriving and departing (a big event!) I was outside for at least a couple hours, and despite those scary negative signs, it was actually very nice out! More soon....

Carp party

One of the most anticipated annual events at South Pole is the party that the carpenters always put on. And they put an incredible amount of effort into it this year. There was the usual grill/bonfire, the amazing gnocchi that one of the carps makes, plus a photo booth (someone's computer in a room of the shop, with hand-warmers sitting on the keyboard to keep it functioning and a box of wigs), lawn games (ever play foosball or Bocci Ball in the snow? I have, now!) and a dance party. Such fun, South Pole style. Some pictures below.

Incredibly, the station is about to close for the winter. I can't believe how fast the summer has gone, and if the winter goes as quickly, this whole year is going to be gone in a flash. More to come as we transition into our wintertime routine and get ready for the long dark that's headed our way...

Weekly snapshot #15

Temps sinking lower! As is the sun, though since I'm taking these pictures mid-day, you can't quite tell, yet. I thought it looked a little hazy out when I ducked outside for this picture, but I guess in the photo it looks as flawlessly beautiful as it always has on Tuesdays this summer.

South Pole Telescope, revisited

Last year I got to visit the South Pole Telescope (and crawl around in the machinery at its base) and posted about that. So fun to get to take another tour this year, especially because (1) it's featured in all of the weekly snapshots I'm taking, and (2) this year the scientist who generously gave us a tour took us up into the dish, which was AMAZING!

It's really mind-blowing to hear the scientists talk about both the science of what the telescope looks at (cosmic microwave background) and the mechanics of how it works. My brain is just not that competent.

But I will always remember that I got to stand in the dish of this beautiful thing in such a strange place in the world. (I took the first of these two pictures, but I'm on the far right in the second one.)

Weekly snapshot #14

Another Tuesday, another day of gorgeous skies. It's getting colder again, though. Less than two weeks till the station closes for the winter, with the last flight currently scheduled for February 13. But there are rumblings that with the temperatures dropping as quickly as they are and the station already flush with enough fuel to last the long winter, they may fly people out a day or two early to be safe. The days are numbered when I can dash outside to take these shots without putting on any of my extreme cold weather gear.