The people

This is actually one of the tougher posts to write. The people here are really great. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have diverse skill sets and interests. I feel privileged to work with such a group so I'd hate to write something that might be taken the wrong way.

It's a very interesting crew at the south pole. Being married with children puts me very much in the minority. I think I can count us on one hand. The rest are mostly single, divorced, married without kids, or married with older children. That's not really too surprising. Most are down here for the entire summer season which starts at the end of October and ends in late February. That's a long time to be away from your family, especially if you have kids, and always over the holiday season.

The ultimate purpose of the station is to support polar science (and, a few cynics note, to maintain a claim in the event the Antarctic Treaty lapses). A large part of that is simply maintaining the station and science buildings in a pretty harsh environment. Maintaining buildings is a very expensive proposition so the science experiments get packed in as tightly as possible. Even so, a few experiments come along that won't fit into existing facilities. IceCube is one such experiment, the South Pole Telescope is another. These groups have dedicated buildings which must be heated, powered, and connected to networks.

So in many ways, the pole is a construction zone during the summer. There are a lot of people who are good with their hands, and good problem solvers. A lot of things that are small problems back home are more difficult here because you can't pop over to the hardware store and pick up a $10 part. There's a machine shop complete with machinist, so in a lot of cases parts can be built, if needed. It's a place where a little ingenuity and a lot of elbow grease go a long way.

There's lots of heavy equipment moving snow, grooming roads or the skiway, moving materials around the camp and supporting construction activity. Along with that comes the operators and mechanics to keep them moving. This can involve some difficult work in brutal conditions. Changing a starter on a D8 Cat in 40 below temps does not sound like a good time, but somehow they do it.

In addition, there is a sizeable support staff working in the galley, as janitors, technical support, communications, logistics, you name it. It's really a small town where everybody tries to do their part to keep things moving along. During the summer season, there's a professional firefighting crew on station as well as a couple doctors and medical staff to keep us moving.

A very large number of the people return regularly. It seems as though you either love it here, or hate it. The people who love it just keep coming back. Many work as contractors for the summer season, and look for other work in the off-season until it's time to return. This is definitely not a group that works nine to five jobs. Many work at other seasonal jobs during the winter season (construction, trail crews at national parks, part-time jobs).

The population is mostly US, but there are sizeable chunks from other parts of the world as well. Most are very well traveled. Many take the opportunity to tour India or various Asian countries on their return trips home. It makes for some very interesting stories and some interesting perspectives on life.

Of course, like any small community, there are disagreements and spats, cliques, and all of the usual human behaviors. There's a pretty good rumor mill, and the general approach is "don't believe everything you hear, but be sure to pass it on." Despite those things, people generally seem to get along pretty well.

It's a good bunch to work with.