What I Will Miss in Antarctica

It's hard to smile without my parka, gloves, and hat at -30 degF. But the sun is shining bright! Overlooking Winter Quarters Bay with the Royal Society Mountain Range in the background.

The Antarctic is beautiful, grueling, and unforgettable...it can take your breath away.

The beautiful super clear air and sky.

The Transantarctic Mountains and the Royal Society Range.

Observation Hill and the Terra Nova memorial cross.

Pods of whales cruising through McMurdo Sound at the end of summer.

The solid ice shelf across McMurdo Sound.

The sun which appears to circle around Antarctica and never set in a 24 hour period.

The Southern Cross which circles the dark sky and never goes away.

Total darkness 24 hours a day.

Thousands of stars 24 hours a day.

Auroras fading in and out of the Antarctic sky.

The moon circling Antarctica.

Driving a Pisten Bully.

Building igloos.

The extremely unique sunrises and sunsets.

Watching seals crawl out of the water and lay on the ice all day. It’s amazing that they can exit freezing water and lie out in way colder air and act like they are comfortable as they bask on the ice.

Watching penguins spend several minutes trying to jump out of the water and miss then finally landing onto the ice. Once on the ice they look around for a few seconds then jump back in the water. What are they thinking?

Meeting many new friends and sharing dinner and a bottle of wine.

Running from building to building when it is super cold (-30 degF and below) outside.

The cold Antarctic katabatic wind that slams down the surrounding hills and shakes the buildings.

Going for a long Sunday hike up a local hill or across the Ross glacier then returning to my room for a long hot shower. After which I drink a cold beer then fall asleep for a nice nap.

Watching the nacreous clouds dance high in the sky.

Driving up the hill in a Pisten Bully to work after a storm.

Sitting in the dorm lounge with several friends, sharing beer and popcorn and watching some dumb movie for the tenth time. What critics we were!

Sitting in the dorm lounge watching the sunset and talking with friends and someone says, “Oh, look at it now!”

Dodging Skua birds as they try to steal everything you are carrying.

The polar plunge: jumping into 28 degF seawater with the surrounding temperature at -55 degF.

An aurora alert page at 0200 from the firehouse, getting all bundled up and going outside for the beautiful light show. Knowing that it is too cold to take pictures but the memory will last forever in my mind. Crawling back in bed with a huge smile.

Getting help from a friend when feeling depressed and helpless and then retuning the favor knowing that we all are in the same boat.

Walking to hut point and Vince's Cross then staring at the great expanse to the north.

Female companionship knowing that they are looking to me as an older brother or father figure.

Being the first one at dinner and sitting at my usual table then all of a sudden I am joined by five others and it turns into a small party.

Getting blown down by the wind, getting up and laughing.

Friday after dinner shopping at Wal-Mart (aka the store).

Writing in this blog and getting comments, emails, and questions.

Shoveling snow.

Going to sleep and not waking up or stirring until 0500 the next day.

Watching movies in the Coffee House Theater. Bringing in a beer or sharing a bottle of wine while watching with friends.

Hosting “Surfing Night in Antarctica” on Thursday evenings in the dead of winter. What a hoot! It is just what we needed: travel, sun, surf, sand and bikinis. 

Sunday evenings at the Coffee House Theater for McMurdo Science Theater 3000 aka “Movies so bad they are good”. Everybody in the audience is a critic that blurted out the funniest comments.

Enjoying a cup of hot chocolate at the Coffee House bar on Sunday nights.

Visiting Kiwi friends on “American Night at Scott Base”. Enjoying a few Guinness and frivolity in the pub.

Working out in the gym with the firemen. Sunday mornings “torture in the gym” from 0600-0900.

Getting so excited about “freshies” at Winfly. I will never walk into a grocery store produce/fruit section again without thinking about McMurdo.

Hearing people laugh in the galley even though we are all a little depressed or down at times because we miss our families.

Going to a winter party. The live music was way too loud and not that good but it was super fun. The cold and windy walk back to the dorm had a sobering effect. 

Having breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared along with no clean up.

Just simply looking at the landscape and sky in awe.

The freedom: no badges, wallets, keys or locks, cars, and just taking care of myself.

The complete silence of the Antarctic when the wind stops.

And what I won't miss....

Wearing my parka, wind pants, balaclava, goggles, and boots just to leave the building.

Canned and frozen food.

Getting paged in the middle of the night because of a work problem.

The super slow internet and email.

Feeling my hands and face go numb even though they are well protected. Once inside, the pain as the nerve endings begin to thaw. The initial pain of a hot shower on my frozen body.

The one second delay of talking with people in the states.

The six day 60 hour work week.

Being geographically undesirable.

Being cold all the time. Not bothering to wear my gloves for a quick trip outside then grasping the stair rail and having your hand stick.

I enjoy the brutal weather but the constant wind just quickly wears you down.

0 % humidity. My finger tips still split and it hurts to breathe cold dry air.

The gym as I have always preferred exercising outdoors.

It is time to return to the planet Earth

This is my last post from the ice as I am leaving tomorrow for New Zealand and a new adventure with my daughter, Jocelyn. A Father/Daughter Adventure in New Zealand journal is now posted at crazyguyonabike.com/mikey8590

We completed our first Father/Daughter Adventure last November with a cross country bicycle ride from Cape Canaveral, Florida to San Diego, California. That trip is detailed in the first journal. We hope to travel 2,000 miles in six weeks on the South Island of New Zealand. We will see what the weather, hills and mountains have in store for us in the Roaring 40's of the South Pacific.

This blog will have one final post when I am off the ice. I am happy and sad to be leaving as no one ever really knows if they will return to the Antarctic. It has been a wonderful adventure and privilege to have spent eight months of my life experiencing an Antarctic winter. What a world!