VIDEO: Former Winter Olympian Back on the Ice [Dispatches from Antarctica]

Charles, thanks for the questions. Look for some videos and photos of life at McMurdo Station in upcoming blogs. You’ll be able to see for yourself what housing looks like, if not what the experience feels like. As an overall comment, the US Antarctic Program has done, and still does, a superb job ensuring the safety and well-being of those living and working here.

Living conditions at the station–well beyond mere food, clothing, and shelter–bear no resemblance to the hardships faced by Amundsen, Scott, Shackelton, Mawson, Byrd, and others explorers of the heroic age. On the other hand, we’re in Antarctica, the coldest, driest, highest, windiest, most remote place on Earth. It’s harsh. For some people new to the ice (and a few long-timers), managing personal expectations is a lot harder than actually managing adequate housing.

For example, some scientists and support staff spend weeks or months at remote research sites hundreds of miles from the nearest building, bed, and toilet. They may live in tents or shacks built into the ice. Because of international protocols, and NSF’s commitment to preserving the pristine environment, every drop and speck of waste (yes, even that!) is collected and returned for processing. The scientific work they’re conducting is amazing. Their living conditions, though, are rugged and difficult.

When these intrepid souls return to McMurdo and share bedrooms and bathrooms and toilets in communal living arrangements, their expectations of housing are often exceeded. On the other hand, someone accustomed to private spaces, room service, and little luxuries, might find their expectations are set too high for the conditions and limitations here. As with anything, personal attitude is the biggest factor.

Keep in mind that housing is at once a precise, and simultaneously an inexact, science. With its large relative population, McMurdo differs from all other the stations on the continent. To a lesser extent, South Pole Station and Palmer Station differ from the remote field camps for the same reason.

I’ll attempt to provide a cross section of viewpoints as we go forward with this project. I’ll include discussions of smoking policy as well. As teaser, I’ll tell you that there are opportunities to “smoke ‘em if you got ‘em” at McMurdo–cigarettes that is—but smokers’ interests always take a back seat to environmental concerns.

Thanks,
Ed